I am extremely sad about the passing of Jack Snow. With that in mind, this edition of notes will have little to do with football or anything going on with the team. We can get to that later. In the meantime, I’d like to share a little bit of what Jack Snow was like and the type of person he was. First and foremost, my prayers and thoughts go out to his family. Also, I would like to make tomorrow's edition of the mailbag a tribute to Jack Snow. For those of you with a great story to tell about Mr. Snow either as a player, a broadcaster or an encounter somewhere, please send it along and I will post it in the mailbag.

The first time I ever met Jack Snow was in training camp before the 2004 season. I have to admit, it was a little intimidating. Here was this guy who had played 11 seasons for the Rams, appeared on the television show “Bewitched” and was even in the movie Heaven Can Wait. When I introduced myself to him, I made the first mistake that someone who is younger and doesn’t know him can make. I said ‘Nice to meet you, Jack.’ I was promptly informed that I should henceforth refer to him as Mr. Snow. For each time I called him Jack, he would grow continuously irritated with me. Not wanting to get off on the wrong foot with one of the great sources of information about not only the Rams, but also football in general, I made it a point to remember to always address him as Mr. Snow. To some, that might sound like he is being arrogant, but as he told me, he was always taught to respect his elders and I should too. The more I remembered to address him correctly and the more I got to know him, I began to see that Mr. Snow was one of the funniest, most genuine people around. He even told me that there would come a day where I would be able to call him Jack. Of course, he would let me know when that day came. I saw him on multiple occasions stick up for people who couldn’t stick up for themselves. He was always ready with some sort of sarcastic comment or witty retort at a moment’s notice. But at the end of the day, you always knew he was just having fun. If Mr. Snow didn’t make fun of you or have a joke for you, it probably meant he didn’t like you much. Needless to say, I was on the receiving end of a number of those jokes, but I learned a lot about the history of the organization from him even if I refused to root for Notre Dame as he often tried to get me to do.

As the color analyst for the Rams, many criticized him for being a ‘homer’ for the team. But that’s because he was part of the team. A big part. Anyone who devotes that much time and energy to an organization will inherently have a certain amount of loyalty. Being a Ram was who Mr. Snow was. He loved this organization and he loved everything about being a part of the broadcasts. As recently as the weekend of the Houston game on Nov. 27, Mr. Snow seemed to be in good condition. He became sick soon before the buses left to go to the airport that day. He was taken to the emergency room for a staph infection soon before the buses were to leave. But, always the tough guy, Mr. Snow made it to the airport in time to get on the plane. It was a fashionably late entrance that only he could pull off. But when he arrived in Houston, he was worse for the wear and was unable to broadcast the game. As much pain as he was in then, it pained him just as much to not be there to watch the Rams play as he had been so many times before.

I wasn’t alive to have the pleasure of watching Mr. Snow play football. But I know the amount of time and work he put into his job as the color analyst for the team. I’m certain that he had the same type of drive and desire as a player. For all he accomplished on a football field, Mr. Snow always loved to tell me about his appearance in Heaven Can Wait. In fact, he told me of his role that first day I met him. He even told me that it was the only movie set that Warren Beatty has been on where he was the second-best looking guy there. I, of course, laughed, but was quickly corrected as he pointed out that he was being serious. Perhaps my favorite Mr. Snow anecdote was the story that was retold in former Rams Public Relations Director Rick Smith’s book. During a game, apparently Mr. Snow caught a pass near the sidelines and couldn’t slow his momentum enough to keep from running over actor Telly Savalas. According to the book, Mr. Snow returned to the huddle and blurted out, "I think I just killed Kojak."

Many times in life, good people are taken away from us too soon. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to know Mr. Snow long enough to call him Jack. I guess in this case, Heaven just couldn’t wait.