Orlando Thomas Passes away :(

[ranskal]

RIP Orlando


Randy

[John_Viveiros]

I was 10 years old when he broke into the league and I remember always checking the interceptions leaders his rookie season hoping he'd lead the league.

I thought his name was so cool. Orlando!

R.I.P.

Technically, us old-timers know that his name during his rookie season was Orlanda, with an "A" at the end. He eventually changed it - I'm guessing because the "o" ending is masculine and the "a" ending is feminine in languages like Spanish. [What's weird is that I seem to be the only one on the internet who knows that. My record of the 1995 NFL draft - from that time - has him listed as Orlanda, but every other source on the internet lists him as Orlando - even Wikipedia ignores the name change. I was doubting my memory for a minute there.]

He made, to me, the greatest defensive play in Vikings history. I haven't seen it since the year it happened, but my recollection is that he came through Shannon Sharpe, just as Sharpe was catching the pass from Elway, knocking the ball in the air, and had the wits to collect the interception as he was in mid-air falling over the top of Shannon. He had Paul Krause-like instincts.