Brandon Bostick issues heartfelt account of botched onside kick

Brandon Bostick spoke of recurring nightmares; he spoke of death threats, social media trolls and prolonged heartache.

Now former-Packers tight end Brandon Bostick relives the day, the moment, every time he closes his eyes.

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It was Jan. 18, 2015, and everyone in Packers Nation can tell you what happened when the play clock ticked away to 2 minutes and 7 seconds left in the fourth quarter of that NFC Championship.

Forever known simply as “the botched onside kick” – as if it is the only botched onside kick to ever take place in the history of the world.

Well, it wasn’t.

But it’s the only one that matters now.

We speculated, along with media, analysts and other fans, whether or not Brandon Bostick would have a home in Green Bay after that special teams gaffe.

We didn’t need to wait long for the answer; Bostick was released by the Packers and immediately scooped up by the Minnesota Vikings.

All of that is relatively old news.

However, Brandon issued a personal statement to the media, his fans, old and new; his haters and motivators far and wide.

Brandon Bostick. Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports photograph

He has been pretty quiet since he hung his head in disbelief in the locker room following that painful playoff loss. He answered all the questions, took all the blame.

Now, he’s giving everyone who will listen a piece of his heart and his soul, in a written account of what went down that fateful afternoon and … how life carried him onward since.

Bostick outlines exactly what was said in the moments leading up to the kick. Fellow TE Andrew Quarless, standing beside him, made sure that Bostick knew his blocking assignment. Brandon played over and over in his head, blocking or Jordy Nelson to field the ball.

In fact, he writes that this particular set-up was nothing new; they had practiced it time and again … and hundreds of times over.

It was nothing new.

However, instinct took over when that ball hovered perfectly over his head. All other things flew out of the window. And that’s when it happened.

Since, Bostick says things have been hard. He recants his thoughts, emotions after the game and knowing that he let his entire team and fan base down.

He stated that he couldn’t even count the number of death threats he received via social media, and that he still has hundreds of unread messages from Facebook and Twitter that he just can’t bear to open and read.

In the wake of things, Brandon says that he was changed.

“I went up for the ball … and my life was changed forever.”

He has always acknowledged his part in the loss – a major momentum swing in favor of the Seahawks in the waning moments – but he makes a good point: the media blew it up.

Everyone was writing about it … everyone was talking about it. He was made into the proverbial scapegoat and all other lost opportunities, missed calls, blown assignments, bad throws, drops, conservative play calls … were forgotten.

Brandon Bostick was suddenly the face of the failure and, when you think about it that way, there was no way he could ever don green and gold again.

Brandon Bostick in better times. Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports photograph

Interestingly, Bostick agreed with that sentiment. He outlines that the Packers called to cut him – told him that he didn’t develop as quickly as they had hoped and that they had the guys they needed moving forward.

He acknowledged that the Packers admitted that the botched onside kick had a hand in his release.

But he doesn’t think it stops there …

His belief is that, having him around in the new season – would be too hard for the organization to recover from. Seeing him in the facilities, on the practice field, in the uniform … would just bring back memories of that one play.

It’s most devastating because we were so close. Two measly minutes from the Super Bowl. And it was gone, just like that.

While Bostick seems to harbor no resentment toward the Packers for being quick to cut him, he does seem anxious to start anew.

The Packers don’t seem willing to pull along weak links into the 2015 season, as seen from their swift release of Bostick, Brad Jones and now A.J. Hawk.

For Brandon, this entire thing has been a nightmare. But there may be a sunrise on the horizon.

He just wants another opportunity to write his story. He wants to be known for something, anything other than a botched onside kick that lost the NFC Championship for the Green Bay Packers in 2014.

He said that when he gets the chance to ride that wave to the top again, he will remember his former Packers’ teammates and continue to extend his heartfelt apologies to them.

His letter to us all is nothing, if not sincere. It reminds us that – even though they seem invincible – even these guys make mistakes.

They have hearts and emotions and feelings that transcend the game into real life.

And we, fans who loan out our devotion and support, should continue to be mindful of that.

Next: A.J. Hawk retrospective

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