It’s been a little over 5 years since Billy Gaines fell from the rafters of a church. Gaines died from the injuries sustained a few days later.

There are points when the only thing that comes to mind with Billy Gaines is that he was part of a motivational tactic used by Walt Harris before the Notre Dame game in 2004 (the ND program cover showed the Irish defense bringing down Gaines).

Obviously there’s far more than that. There’s a moving, sad and just a touch hopeful look back at Billy Gaines’ achievements and the effect of his death on his younger brother.

Nick Gaines’s anger over Billy’s death festered during high school, though he masked it beneath a goofy veneer. He fought often and drank and drove, he said, but his senior classmates at Urbana voted him class clown, biggest flirt, most huggable and most unforgettable. By March 2007, when he walked into the party, he had become one of the most popular seniors at Urbana.

That night, Bill and Kim Gaines thought their son was sleeping at Murray’s house. Then their phone rang. “What moron is calling here at 7:30 in the morning on a Saturday?” Kim blurted as Bill answered. Gibbons trembled on the line as she explained in a frantic, high-pitched voice that Nick had slammed his truck into a tree.

Murray was dead. Nick might be.

Nick lived, and took a plea bargain to negligent homicide. He’s serving time in a work-release program and attending a community college. It appears from the story that he’s finally dealing. It took the loss of another person’s life, some loss of freedom and some pretty painful injuries to do it.

We rarely hear about the ones who survive. Most of the time we don’t want to unless it’s part of some inspirational point of overcoming the pain. A nice soft-focus piece that glosses over the pain and gets to the payoff.

Akron coach, and former Pitt WR Coach, JD Brookhart still keeps Gaines’ nameplate in his desk.