Sam Jacobs: Playing for pride and in the honour of my brother, Aaron

IT was all about pride. Pride in my family, pride in my football club and pride in my mates, writes Adelaide Crows ruckman Sam Jacobs in his exclusive The Advertiser column.

Brodie Smith of the Crows and an emotional Sam Jacobs embrace each other as the final siren sounds.

IT was all about pride.

Pride in my family, pride in my football club and pride in my mates.

When my brother Aaron passed away suddenly on Wednesday morning, August 30, all of a sudden football didn’t mean so much to me.

Nothing is more important than family and Aaron's shock death rocked me.

He was not just my big brother but a great mate who shared my love of football, sport, family and the country lifestyle.

Adelaide Crows ruckman Sam Jacobs with his brother, Aaron and parents John and Corrine.

No-one ever prepares you for such a tragedy — and the Adelaide Football Club has been through its share in recent years.

When I got the phone call that Aaron, at just 31, had passed away I just wanted to get home to Ardrossan to be with my family and friends.

Aaron had long battled some physical health issues but nothing that was supposed to result in this tragedy.

After speaking to coach Don Pyke I spent two days back home consoling family and friends and helping to organise an unexpected funeral.

LYNCH’S ADMIRATION FOR RUCKMAN JACOBS

If Adelaide’s qualifying final against GWS had been that week I'm not sure I would have been in the right frame of mind to play.

That is the great unknown.

But knowing there was still eight days to go before our meeting with the Giants at Adelaide Oval my mindset was that I was always playing.

This was largely because Aaron would have wanted that to.

He was a Crows fan, although at his funeral his mates joked that he was a bit of a frontrunner and had been known to switch clubs with the Western Bulldogs catching his eye last year, and he would not have wanted me to miss such an important game for our club.

Eddie Betts hugs Sam Jacobs after the win against GWS Giants. Picture: SARAH REED

The day after Aaron died I told the club I wanted to play in the final and asked it to map out a plan for me — one that would have me in the best mental and physical shape — knowing that I would be away from Adelaide for a couple of days.

‘Pykey’ was terrific with me and made it very clear that I could take as much time as I wanted to return to the club and I will always be grateful to him for the faith and empathy he showed.

I returned to training on Friday morning and was pleased to get around the boys again.

I felt it was really important to quickly face my teammates.

The situation was always going to be awkward for them too because they didn’t really know what to say to me. Their compassion was terrific.

I enjoyed being back at the club.

It was important for me to spend some time with the boys, who are not only teammates but genuine mates, and to try to get some normality back in my life.

A football club can feel a very safe place to be around.

The love and support I received from everyone at the club and wellwishers in general was overwhelming.

Mum and dad drove to town on Friday afternoon and we all went to watch (wife) Izzy play her weekly netball game for Immanuel Old Scholars at ETSA Park on the Saturday.

By Monday I was pretty much back into the swing of full training for the Giants game.

I tried to prepare as best I could knowing that it was a big game for our football club and that definitely assisted in giving me a purpose for the week.

Otherwise I would have been sitting at home feeling in a dark place.

Aaron would not have wanted that.

Sam Jacobs of the Crows sings the team song with Tom Lynch and Kyle Hartigan.

Footy and sport were his real passions in life and it was really important for me to play for him too and to help the team win the game would have made him happy.

As much as I love football, for my entire career I have felt that when I am out on field I am not only representing myself and my club but also my family.

I just want to make them proud.

Game night was really emotional.

I was fine during the match because you put your game-face on and I’d built myself up for a big challenge against ‘Mummy’ (GWS ruckman Shane Mumford), who is a player I have great respect for.

When you play against him you must bring your physicality or he’s going to find you out.

So I went in with a really simple game plan of just trying to match his physicality and to give my mids the best opportunity of getting on top of the Giants midfield.

Fortunately the game went our way.

Then, with about 30 seconds left, my emotions got the better of me.

I got the call to come from the ground and while I was running off virtually everyone in the western stand stood up and gave me a standing ovation.

The support the Crows fans and football public have shown me has been incredible and I cannot thank them enough.

Brodie Smith of the Crows and an emotional Sam Jacobs embrace each other as the final siren sounds.

I saw ‘Tex’ (captain Taylor Walker) on the sidelines and as soon as I grabbed my towel I started thinking about Aaron and my emotions ran wild.

Brodie (Smith) then stumbled his way over to me on crutches (he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the first quarter and is out for the season) and we shared a really nice moment.

He was going through a tough time himself and although I’ve experienced the ultimate tough time in losing someone so close to me I felt for him too because footy is our livelihood and we put so much work into it.

Now he is going to miss the rest of our finals campaign and most of next season.

Strangely enough, Aaron had undergone a knee reconstruction just a few weeks earlier after being hurt while playing for Ardrossan.

Me and Brodie arrived at the Crows at the same time (at the end of 2010), have played a similar amount of AFL games and have ridden the ups and downs together.

Our parents have become close friends and my family had stayed with the Smiths in Adelaide the previous week.

So — as bad as we both felt — it was a nice comforting moment for both of us.

I drove back to Ardrossan straight after the game and on Friday we were able to give Aaron a really nice send-off at a funeral attended by 400-to-500 close friends and family members.

The Crows players who didn’t play in the scratch match against the Giants at Football Park attended, along with ‘Pykey’, (chairman) Rob Chapman, (assistant coaches) Matthew Clarke and David Teague and some other coaches and staff members.

My lasting memory will be with the guard of honour that was formed for Aaron as he was driven out in a hearse.

On one side were members of the Ardrossan Football Club, where Aaron played and was an assistant coach, with the royal blue and white colours of the footy club shining brightly.

On the other side were my Crows teammates dressed in blue, gold and red.

It was the perfect tribute to a brother I loved dearly.

Originally published as Sam Jacobs: Playing for pride and in the honour of my brother, Aaron