Wings over Buffalo

The Greeks called the Fates Moerae while the Romans called them Parcae. Even the Scandanavians had a word for the personifications of destiny - Norns. In all three versions of the myth, the goddesses determined the fate of a child a few days after he was born. The gods themselves, including Zeus, were afraid of the Fates.

We don't talk much about fate these days, but we do talk about luck. Luck can reward one person just as easily as it can treat another with bitter cruelty. The problem is the apparent capriciousness with which these kinds of things occur. Just ask Domenik Hixon and Kevin Everett. At first glance, Hixon appeared to have gotten the worst of the hit. Everett squared up and knocked Hixon off his feet. But the reality is that something far worse happened to Kevin Everett. He suffered a terrible spine injury, and he may never walk again.

The disturbing injury to Kevin Everett overshadowed a rather lackluster performance by the Broncos. Denver didn't play horribly. They just played flat and uninspired. And they should have lost. Buffalo played with a little more passion, a little more fire. And they should have won. But fate, cruel temptress that she is, allowed Denver to sneak out a win and left Buffalo with far more cruelty than a simple loss.