No one could have been sicker in their stomach or ill come this past Tuesday morning as was Dallas Cowboys Center, Phil Costa. To say he had some struggles with snaps against the Washington Redskins the night before would be calling Plymouth Rock an insignificant pebble in American history. Let's just say both had their places.
Conversely, it was not the place of former Cowboys Center, and multiple All-Pro, Andre Gurode, to automatically awaken on Tuesday morning and give a call back to the 972/214/469 area code, but he did it anyway. Why, and who was he ringing so early in the morning, anyway? The recipient of the Gurode call was none other than Gurode's Cowboys' replacement, his successor, Phil Costa. Odd, you say. Maybe, but Andre Gurode is one Class Act. He knew exactly how Costa was feeling and what the new Center might be dealing with internally.
His call, simply, was to commiserate and console. "Dude, I know what you're going through, and you know what, you're going to live to fight another day."
Do you think Phil Costa will remember this? Do you think Gurode's message was the best medicine any Dr. could have prescribed for Costa? Who better to speak to the inflicted wounds the young center was experiencing? 
No, not the type of psychological wounds a bad hair day can cause, but the emotional roller coaster that truly represents the 'mind games' of the NFL profession. See, Costa was probably an hour or two from stepping into the most-dreaded of all scenes and scenarios. The film room.
Suffice it to say, Phil Costa was going to 'hear it,' and he was going to 'hear it' often. From coaches most certainly, but worse yet, from 'howling' teammates. Romo lit him up and undressed him the previous night, but now it was going to be sheer relentlessness from peer line mates, the worst possible abuse known to man and player alike. Thus, the Dr. had already prescribed the perfect sedative for the patient. Something along the lines of, "You Tube this, my Friend, and laugh until you cry."
Forgive and forget is the best medicine known to man, and its cost is free. The best part is the applicability goes well beyond the football field. It's a 'healer' of all, and when coupled with sheer laughter, the kind that will cleanse and rock a belly, all is right with the mixed up and twisted world. Even the twisted, mind-altering antics of Stephen Bowen and his Tony Romo imitations. Blue 42, blue 42, hut, go, razor, Panama.......
God bless Phil Costa....the mind and memory of a NFL player, any athlete for that matter, has to be razor-thin and midget-short. As rotten as that intestinal tract had to feel Tuesday morning, the remedy was already taking hold by the time he ended the cell phone call with Gurode. Realistically, it's Gurode who could be suffering for the stomach ills known as "The Business Side of the NFL," as his release was the cruelest of all NFL activities, but just like anything else ingested by a true professional, he took it all in stride. Instead of laying bitter and cursing the Cowboys from Baltimore's Inner Harbor, he once again chose the 'high road' and bestowed a little veteran savvy and personal reflection on young Mr. Costa. Andre Gurode, you truly are a class act, and this one gesture trumps all the terrific time and plays you logged as a Dallas Cowboy. The human side of the professional game is a beautiful thing when it rears its head, even a brutal, uneven shaved one that comes with rookie hazing. Phil, like your dome, Monday night was as ugly as it comes, but disaster will fade, and many good times are ahead. Just remember to send Dr. Gurode a Christmas card.
