Rivers recalled a great Gates’ anecdote that summed up what it was like to play with him.
“There were times when maybe we were struggling a little bit, maybe we had a couple three-and-outs or maybe we were stopped on a series or two,” Rivers said. “Or maybe it was just a quiet game for Gates thus far. We would break the huddle and he would either kind of tap me on the way by or he would make sure that I heard him and he would say, ‘Come on now.’
“And I knew that that meant, ‘Alright, he’s about to get rolling’ and, ‘Hey, what am I doing? We’ve got to get him the ball,'” Rivers added.
But what Rivers remembers the most about his teammate and friend is the bond they built off the field over the years.
“I think it’s probably too easy to just say, ‘Hall of Famer.’ To me, the first thing that comes into my mind personally is [being] his teammate, his locker mate … 15 years our lockers were side by side,” River said.
“And then, a competitor. He’s as competitive as a guy as I’ve ever been around. In everything,” Rivers added. “He would probably tell you he’s undefeated in arguments, dominoes. It didn’t matter what we were doing, he was competing.”
The touchdowns — all 89 of them — were just a bonus.