November 5, 2011
Grace Church, Providence, RI
We first knew Spirito as a football player at CC. The problem was, the football and lacrosse teams, historically, didn’t get along. Evan quickly made it apparent that he would be the one to bridge that gap. His commitment to the grid-iron barred him from participating in our fall practices. This left us unsure of the impact he would have on the field, but of his importance to our locker room, there was never any doubt.
This was fully confirmed on the 22 hour bus ride from Colorado Springs to San Diego, the spring of our freshman year. Due to the fact we only stopped once, it made it impossible not to quickly become much closer with your teammates. Within only a few hours on that bus with Evan, it felt like we had been friends for years. Unfortunately, before we even got the chance to play our first game of the trip, Evan tore his ACL during one of our practices. Evan had every right to be down. But, as we all know, Evan was not one to let anything get in his way. Although, his playing season was over, his injury didn’t prevent him from becoming a cornerstone of our team.
He further exemplified this team first attitude the next season when, at 2am, in a McDonald’s parking lot next to our hotel in Granville, Ohio, it wasn’t until after the first of 60 sprints that we realized Evan was running in his timberlands. He never complained, finished the sprints and was the only one in our class not to unleash a string of four letter words.
The Spring after his diagnosis, it was made clear, on another trip to Ohio, that although we missed his daily presence, his contributions to the team were not solely determined by his performance on the field. We were set to play Kenyon and had not been able to see Evan since the end of fall semester. That day, we were lucky to enough to have Evan make a surprise visit to our game. When he walked in to our locker room prior to the game, the feeling that took over the team was incredible, we were whole again. The courage that he had exhibited, the constant selflessness, it had inspired us all to work harder and to be better. That day his presence led to a team playing more inspired than any I have ever been apart of. There was no question, that day we were going to win, no one had any doubt. That’s the effect Evan had on his teammates. He inspired the people around him to be their best, bringing those around him, up to his level.
We were fortunate enough to live with Evan our senior year. And although we shared him with Anne, his rock and the love of his life, his heart was more than big enough to go around. We will never forget his quick wit, his kindness, and his courage. We love you Evan.