Ricky Lannetti would have turned 25 this weekend.
If you don’t recall the name, a reminder — Lannetti was a wide receiver for Lycoming before he passed away on Dec. 6, 2003. He lost his battle with a staph infection that night, the day Lycoming was scheduled to play Bridgewater in the national quarterfinals.
I came across a tribute site built to him this evening. If you’ve been around this site for four years, you may remember our coverage of his death. We were in Williamsport that weekend and had unprecedented access behind the scenes on a day in which the game was snowed out.
People still sign Lannetti’s guestbook. They get together every year on his birthday. There’s an annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament in his memory each summer. They raise awareness of MRSA — methicillin resistant staphyloccus aureus, the superbug that killed Lannetti.
His parents, Theresa and Rick, spread the word about MRSA to this day.
“His name is now living through MRSA awareness campaigns throughout the country,” Rick Lannetti told the Times News, a newspaper in Carbon County, Pa. “His picture and other helpful information is posted at colleges and high schools everywhere, and I still get emails thanking him all the time for making them aware of this superbug. His name and his story are being heard around the world. His passing tells about the superbug and that it could kill even the healthiest people. He’s pretty much actively saving lives, or at least bringing about an awareness that this deadly germ exists. To have a family street named after him, that would be really something special. His friends and college teammates, they visit me now and then, and I know how proud they would be for a long-term tribute to him.”
Hope this helps.
It was an emotional weekend – one that I will always remember for its utter tragedy.
ricky’s mother-terri works very hard getting the word out about MRSA. Every year they have a basketball tournament for Ricky and MRSAawareness .
she is the one who deserves all the credit for keeping Ricky’s memory alive and does a lot to bring MRSA information to schools and colleges.
MRSA is “very bad stuff”. A high index of suspicion is required of athletes, parents, coaches and trainers, not to mention medical personnel as well.
A google-search of “MRSA Awareness” gives a hyperlink and comment that the “.com” web site is the informational website of a “Non-Profit National Foundation to help educate and increase awareness of MRSA in Sports and Athletics”.
Thanks to Theresa Lannetti for her work in this area.
I would like to thank you for remembering my son. It was a beautiful article and makes me feel to good to know that people remember Ricky and what a great kid he was. We all miss him very much, he touched so many lives.
Thank you,
Theresa
A belated birthday wish from a Bridgewater fan/alum who was at that game. I hope everyone from BC showed the proper respect and dignity under those tragic circumstances. I know most of us tried. I think that was the only playoff victory that I did not celebrate. Ricky’s field was not a place to celebrate.
I remember the game, but I will always remember the sad circumstances surrounding that football game evenmore.
Life is short. Go hug your family.
As a fan of BC football and having my wife as the head athletic trainer of BC that was there for that tragic weekend, it will be something that we’ll never forget. Happy belated birthday Ricky, our thoughts and prayers are with your family.