This isn't really a story about gloves, but it has to start there with the pair of game-worn Nikes that Zach Miller used during a 26-21 victory over the Buccaneers in 2015.
They're the gloves Miller took toward the stands after the final gun, the ones the Bears tight end was holding as Eric Cremeens snapped a random picture that December afternoon.
It seemed to be a small moment after a trivial victory in Week 16 of a ho-hum season. Cremeens figured Miller was heading to the locker room, not directly toward Cremeens' young son, Ryan, and nephew, Isaac.
At the time, they were all strangers with no idea of what was ahead. Ryan Cremeens was a vibrant and sports-crazed 8-year-old who was in St. Petersburg, Fla., to visit his Uncle Pat and at Raymond James Stadium as part of a surprise Christmas present.
When Miller handed both his gloves up, Ryan grabbed the right one, which he and his dad later put into a shadowbox in their Richmond, Ky., home.
That was the introduction. So Ryan wrote a heartfelt thank-you note, a letter his parents sent to Halas Hall while also posting a copy to Miller's Facebook fan page. Instantly the connection deepened.
Ryan had met Zach and Zach had remembered Ryan. They exchanged messages periodically, enough so that six months later, in June 2016, the Cremeens family felt compelled to reach out.
They had horrifying news: Ryan had rhabdomyosarcoma. A soft-tissue tumor in his sinus was growing into his skull.
Cancer.
Miller was on Interstate 80, headed from Chicago to Nebraska, when he learned of Ryan's diagnosis. He immediately pulled off at Exit 284.
"World's Largest Truck Stop," Miller said. "Put the car in park. I vividly remember sitting there thinking about it all for a minute. I knew I had to call."
