Long before the Falcons' Ring of Honor was introduced, a car accident shaped Matt Ryan's life

Ryan used the word “role model” to describe Mike.

“He was a really good athlete, but he was quiet, humble, tough, smart – all of that – and to me that was what I always wanted to be,” Ryan said.

Hmmm. Does this sound like someone you know?

They were almost there when both brothers' lives changed forever. As they waited to turn into the club, They were hit from behind, an impact that sent them horribly crashing into the path of a convoy of military vehicles.

Matt escaped with a broken ankle. Mike suffered much worse – a broken elbow, a broken arm and a serious head injury. Her father, Michael, was quoted as saying that Matt believed his brother had been killed.

Luckily Mike is fine. He lives in Exton, Pennsylvania – the Ryans' hometown – and has a successful career in commercial and residential real estate. But at the time, he was a quarterback at nearby Division III Widener University. Due to injuries from the accident, he was never able to play again.

Understandably, 16-year-old Matt Ryan was unsettled as he watched his role model almost lose his life and then have to give up his passion. He wondered why it had been Mike and not him – “Oh my God. So much.” Even 23 years later, the feelings of guilt haven't completely disappeared. But the wreck also changed his perspective for the better.

“I think there are things that happen in everyone's life that push it forward or derail it or whatever, and that has had an impact on my life,” Ryan said.

Personally, it taught him to enjoy the moments with his loved ones, especially when life gets faster and faster. When Ryan becomes the 14th member of the Falcons organization at halftime of the Falcons-Buccaneers game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday night, so will his parents, his siblings, a number of nieces and nephews and many members of his wife Sarah's family to be there. There's no need to guess what this means for Ryan.

As an athlete, I became aware early on that the game could be lost at any time and developed the urge to maximize every opportunity. Ryan said he wasn't necessarily playing for his brother, “but for me I think it was more the idea of ​​not knowing when it's going to be done and being there and always having that in the back of your mind as a motivator.” from: “Man, you gotta try, and you gotta try.” Now“'” Ryan said.

Mike continued to model for his brother as they grew up.

“I always watched him work, how he did it, how hard he tried and the lengths he put in,” Ryan said. “And for me it was like, 'Man, you can't do anything but your best because you saw it taken away from someone who loved it so much.'”

Ryan's body of work includes an NFL MVP season, two NFC Championship Game appearances, 46 game-winning drives, nearly every passing record in the team record book, and a well-earned reputation for toughness, competitiveness and obsessive preparation, as well as many charitable endeavors. He is now an analyst on CBS Sports' “The NFL Today.” Ryan can't answer the unknowable – what if the accident had never happened? – “But I don’t underestimate the impact this has had on my life,” he said.

Their adult lives continue to be closely linked. They participate in each other's lives through familial text message chains and frequent phone calls. During his career, Ryan reserved the Monday morning drive to Flowery Branch to talk to his brother. Sometimes about football, sometimes not.

“He’s my older brother,” Ryan said. “He’s the guy I look to for approval, advice, or something like that.”

They lament their difficulties coaching their sons' soccer teams – Matt is in the flag league, Mike in a Pop Warner league. The two brothers married sisters. After Matt and Sarah Marshall started dating at Boston College, Sarah's parents invited Matt's parents to their soccer goals, where Mike and Maggie met and also began dating.

“I was like, 'Don't mess this up, man,'” Ryan said.

It would have been so easy for the two brothers' different paths in life – Ryan achieving fame, unimaginable wealth and his childhood dream in Atlanta, Mike staying in Exton and becoming a successful if relatively anonymous businessman – to widen the gap between them. Not to mention that they experienced a terrible misfortune that spared one brother's sporting career and ended the other's.

Even if it's just a little.

But, Ryan said, they are “as close as we can get.” When talking about his brother, he found himself embarrassed at various points, such as when he said of Mike, “He was always the most supportive of me, just encouraging, and just incredibly loyal.”

On Thursday night, he will once again be the object of admiration as tens of thousands of Falcons fans pay homage to their hero.

A good thing for Matt Ryan – his hero will be there too.