"That's something we've learned in a very real way by watching O.J. in this," Harbaugh said, "because he's the strongest man in the building. It's not even close. And you know that once you get to know him; he's pure strength."
A pro football player for 12 years, including a Super Bowl championship as a Raven in 2000, Brigance first spoke about the disease with The Baltimore Sun last March. Since then, he has helped local and national organizations raise money to combat ALS.
The entire Ravens organization showed up for an ALS charity run in May, and Brigance said he plans to be the race's honorary chairman again this year. Last month's reunion of the Colts' 1958 NFL championship team was turned into a benefit for his charitable foundation, Brigance's Brigade, and for the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at the Johns Hopkins University.
About 5,600 people in the United States are diagnosed each year with ALS, a disease that can lead to paralysis of muscles and the lungs but does not impair the brain, according to the ALS Association. Most ALS patients die within five years.
Brigance, a former linebacker, has seen his muscles wither and his need for assistance grow. But he hasn't given up his job, and he hasn't stopped fighting.
"When you see what O.J. is going through, and see that he has a healthy attitude about it - he's still joking, laughing around everybody - you really appreciate what he's going through," said Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason. "And you figure, 'What we're going through is not that tough. If we can't fight our way out of whatever we're going through, then what are we doing?' "
Early in the Dallas game Dec. 20, Mason aggravated a shoulder injury but returned to play a key role in a crucial Ravens win. Afterward, the first person Harbaugh thanked publicly was Brigance, who was smiling wider than anyone else in the locker room.
Besides staying connected to the players ("He's been at every meeting," Harbaugh said) and running his foundation - aided by his wife, Chanda, who was at his side throughout the day in Nashville and will do the same in Pittsburgh - Brigance fulfills his regular duties with the Ravens. He heads the player-development program recognized as the NFL's best in 2006 and 2007.
