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There are times when even NFL players are reminded how football means little in the grand scheme of life. Atlanta Falcons nose tackle Paul Soliai recently experienced one of those moments. A few weeks back, Soliai received the call he feared would come sooner than later: his father, Rev. Foto Levao, died after suffering a heart attack while at the airport in Samoa. "He was on his way back to his house in Las Vegas," Soliai said. "They had gone to Samoa for a visit. He had a triple bypass before, so I think he knew it was coming to an end. So he just wanted to go back home to Samoa one more time." Soliai said his father was 64 when he passed away. Since the funeral was in Samoa, Soliai was away from the team for a week and missed the Arizona game. He returned for the Monday night matchup with the Packers, but came off the bench. Getting back in a normal football routine might have been difficult at first, but Soliai adjusted. "I know if my dad was still here, he’d probably tell me to just keep playing," Soliai said. "Since the funeral was back in Samoa, it was nice to see family, because I hardly go back. And my mom is doing good now. She’s back in Vegas. I call her every day just to make sure everything is OK." Falcons coach Mike Smith expressed sympathy for Soliai through the difficult time. "That’s a very difficult personal situation that as a coach and as an organization, you have to be supportive, and that’s what we were," Smith said. "For Paul and his family, it’s a situation they had to deal with. We just wanted to support him." Soliai is refocused on football now. Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said Soliai played by far his best game of the season last week against the Steelers. Soliai recorded his first sack of the season to go with a quarterback hit and two tackles in 35 snaps played. Soliai would be the first to say he hasn’t performed up to his own expectations after signing a five-year, $33 million contract ($14 million guaranteed), but he will try to finish up the season strong. And he will keep his father in his thoughts every step of the way. "He’s actually my stepfather, but he took care of me since I was 3," Soliai said. "I never called him my stepdad. I never called him by his name. I always called him my dad, because that’s the only person I knew. He was just a good guy."
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