Christopher E. Bordano (born December 30, 1974) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

Early life

Bordano was born in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

. He attended

Southwest High School Southwest High School, Southwestern High School, or South Western High School may refer to: Southwest * Southwest High School (El Centro, California) * Southwest Senior High School, San Diego, California *Southwest Miami Senior High School, Miami, ...

, where he played as a

. As a senior, he tallied 178 tackles (100 solo) with 3 fumble recoveries. He received All-District 28-5A and Defensive Most Valuable Player honors. He also competed in the

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track and field, track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of ...

and in the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

College career

Bordano accepted a football scholarship from

. As a freshman in 1993, he missed the first 2 contests and did not enter the starting lineup until the eighth game of the season. He recorded 63 tackles (37 solo). He had 14 tackles (one for loss) in his first start against

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. He made 19 tackles (13 solo), one forced fumble and one pass defensed against

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

. He had 22 tackles against

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

. As a sophomore in 1994, he missed the final 3 games. He led the SWC Conference with an average of 13.9 tackles per game, posting 111 tackles (72 solo), 2 stops for losses and 3 fumble recoveries. He had 17 tackles (10 solo) and one forced fumble against the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

. He made 18 tackles (14 solo) and one fumble recovery against the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

. He ad 15 tackles (11 solo) against the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

. In 1995, he was injured during fall drills and was lost for the season. As a junior in 1996, he returned to lead his team and rank fifth in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

with 124 tackles. He had 19 tackles (10 solo) against the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. He made 17 tackles (8 solo) against

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

. As a senior in 1997, he started the first 6 games and the last 3 contests at

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the li ...

. He led the team with 120 tackles (67 solo) and was named the Western Athletic Conference Mountain Division Defensive Player of the Year. He left ranked fifth in the SMU's career tackles list (420) and became just the tenth player in school history to be named to three All-conference teams.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Bordano was selected by the

in the sixth round (194th overall) of the

1998 NFL draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

. He started 6 games as a rookie at

and made 62 tackles (tied for eighth on the team) and 8

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles (tied for fifth on the team). He had 9 tackles against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. In

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, although he was considered slow for the position, he showed enough athletic ability to start 12 games at

and register 59 tackles. On April 26,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, he was traded to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in exchange for

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

Kevin Mathis Kevin Bryant Mathis (born April 29, 1974) is an American football coach and former cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He currently serves as the cornerbacks coach for the University of Colorado. During his career as a player, Math ...

Dallas Cowboys

, the

had a lot of turnover at

and one of the moves made to improve the depth was trading for Bordano. He was passed on the depth chart by rookie

Orantes Grant Orantes Laquay Grant (born March 18, 1978) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns. He was drafted by the Cowboys in the seventh round of the ...

and was released to make room for

Phillippi Sparks Phillippi Dwain Sparks (born April 15, 1969) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils football, ...

on August 28.

Atlanta Falcons

On September 7,

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

. He appeared in 2 games as a backup, before fracturing a neck vertebra and being placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

on September 19. He retired after being told by doctors that another injury on the neck could be life-threatening.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bordano, Chris 1974 births Living people Players of American football from San Antonio American football linebackers SMU Mustangs football players New Orleans Saints players Atlanta Falcons players