In light of the troubling criminal developments that have plagued the reputations of several major sports recently, Hodes and I thought a column on sports heroes would kick off the Fall term appropriately. As fans, we need nothing but positivity as we approach the most exciting yearly stretch in professional sports action - the glorious month of October, highlighted by exciting NFL midseason action and of course, the MLB playoffs.
So how does one define the term "hero" in the context of sports? Dictionary.com defines "hero" as "a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities." As a fanatic, I'd like to believe that my favorite athletes could be considered paragons of valor, but such a label isn't apt for sports figures - Pat Tilman and a couple others notwithstanding. In my opinion, those esteemed as sports heroes should be considered such for their exploits on the field of play and, of equal importance, the exemplar y humility they demonstrate despite their tremendous accomplishments.
Using this definition, I could think of no better athlete to christen as a sports hero than Barry Sanders. Sanders was a unique athlete with transcendent abilities - and when I say "unique," I mean it literally. Simply put, there has not been, nor will there ever be, another Barry Sanders.
I don't hesitate to call him the greatest running back of all time, and frankly, I don't think it's even close. Sure, Walter Payton dazzled us with his combination of power and speed. Jim Brown amazed us with his ability to run by and around everyone who stood in his way. The NFL has seen great runner after great runner, but Sanders was and still is, in a class of his own. In addition to being blindingly fast and surprisingly powerful given his small stature, Sanders had an evasive ability with the football in his hands that will never be duplicated.
Tackling him was a near impossible task, and former Detroit Lions' Linebacker Chris Spielman said it best: "Every rule that's in the book of tackling - how to fundamentally break down and all of that - when it came to Barry, you threw it out. I told them to take a shot and keep chasing because he might be coming back."
What made Sanders even more appealing as a sports hero, perhaps even more so than his eyepopping athletic ability and gaudy career stats, was his exceptional humility.
Most professional athletes who attain success enjoy soaking it up. Particularly in today's day and age, professional sports' premier athletes are almost invariably
fixtures in the ever-burgeoning sports media market. Sanders wanted no such thing. In his entire career, he never did a commercial. It just wasn't his style. For Sanders, playing football in and of itself was more than enough. He shocked us at the age of 30 when he announced his retirement. His reasoning?
"I quit because I didn't feel like the Detroit Lions had a chance to win. It just killed my enjoyment of the game".
If that quote doesn't tell you everything you need to know about Sanders, I don't know what will. He cared only about winning, and nothing else. It didn't matter that he was in the prime of an illustrious career, and well within reach of the NFL's all-time rushing record. There is no better example of a "sports hero" than No. 20.
