In light of the troubling criminal
developments that have plagued
the reputations of several major
spor ts 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
spor ts 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
ever ything 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.
