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Barry Sanders: Incredible and Selfless Comments

Posted on September 12, 2009 by Joe Gill
Barry Sanders left the game as arguably the best running back in NFL History

Barry Sanders left the game as arguably the best running back in NFL History

Players like Brett Favre and Michael Jordan walk away then come back then walk away then come back yet again. They can not douse the competitive fire. They need the adrenaline rush. They aren’t ready for a “normal” life even though their body may be.

Not Barry Sanders. He retired at his prime and he was only 30 years old. He left the game as arguably the best running back in NFL history. He has been content with his decision and never attempted a comeback over the 11 years since his retirement.

Wow I wish he unretired and Brett Favre stayed retired. Favre should have left on a good note rather than with all dramatics over the past two years. Barry didn’t want that. It was not in his makeup.

A totally unselfish man, Barry Sanders left the game only 1457 yards short of Walter Payton’s record. He probably would have eclipsed the record in a year or two. In Barry’s absence, Emmitt Smith broke Payton’s record and finished his career with 18,355 yards.

Great accomplishment by Emmitt Smith, there is no doubt about it. However, as me and my friends argued for years, Barry Sanders did more with little. He did not have Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Jay Novacek, and an all star offensive line. He made due with the likes of Herman Moore and Scott Mitchell.

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  • Vintage Athlete of the Month

    • Bill Bradley – An All-American Hero
      March 4, 2010 | 11:06 pm
      Bill Bradley was a three-time ALl-American at Princeton.

      Bill Bradley was a three-time All-American at Princeton.

      In honor of the upcoming NCAA “March Madness”, we recognize as the March Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month a former college basketball superstar who helped lift a college not known for its basketball prowess to unprecedented heights.

      Bill Bradley embodied the true meaning of the term student-athlete. A Rhode scholar, Bradley was a three-time All-American at Princeton University and was the College Basketball Player of the Year as a senior in 1965.

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