Happy Birthday to the GOAT!
Barry Sanders is more than just a former NFL running back to me. He’s a record setter, both collegiately and professionally. He’s a Heisman Trophy Winner and Hall of Famer. Most importantly though, he’s an idol. I was only 6 years old when I first saw him run. I didn’t know back then what the feeling was, but I sure as hell know now. He’s the reason I fell in love with the game of football. I marveled at the sight of seeing such a smaller man completely dominate and dismantle entire defenses one game at a time. See for yourself:
To this day, no athlete has been able to come close in amazing me as often as Barry did.
Defenses knew he was going to get the ball yet they still couldn’t tackle him. He had the entire package — vision, agility, speed, and (underrated) power. I almost forgot to mention the cutbacks and spin moves. Physically, there’s never been an NFL player who’s done more with so little. In 10 years, he gained 15,269 rushing yards and 99 touchdowns. He was a 10-time Pro Bowler. Six-time First-Team All-Pro. Four-time Second-Team All-Pro. Four-time NFL rushing leader. Two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year. And an NFL MVP. He rushed for over 2,000 yards in 1997, only the third running back in NFL history to do so at the time. A feat that has seen only four more RB’s do it since Barry. His worst season consisted of 1,115 yards in just 11 games. Let that sink in.
What made Barry the best though might have been a trait that didn’t correlate directly to running the ball. He was by far one of the most humble athletes of his time. I still remember watching him hand the ball to the referee after scoring a touchdown. It was the first time I had seen him do this. Naturally, I asked my dad for an explanation since I was used to end zone celebrations. “Act like you’ve been there before” were the words my dad responded with. It was a direct quote that he heard from Barry once before in a postgame interview. As a young boy, that always stuck in the back of my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the occasional touchdown dance or celebration from time to time. It was all around the NFL during the formative years of my football watching. Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Joe Horn, Steve Smith, to name a few. But there is something to be said for watching the most dominant player in the league go about his business with such humility and class.
Masterpiece. Poetry in motion. Made the impossible look effortless. No running back has been able to even resemble his style. No one before him either. He was the first of his kind. Perhaps, the last.
So once again, Happy Birthday and well wishes to my favorite athlete of all time and my sports idol — Barry Sanders.
