“The price of greatness is more than you want to
pay. The world's most legendary athletes are usually the ones most wildly out
of balance. Michael Jordan had to crush you, whether you were an opponent or
teammate. The thousands of hours Peyton Manning pours into every season would
make you quake, then quit. Andre Agassi grieves, to this day, the childhood he
gave up while hitting over a million practice balls. Enjoy your heroes, but
don't envy them.”—Sportswriter Rick Reilly, “Some Truths I’ve Discovered,” www.espn.com, Apr. 23, 2014
More than a touch of envy came out among many football
fans when Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts announced his retirement. They
simply could not understand how this 29-year-old quarterback could walk away
from the game during the same year that 42-year-old Tom Brady seeks his seventh
Super Bowl title.
But the price Luck has already paid for his short
period of greatness has already been steep: sprained shoulder, lacerated
kidney, partially torn abdominal muscle, torn cartilage, concussion, and calf
strain. And constantly, of course, the pressure to come back, even if he wasn’t
quite his best, only to hear the boos of uncomprehending and undeserving fans…
(Photo of
Andrew Luck taken on Sept. 18, 2016, by Jeffrey Beall.)
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