Sad day today. 9/11 always brings me down with a big sense of loss. Looking back, I always get a little depressed thinking about things. You see, it was today in 2002 that my first real sports hero Johnny Unitas died of cancer. (Curve ball right? You thought I was going Twin Towers on you. But when you stop and think about it, isn’t cancer the original terrorist who senselessly kills people for no good reason?)
In the late 50’s and early 60’s when I was just starting to become a sports fan, the Baltimore Colts were continually in playoff and championship games thanks to Johnny U’s leadership and performances on the field. I remember having a copy of this famous photo from the sudden death win over the Giants playoff game taped over my bed. Although I was only 8 years old at the time I can still recall the folks in Buzzy’s Country Store talking about the game. Johnny U was my guy.
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| Alan Ameche Scoring Winning Touchdown |
But then something happened to Johnny somewhere along the line as bad luck, father time and several injuries took their toll. Thru the mid to late 60’s I found myself rooting for him more as a sympathetic figure than as a super hero. Unitas and the Colts lost an embarrassing championship game 31-0 to the Cleveland Browns in 1964. In 65 they lost to the Green Bay Packers in a one game playoff with Johnny on the bench injured. And then of course they lost Super Bowl III to Joe Namath and the Jets in 69 when again Johnny was on the bench for most of the time.
And yet I didn’t blame Johnny personally for any of these losses because after all remember, he was my guy. However, kind of like a lot of things in life, I learned very young that sports heroes could and would ultimately break your heart if you let them. Thus, I’ve been careful with my “heroes” ever since.
Leaving a Ravens pre-season game a few weeks ago with my ten year old Grandson Shawn, I asked an usher “What’s the best way for us to head back downtown?” The usher gestured towards the statue of Unitas in front of the stadium and said “Johnny U points the way. Just follow in that direction.” Sounded like good advice to me. As we passed the statue, Shawn asked me who Johnny Unitas was. Without hesitating I replied “The greatest quarterback ever.” I lied only a little because when I was 10 years old he really was. And accordingly, he always will be.
