How unfortunate it is when we finally realize heroes will die too.
That person who seemed bulletproof one day shows a weakness.
This probably happens for the first time with our parents.
Eventually, it hits you. They are getting older. They can’t solve all your problems.
And your dad might not be the strongest man in the world.
What age does this even happen?
Six? Seven? Maybe, Eight?
You immediately wish you could go back.
And no – football is nothing to base a life on.
He’d coach for several more years, but now everyone realized that Iron Mike could die. “You knew he was going to flare out at some point,” Danny White told me. “Nobody can go on at that pace. He’s either going to have a breakdown, or he’s got to get out of the game. Landry coached for twenty-nine years, but you can only do that if you have a calm demeanor and a balance in your life, something other than football. But to Mike, football was life. And it’s not something to base a life on. It’s not dependable. That’s what Walter [Payton] said about the fame and fortune of football: it’s vapor. When it’s gone, it’s gone. Somebody breaks the records, the money gets spent, and it’s over before you know it.”
-Rich Cohen, Monsters
