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FBF All Star Running Back!
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
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Influence not really optional
Quote:
Influence not really optional
By The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 08/09/2007 12:43:13 AM MDT
The clock showed 10 minutes 'til 10 p.m., long past a young baseball fan's bedtime, and what was a father to do?
As slugger Barry Bonds cheated history with a controversial home run, the tough parental decision was already made.
When John Lynch is not playing safety for the Broncos, he's a dad of four kids, including an 8-year-old son named Jake.
"It's a shame, because I would've loved to have broken the bedtime rules, kept my son up and watched that (home run), because watching a record being broken together, those are the things you remember years later about your dad. But I didn't even think about waking up my son," said Lynch, who coached his kid's pee-wee baseball team this summer. "You can't believe how young these kids come up and ask you, 'What are steroids?"'
Maybe we need to recalculate how to measure the true merits of a sports hero.
For eternity, the number 756 will live in baseball infamy. Long after Bonds puts down his bat and retires from the game, ugly memories of his scowl will linger.
But, in Denver, the man who wears No. 47 for the Broncos always elicits a smile, because Lynch stands for so much more than football.
The first place for any child to look for a role model is at home.
Lynch believes Charles Barkley spoke the hard truth when the basketball superstar suggested parents should not depend on athletes to teach kids how to live the right way.
"But whether you should be a role model, you are," said Lynch, who embraces the idea he will be judged by far more than his number of interceptions or how many ball carriers he jacks up with hard knocks. "Kids are going to be crushed if they open the newspaper and see something bad. I believe it's a responsibility (to be a role model), and one you've got to take seriously."
You don't have to be a Broncomaniac or even a football follower to feel lucky Lynch has called Denver home since 2004.
Some experts believe the most difficult feat in sports is hitting a baseball. But it's not nearly as impressive as an athlete who opens his heart to a city.
Although the NFL does not keep official statistics for generosity, Lynch must rank near the top of the league's all-time list in autographs signed, public-service announcements recorded and salutes given to young athletes lauded for academic achievement or community service.
Let's face it, from tainted homers to that NBA ref slimed by scandal to a quarterback whose reputation has gone to the dogs, 2007 has been one bummer of a year to stand up and cheer.
We might all be tempted to turn out the scoreboard lights, go home and never come back if not for guys like Lynch.
Years ago, growing up in San Diego, Lynch was one of those snot-nosed kids screaming the names of his football heroes as weary and sweating Chargers trudged off the field at training camp.
"I know the feeling when a football player looks at you, then turns and walks away," Lynch said. "It happened to me. I won't name the player. But it was one of the big-name guys."
Lynch won Super Bowl XXXVII with Tampa Bay and has earned eight trips to the Pro Bowl in his pro career.
He never once thought being great on the field was enough.
"I was taught by my family to respect people, live by the Golden Rule, and treat folks like you would hope to be treated. My grandparents lived it. My parents lived it," Lynch said. "Is it hard to do? At times."
Lynch, however, feels an obligation take a family legacy and pay it forward.
That's why this 15th-year safety should be an absolute, mortal lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, if pride and character really do still matter for anything in American sports.
All you had to do was see the elation spreading across the face of a young fan upon collecting Lynch's autograph as the Broncos veteran jogged off the practice field.
The only statistic that really counts for a true sports hero is how many hearts were touched along the way.
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The Denver Post - Influence not really optional
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