To Valhalla!

I neglected to mention the passing of Don Shula yesterday. He was the consummate coach. A class act. A guy who literally won it all (though Howard Cossell famously chided him for going 2-5 in super bowls...). A guy who did it an era when football didn't enjoy the popularity it does now. A guy who did it with almost no game film and very few coaches.

As he said along the way, you adapt your style to fit the players, not the other way around. And that worked out well for him.

I met him once or twice along the way, and he was nice enough. Maybe not the nicest, most genuine person, but I enjoyed it anyway.

There are great stories from his playing days and his coaching days. Everyone he played with or who played for him has a story.

But the one that I heard which I love was just how anonymous he was. He had just gone 17-0 and he and his wife went on a vacation to a small town. They went into a movie theater and as they sat down, they got an ovation from the small crowd.

Don asks someone if they knew who he was and the person responded "I have no idea. They just told us if there weren't 10 people in the theater, they weren't showing the movie. And then you and your wife came in"

May the football gods welcome you warmly. Surely they know who you are.