When you have fervently followed your favorite sports team for decades, you put their stars and players on an imaginary pedestal.
It’s a natural outcome. As I’ve talked about before, I grew up in Pittsburgh when the city’s NFL team, the Steelers, won four Super Bowls in the 1970s.
So the Steelers of that decade are much revered.One of their biggest stars, Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris, died suddenly last month, and that hurt.
He was not only my favorite Steeler, but I also got to know him and was honored that he invited me to his Hall of Fame induction ceremony in the summer of 1990 that included a brunch with former NFL greats and a party that evening at the Pittsburgh Hilton, where I met so many of my heroes from those Super Bowl teams.