Old Heroes Never Die
Another grim workday ends. Thousands of commuters are taking the train home, quiet and desperate. Among them Steve Grogan rests his eyes. If you don’t know who that is don’t feel bad. Most of the other riders don’t know either. I’ll give you a hint, he’s Tom Brady from a simpler time. And everyone knows Brady. There’s nothing wrong with that but it says something profound about our world.
The talented Grogan, a member of the Patriots Hall of Fame, might have been the toughest quarterback ever. He could take a vicious hit and keep coming.
As the train rolls south no one else notices him. He’s not trying to be noticed but none of the Patriots fans (who isn’t a Pats fan these days) on board recognize an all-time great. The same two dudes who regularly dissect plays like they’re John Madden ignore him. When I got on that train my first reaction was, “holy smokes Steve Grogan.” This was a player I mimicked when I was a little kid tossing around a Nerf football.
Sports are so huge now that figures like Brady or even Dustin Pedroia aren’t just stars they’re the biggest of celebrities. The larger pro-sports get the further they move from their gritty base. There was a time when the only people who followed and/or went to sporting events were those who actually liked sports.
Whether it’s the corporate crowd at Fenway who think Yaz is some new cocktail or the insane amount of coverage an injured player gets I’m baffled by the change.
After THE INJURY the local news did nearly a half hour on poor Tom Brady’s knee. They were talking to inconsolable fans and reacting as if referring to the JFK assassination. Am I from a different planet?
“Sports heroes” were once a part of the community. In this area especially they lived among us. After he was let go by the Red Sox, I ran into manager Joe Morgan (aka Walpole Joe). He’d just finished a round of golf at Heather Hill Country Club in Plainville. We never even talked baseball. Instead, the man behind Morgan Magic detailed his round and kept calling me kid. I’m not begrudging anyone but players or managers now wouldn’t/couldn’t do that without being mobbed.
Grogan was wearing what looked like his AFC championship ring. Great stuff, but those days are gone. I don’t think we’ll get to see a team of underdogs again. A group of unknowns and journeymen aren’t going to be capturing anyone’s imagination. Too much money is at stake.
Entertainment overrides all in American life. This is the kind of stuff that signals an empire’s decline. No, that’s too heavy. Things change. But not too much. As I was about to get off the train, I looked over and saw a guy in an old Pat the Patriot sweatshirt. He nodded at me and then at the old QB. No doubt he was thinking about some long gone touchdown pass.
This column originally appeared in The Sun Chronicle