Barry Sanders #20
OK, so he wore my lucky number throughout his career. But that's not the reason he's one of my idols. Barry Sanders carried his Lions on his shoulders throughout his career. He never complained or had a strong offensive line blocking for him. Every accomplishment was achieved through sheer will and determination. After giving his heart and soul to one franchise for his entire career and not having anyone shouldering the load with him, he walked away on his own terms. When he broke the single-season rushing record a couple years ago, he did it with his quick legs, unbelievable mobility, and self-motivated determination. In today's NFL, touchdown celebrations tend to go just a bit too far from time to time, Barry, however, was the true, humble, sportsmanlike player, just handing the ball back to the referee and jogging back to the sidelines. Had he opted to stay in the NFL a little longer, Emmitt Smith might have been chasing Barry's all-time rushing record instead of Walter Payton's (may he rest in peace). Sometimes fate has its strange ways of working things out.
Check out #20 doing what he did best, going off a long run against the Bears.
