It seems like every other week or every month as of late a former NFL great passes away...It seems that none really make it past the the "ripe old age of 70 " either. Am I imagining things? Obituaries seem like broken records, "ex-NFL player 60 something dies of natural causes"! Just recently John Mackey[another Colt] and now beloved Bubba Smith . Sad beyond words .
Bubba was a great one...All 6 feet seven inches of him. He dominated from the defensive end position, first with the Michigan State Spartans, then the Baltimore Colts for 5 years where he played in the 1969 Super Bowl loss to Joe Namath and the Jets and then was part of the Colts 1971 Super Bowl championship team.
Two time pro bowler and one time all-pro . He was a force almost always requiring double teams. After the Colts he played a total of four more years with Oakland and Houston. Had a successful acting career , most notably in the Police Acadamey Series. Seemingly had it all!
But did he? Is it more than coincidence that so many former NFL players are passing away so young. I'd be very interested to see the average age that former NFL PLAYERS FROM THE 1950'S AND 1960'S live to . Probably shocking. My heart hurts for their families.
So while we celebrate "Bubba" and mourn his loss , where does that leave us ? More studies, continued reduction in hits to the head, better medical treatment, followups and monitoring of former players..better medicine, better benefits.
We can't just go on worshipping these studs, living vicariously through them and then just let them fade away into obscurity both literally and figuritively . It sucks!
Something has to be done and real soon! And I'm talking to you NFL owners when I say that!
God bless you Bubba!
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