A legend reflects on his life

 

There's a long, intimate, and very readable article over at ESPN titled "Joe Montana Was Here".  It's a lengthy look at his life, career, and all he's done after leaving the sporting arena.

I'm not a big fan of American football;  after all, I wasn't exposed to it until my mid-30's, when I moved here, so I still don't understand all the rules.  I'm used to English Rugby Union football.  (Why, in American football, does it often look as if the players have a license to fold, spindle and mutilate everyone except the man with the ball?)  Nevertheless, even in a premier Rugby Union country like South Africa, where we never saw a televised American football game, we'd heard of Joe Montana.  His personal legend was that powerful;  the "comeback kid" who never gave up.

Here's just one brief vignette from a long and entertaining article.

They were in Italy. Joe and Jennifer, their girls. His parents. Her parents. They got to Sicily, to the town where his mother's family lived. They wandered into a little restaurant on a side street. The owner of the place played a trumpet whenever the mood struck. The grown-ups drank three bottles of wine.

The waiter came up to Alexandra. She was 18 months old.

"Vino, prego," she said. The adults roared approval.

"I can't give you wine," the waiter said kindly.

"OK," she replied. "Beer then."

The room erupted. The staff loved this big American family. The Montanas ate and laughed. The owner played his horn. Later, the Montanas moved outside and found a nearby park where a man played accordion and local couples danced in the dust. The Montana girls joined in. Joe watched, smiling, holding on to the picture of it in his mind.

There's much more at the link.

The article's not just for sports fans, but for everyone who likes a good, heart-warming human interest story.  If you're among them, click over there and read it.  You'll enjoy it.

Peter