Heroes
Posted by GSDispatch Editor in by Joe Posnanski, Community, GSD Online
John Glaser
A few years back, I wrote a column about then Kansas City Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil that drew about as much response as anything I wrote for The Kansas City Star. I firmly believe Vermeil is a great guy, but we all know that he could get pretty wrapped up in his life — the guy did quit coaching for years after burning out — and we all know that he could get very emotional, win or lose. That day, he was announcing the resignation of defensive coordinator Greg Robinson. And he kind of lost his mind.
“A lot of you don’t know what a real man is,” Vermeil said more than once. His point seemed to be that Robinson was a real man. No, he was more than a real man. He was a hero. He gave his heart to his job. He sacrificed for his team. He was willing to pay the price. He was a hero! The clear-cut evidence that Robinson was a lousy defensive coordinator did not really enter into things. Robinson had fought bravely. He had fallen on his sword in defeat. And this was a kind of gallantry that people in the room, mere scribblers and camera holders and talkers, could not possibly comprehend.
Now, most of the time coaches will get away with such insults because, let’s face it, not too many people really like media types. But, this little speech was a little too far out there. I mean, there were war veterans in the room. There were hard-working people scrambling to put food on the table for their families. There were people who had done numerous heroic things. And, beyond that room, there were real people, hundreds of thousands of real people, living their lives, dealing with tragedies, helping others, dedicating themselves … and they really did not need to be lectured by a rich football coach who merely accepted the resignation of another football coach who wasn’t getting the job done.
I wrote the column mostly saying that. And I must admit, I was surprised by the passion in the reaction. Like I say — I think Dick Vermeil is a good man. I suspect he was emotional because the Chiefs were coming off a heart-wrenching playoff loss to Indianapolis (neither team punted all game) and because his team had wasted one of the great offensive seasons in NFL history. But whatever the reason, his little speech really hit people wrong, and I think the big reason is built around the whole idea of what “hero” really means to all of us.
Here’s what I think: There are real heroes all over the place — personal heroes. They are in our daily lives. Some of them serve our country. Some of them serve our community. Some of them just try their hardest every day. These heroes don’t often get headlines. They don’t often do press conferences. My father is my hero — he went to the factory day after day to support a family of five and then came home covered in oil and he would go into the backyard and play catch with me. My mother is my hero — she came to this country in 1964 and she taught me about the power of words and, later in life, she went back to college and became a computer programmer. My friend is my hero, going to work at a school of troubled kids every day, working with them, helping them, making demands of them then going home to his own children and finding the energy to be with them, challenge them, whatever they need. I know a young man who went to Iraq to teach Democracy and almost lost his life — he’s my hero too.
And so on. We all know these people. Look, coaches can be heroes too — I hear from people all the time who talk about how a coach changed them, saved them, inspired them. I believe in that. Heroes come in many shades and many forms. Buck O’Neil, I believe, was a hero because he inspired anyone lucky enough to meet him to be a better person.
Then, of course, there is another kind of hero. “From these honored dead,” Abraham Lincoln said of those who died at Gettysburg, “we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.” These are, I believe, the most perfect words ever written about those who died heroically. We can only take increased devotion in their honor. And it never feels like quite enough.
People send me so many stories about these heroes who passed away — fathers and mothers, children and neighbors, people who died too young and people who died after a lifetime of giving and people who died while trying to save others. Sometimes people want me to write about these heroes, but surprisingly often they do not. They have read my columns for years. And they just want me to know.
In the last couple of days, I’ve heard from a few people who wanted me to pass along a story of one of these heroes. I did not know him. But I do think the story might touch you. John Glaser lived in Kansas City — he worked in sales at Hallmark. And not long after 9/11 he felt like his life was missing something. He packed up his bags and moved to Florida. He didn’t have a job. He didn’t have any big ideas. He was searching. [...]
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