I don’t get it. Here is a man who has broken, or was on the VERGE of breaking, every rushing record in the NFL. He could start on ANY team in the NFL even today, and is probably better than most (if not all)running backs playing today. He stops playing when he HADN’T EVEN REACHED HIS PEAK, and now shows up on retirement and Coors Light Commercials. HELP, guys! What happened in the FIRST place to lead to his retirement? Why has he stayed retired? Has anyone heard anything about him coming back? Hey…he was healthy when he left (I think), and left on his own terms…all that is admirable, but are those things the only reason why he left? If ANY of you have ANY insights, please share them with me and the Forum! The Lion is perplexed…
Barry had enough with all of it. He showed up & kicked butt for yrs. He says it’s time to move on to something else. He’s wants to be able to walk when he’s fifty. Smart guy.
I am from Detroit and am a Lions fans and a huge Barry Sanders fan. Barry NEVER had a passion for the game. He was a lunch pail, punch-in, punch-out kind of guy. To him it was a job, not the dream. Barry just got tired of the game. There have been rumors on and off about him returning, but I can say he is a man of his word, and when he said he was done for good, he meant it. He has never even hinted about returning, he has always maintained he was done. Would be nice, retired multi-millionare at the age of 30.
I thought it was a ploy so that he could get out of his contract with the miserable Lions. How sad that it was for real! Respect due to another man short in stature and bad as hell. But I gotta say, Barry, stop being a puss and get back on the field.
as i recall the old coach from down here (San Diego) Bobby Ross, had a kinda fall out w/ Sanders w/in a year of moving to Detroit. Sanders had his wokout regimine, much harder than the teams. He said the teams got in his way and didn’t want to do the preseason boot-camp workouts, Bobby Ross, was a dumbass and didn’t yield. That’s a loss of a legend for you.
My understanding is that he left because he is still healthy. Just like Robert Smith. Both well-rounded guys who just have other interests, I guess.
other activities? move on? To what? stamp collecting. There is no move-on unless you are a 1. puss 2. you have had about 9 concussions and you are a quarterback.
I believe that was an Origanl Coors commercial, not Coors Light.
The basis for Sander’s retirement was the Lion’s perennial ability to lose or not get far in the playoffs. He realized he was never going to win anything there shortly after signing a long term deal with a huge signing bonus. He retired as a cop-out of the contract, in the hopes of landing a gig with another team eventually. However, the Lions Organization struck back by forcing him to return something like 80% of his 10 or 12 million dollar signing bonus. Other than that, I guess he has enjoyed retirement since he’s been out and not landed with another team.
Football is like the only professional sport that I follow. I recall hearing that Barry Sanders retired since he was on pace to break the record for yards or something of maybe Walter Payton, who was really sick at the time?