1
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[fax machine buzzing]

2
00:00:11,345 --> 00:00:13,681
[upbeat music]

3
00:00:13,764 --> 00:00:16,350
[beeping]

4
00:00:16,434 --> 00:00:19,103
[clicking, whirring]

5
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[woman] <i>Barry Sanders played his hand
today, revealing his desire to retire.</i>

6
00:00:23,357 --> 00:00:27,570
- [man 1] <i>Barry Sanders will retire.</i>
- [man 2] <i>The day before training camp.</i>

7
00:00:27,653 --> 00:00:31,031
[man 3] He didn't have a press conference,
he sends a fax in.

8
00:00:32,742 --> 00:00:33,784
Fax machine?

9
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[woman] <i>He does not want to talk
to anybody, doesn't want to see anybody.</i>

10
00:00:37,621 --> 00:00:40,666
[woman 2] <i>Shocking announcement
has thousands of fans feeling flustered.</i>

11
00:00:40,750 --> 00:00:43,669
People are very disgusted
with the way Barry handled this.

12
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[host] I've got an email that says,
"Until yesterday,

13
00:00:45,796 --> 00:00:47,590
O.J. was my least favorite NFL runner,

14
00:00:47,673 --> 00:00:49,467
but he only stabbed
two people in the back.

15
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[upbeat music continues]

16
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There's all these conspiracies
of why he did that.

17
00:01:01,896 --> 00:01:04,482
- Well, I've heard a number of things.
- A lot of it doesn't make sense.

18
00:01:04,565 --> 00:01:07,026
[man] <i>Was Barry frustrated
playing for a losing team?</i>

19
00:01:07,109 --> 00:01:09,278
[man 2]
<i>Is this possibly a bargaining ploy?</i>

20
00:01:09,361 --> 00:01:13,115
- Everybody's trying to figure out why.
- I don't remember if I asked him why.

21
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- Yo, you walked away early.
- It was the right time for me.

22
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I'm a little part of the reason
why Barry retired.

23
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[man] <i>Was it friction with his coach,
Bobby Ross?</i>

24
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He's always had bad coaching.

25
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I had called Barry perhaps ten times,

26
00:01:30,674 --> 00:01:34,220
wrote him three to four
personal handwritten letters.

27
00:01:34,303 --> 00:01:38,265
Whether it's coaching or whether it's
front office, whether it's ownership.

28
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[man] <i>Was he just plain burned out?
Who knows?</i>

29
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[man 2]
To walk away at the height of his career,

30
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we might have had two or three or four
more good years left. That takes guts.

31
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[woman] I mean, he has his dad talk
for him and his coach talk for him.

32
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Can't he talk?

33
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[man] <i>All we know is Sanders ran
to daylight again, taking off for London.</i>

34
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[man 2] <i>Barry Sanders is in London.</i>

35
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[man 3] <i>Turns out somebody found out
he was going to be there.</i>

36
00:02:00,371 --> 00:02:02,289
<i>And so he actually had cameras
waiting for him.</i>

37
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What the fuck? Wow.

38
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[♪ Eminem: "Cinderella Man"]

39
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[man] I've seen every documentary
on Barry Sanders that there is to see,

40
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{\an8}and I've never walked away feeling
like I knew why he walked away.

41
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<i>♪ Who could catch lightning in a bottle ♪</i>

42
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<i>♪ Set fire to water
coming out the nozzle ♪</i>

43
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<i>♪ On the fire hose
Flyer than swatters ♪</i>

44
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[Eminem] Still to this day,
everybody talks about him.

45
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He's the greatest running back
to ever play the game.

46
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And I know that he walked away at a time
when he could have broken

47
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every single record there ever was
and ever will be.

48
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So why did he walk away?

49
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<i>♪ Catching lightning, he struck it
Screamed shut up at thunder ♪</i>

50
00:02:45,583 --> 00:02:48,586
<i>♪ And flipped the world upside down
and made it rain upward ♪</i>

51
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<i>♪ Cinderella man, Cinderella man
Cinderella man ♪</i>

52
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You know,
I don't take that question lightly.

53
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It's really hard to explain.

54
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<i>♪ He's the shit right now ♪</i>

55
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<i>♪ Cinderella man, Cinderella man
Cinderella man, Cinderella man ♪</i>

56
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♪ <i>Cinderella man ♪</i>

57
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[dramatic music plays]

58
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[man] I always view Barry as...
it's like an artist

59
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will convey their personality
in their work.

60
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They may not be dynamic,
but what they do is dynamic.

61
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Barry was every bit Picasso or Rembrandt

62
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or whoever you want to throw out.

63
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He was an original.

64
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He was somebody that when you watched him,

65
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you added the words
because Barry didn't describe himself.

66
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He didn't want to. Didn't care to.

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{\an8}He left it up to your interpretation
of what you saw.

68
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{\an8}And that always fascinated me.

69
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[music continues]

70
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[Patrick] He didn't have a brand.
He didn't need to be famous.

71
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He was going to be famous.

72
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But he didn't really care
about telling you about being famous.

73
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{\an8}[man on TV] <i>You are looking live
at the Marriott Marquis ballroom</i>

74
00:04:27,726 --> 00:04:31,563
{\an8}<i>just a couple of ticks past noon
Eastern time here in New York City,</i>

75
00:04:31,647 --> 00:04:34,650
{\an8}<i>as the 1989 NFL draft is about to begin.</i>

76
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{\an8}The 1989 draft class
was one of the best in NFL history.

77
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Troy Aikman, Hall of Famer.

78
00:04:43,117 --> 00:04:44,827
Derrick Thomas, Hall of Famer.

79
00:04:44,910 --> 00:04:47,496
Neon Deion! [laughs]

80
00:04:47,579 --> 00:04:52,292
{\an8}Cowboys select
Troy Aikman, quarterback, UCLA.

81
00:04:52,376 --> 00:04:54,628
{\an8}Next up, the Green Bay Packers.

82
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{\an8}Tackle Tony Mandarich, Michigan State.

83
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Next up, Detroit Lions.

84
00:05:01,385 --> 00:05:05,347
{\an8}I had a pretty good idea
that I was coming to Detroit.

85
00:05:05,431 --> 00:05:08,767
Coach Fontes was like, "Young man,
if you're coming out of college,

86
00:05:08,851 --> 00:05:10,269
we're going to pick you."

87
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Detroit Lions.

88
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Detroit Lions select...

89
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- Barry Sanders.
- [cheering]

90
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Running back of Oklahoma State.

91
00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:24,074
Barry Sanders, the Heisman Trophy winner,
the true junior that came out.

92
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And he goes to the Detroit Lions.

93
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Our Dan Patrick has been with Sanders
out in Wichita.

94
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{\an8}[Patrick] Well, I thought
we had an agreement on draft day.

95
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I said, "Look, I'm going to come out
and we need to do an interview."

96
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And he said, "Okay."

97
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And then I got out there, he got drafted,
and then we couldn't find him.

98
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{\an8}The Atlanta Falcons first round choice,

99
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{\an8}Deion Sanders, cornerback, Florida State.

100
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I was kind of scared.
I thought Detroit was going to take me.

101
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I woulda asked for so much money,
they'd have had to put me on layaway.

102
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[woman] On layaway, uh-huh.
No baseball leverage there.

103
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{\an8}[Patrick] So now ESPN is going, "I thought
you had a relationship with him."

104
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{\an8}I go, "I do." And then they would say,

105
00:06:03,947 --> 00:06:06,909
{\an8}"Well, let us know
when you found Barry Sanders."

106
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I mean, it sounds strange to say...
I couldn't find him.

107
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And people in his family
that weren't quite sure where he was.

108
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Like, it was just odd.

109
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But then that's... that's Barry.

110
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[Patrick on TV] Back here in Wichita,
and we're finding out

111
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{\an8}Barry Sanders is just as elusive
off the field as he is on the field.

112
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We finally tracked him down
after a couple of hours.

113
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We had sightings of you going to church.

114
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We had sightings of you
going to the airport to go to Detroit.

115
00:06:32,184 --> 00:06:35,479
- Where have you been?
- I've been at home, uh,

116
00:06:35,562 --> 00:06:37,231
watching the draft. First, I watched...

117
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{\an8}[Patrick] And there was part of me
when I did the interview,

118
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{\an8}like, I was a little bit pissed at him
because it's like, help me out here.

119
00:06:43,112 --> 00:06:46,657
And I'm like... It came back to...

120
00:06:46,740 --> 00:06:49,243
he just wanted to go play football.

121
00:06:49,326 --> 00:06:52,788
You're one of the shyer persons
I've ever met,

122
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and you didn't want to
meet the media today.

123
00:06:55,290 --> 00:06:57,876
You didn't want to go to Detroit
to meet the media up there.

124
00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,046
Pretty tough to be a pro athlete
and stay out of the spotlight there, bud.

125
00:07:01,130 --> 00:07:06,927
It's a... I think I'm being...
I'm being read wrong, I think.

126
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{\an8}It's not that I'm shy.
You know, I'm not shy.

127
00:07:10,389 --> 00:07:12,432
{\an8}Uh, well, like I say, I don't...

128
00:07:12,516 --> 00:07:15,269
{\an8}I mean, some things
are just unnecessary, you know?

129
00:07:15,352 --> 00:07:20,023
And I'm not trying to downplay
what you guys do, you know.

130
00:07:20,107 --> 00:07:23,777
But you have to respect my judgment
and the way I am as a person, too.

131
00:07:23,861 --> 00:07:28,157
You know, uh, I mean,
every individual is different, you know?

132
00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:31,076
And I don't... I'm learning now,
the people in these...

133
00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:33,620
in situations like this,
people don't really...

134
00:07:33,704 --> 00:07:37,082
They don't really care about you,
you know? And that's all I'll say.

135
00:07:37,166 --> 00:07:38,417
They don't really care about you.

136
00:07:38,500 --> 00:07:40,627
They just pretty much want
what they can get out of you.

137
00:07:40,711 --> 00:07:43,839
But I don't know.
That's just something I have to deal with.

138
00:07:44,631 --> 00:07:46,967
[Sanders] I mean,
it's certainly something,

139
00:07:47,050 --> 00:07:48,927
when you talk about the spotlight.

140
00:07:49,011 --> 00:07:51,555
I think for some people
that's almost second nature

141
00:07:51,638 --> 00:07:53,265
and that's something they enjoy.

142
00:07:53,348 --> 00:07:57,186
Um, and me, on the other hand,

143
00:07:57,269 --> 00:08:01,231
I mean, that's not something
I naturally do and naturally,

144
00:08:01,315 --> 00:08:02,941
you know, sort of gravitate towards.

145
00:08:03,025 --> 00:08:04,860
It just was not important to me.

146
00:08:05,652 --> 00:08:08,989
{\an8}Barry was never interested
in promoting himself.

147
00:08:09,072 --> 00:08:12,409
{\an8}That role was reserved specifically
for William Sanders.

148
00:08:13,744 --> 00:08:17,414
[woman] <i>Barry may be exceptionally humble,
but his father makes up for it.</i>

149
00:08:17,497 --> 00:08:19,499
<i>He's one of Barry's greatest fans</i>

150
00:08:19,583 --> 00:08:22,377
<i>who is very proud
of his son's accomplishments.</i>

151
00:08:22,461 --> 00:08:24,671
[William Sanders] I'm so proud
of what's happened to Barry.

152
00:08:24,755 --> 00:08:26,965
{\an8}I know Barry don't...
Barry don't want it.

153
00:08:27,049 --> 00:08:29,218
{\an8}If he wants it,
he wants it for his father.

154
00:08:29,301 --> 00:08:34,139
Because he know how I feel about him
and my friends back home in Wichita.

155
00:08:34,223 --> 00:08:37,434
[Sanders] My dad. One thing you
know about him is he's his own man.

156
00:08:38,477 --> 00:08:40,312
He was opinionated, you know,

157
00:08:40,395 --> 00:08:42,814
and he was going to
let his voice be heard.

158
00:08:42,898 --> 00:08:45,943
He craved the spotlight.
He wanted to talk to us.

159
00:08:46,026 --> 00:08:48,362
He liked when we'd come around
with the cameras and reporters.

160
00:08:48,445 --> 00:08:50,489
He always would give somebody something.

161
00:08:50,572 --> 00:08:53,367
{\an8}What make him so special
is 'cause he's a Sanders.

162
00:08:57,287 --> 00:08:59,581
He's my son.
That's what make him special.

163
00:08:59,665 --> 00:09:04,628
[Sanders] Dad was a handyman,
which included roofing and painting

164
00:09:04,711 --> 00:09:07,256
and doing, you know, remodels.

165
00:09:07,339 --> 00:09:10,926
Most of my free time
was spent working with Dad,

166
00:09:11,677 --> 00:09:15,347
starting when I was maybe ten,
12 years old.

167
00:09:15,430 --> 00:09:19,351
It wasn't that he needed help, but it
was just that he wanted to make sure

168
00:09:19,434 --> 00:09:20,811
me and my brother were with him

169
00:09:20,894 --> 00:09:24,022
just because that's what he felt
like we needed to do.

170
00:09:24,106 --> 00:09:27,484
[man] He was such a stickler
for doing things perfect.

171
00:09:27,567 --> 00:09:31,488
{\an8}He wanted things done right and perfect,
and you had to make sure you did it right.

172
00:09:31,571 --> 00:09:34,741
{\an8}Daddy would say,
"I'm your father, not your friend."

173
00:09:34,825 --> 00:09:36,702
{\an8}So we wouldn't get it twisted
or mixed up.

174
00:09:36,785 --> 00:09:40,622
We had eight-foot ceilings in the house,
and Barry could jump,

175
00:09:40,706 --> 00:09:44,668
and every time he come to a door,
he want to jump up and touch the ceiling.

176
00:09:44,751 --> 00:09:47,004
And that was one of our little pet peeves.

177
00:09:47,087 --> 00:09:49,423
After I threatened
to break his arms and legs

178
00:09:49,506 --> 00:09:52,009
for doing that, he stopped.

179
00:09:52,759 --> 00:09:55,178
[Sanders] Certainly he was
a passionate football fan

180
00:09:55,262 --> 00:09:58,348
and a lot of my love for the game
definitely comes from him.

181
00:09:59,141 --> 00:10:02,728
- [woman] Look at him! Look at that strut!
- [indistinct chatter]

182
00:10:02,811 --> 00:10:04,396
Look like I used to run.

183
00:10:04,479 --> 00:10:06,648
[laughter]

184
00:10:06,732 --> 00:10:08,275
[woman] I knew he was gonna say that.

185
00:10:08,358 --> 00:10:12,571
[Sanders] He was always probably my
biggest fan, but also my biggest critic.

186
00:10:13,363 --> 00:10:14,781
[William] He couldn't outrun me.

187
00:10:14,865 --> 00:10:18,201
And I told Barry if I had...
if I put him in my offense,

188
00:10:18,285 --> 00:10:20,078
he might have never touched the ball.

189
00:10:20,162 --> 00:10:22,080
[Boyd] Dad is true to form.

190
00:10:22,164 --> 00:10:23,874
He's always said... [laughs]

191
00:10:23,957 --> 00:10:25,709
who he thought
were the best running backs.

192
00:10:25,792 --> 00:10:30,213
[man] We all knew that since he was a kid.
Top three running backs: Jim Brown,

193
00:10:30,297 --> 00:10:32,299
{\an8}Mr. Sanders, and then Barry.

194
00:10:32,382 --> 00:10:35,552
Me, I wouldn't do too bad now in a 40.

195
00:10:35,635 --> 00:10:38,722
And he would remind Barry,
no matter how great you are,

196
00:10:38,805 --> 00:10:40,974
{\an8}you'll never be better than Jim Brown.

197
00:10:42,768 --> 00:10:46,104
{\an8}He never wanted me to get too high
or too low in what I was doing.

198
00:10:46,188 --> 00:10:47,981
He's definitely different.

199
00:10:48,065 --> 00:10:50,359
But I can...
I mean, I can tell he's more relaxed.

200
00:10:50,442 --> 00:10:53,236
He's definitely not like a superstar
like you would expect.

201
00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:55,322
- Greg, if he did, I'd kill him.
- Would ya?

202
00:10:55,405 --> 00:10:58,867
But he was thrilled,
you know, to have his son being, um,

203
00:10:58,950 --> 00:11:01,453
you know, the number one guy
on a team in the NFL.

204
00:11:01,536 --> 00:11:04,206
- Yeah, Barry!
- [laughter]

205
00:11:04,289 --> 00:11:05,791
[man] All right, Dad.

206
00:11:05,874 --> 00:11:08,210
[soft music plays]

207
00:11:08,293 --> 00:11:11,755
[Sanders] I had, you know,
really known and heard about Detroit,

208
00:11:11,838 --> 00:11:13,548
really just through the news.

209
00:11:14,341 --> 00:11:16,093
For me, it felt almost overwhelming.

210
00:11:16,176 --> 00:11:19,805
You know, it was a much bigger city
than I'd ever been in or lived in.

211
00:11:19,888 --> 00:11:22,140
The late '80s, you know, it wasn't...

212
00:11:22,224 --> 00:11:25,852
You know, it wasn't sort of a,
you know, the greatest time for like,

213
00:11:25,936 --> 00:11:27,312
you know, Detroit proper.

214
00:11:28,146 --> 00:11:31,024
[woman] It was a rough time for the city.
There was a lot of crime.

215
00:11:31,108 --> 00:11:33,819
Detroit had a very negative perception

216
00:11:33,902 --> 00:11:37,823
{\an8}because nationally, the only time you saw
Detroit really spoken about

217
00:11:37,906 --> 00:11:40,867
{\an8}in the national news
was when the murder rate was released.

218
00:11:41,827 --> 00:11:45,372
Because usually Detroit
was somewhere in the top three.

219
00:11:46,665 --> 00:11:50,210
We were just so used to
being the national joke.

220
00:11:52,838 --> 00:11:55,507
It was kind of the same for the Lions.

221
00:11:59,344 --> 00:12:02,639
Their reputation, um, was not very good.

222
00:12:08,311 --> 00:12:13,316
{\an8}Every bad stat that you don't want,
the Lions are the number one.

223
00:12:18,613 --> 00:12:23,785
1957, that's the last year the Lions
won a world championship.

224
00:12:25,328 --> 00:12:26,663
You had to go there, didn't you?

225
00:12:26,746 --> 00:12:28,623
You grow up in a darkness.

226
00:12:30,250 --> 00:12:33,003
[announcer] <i>Frustrating afternoon
for the Detroit Lions.</i>

227
00:12:33,086 --> 00:12:36,631
[man] You're watching all
these incredible other teams go

228
00:12:36,715 --> 00:12:40,385
{\an8}and you just stay right here.

229
00:12:41,261 --> 00:12:43,263
[announcer] <i>Eight turnovers.</i>

230
00:12:44,514 --> 00:12:48,018
<i>And the second one
that goes for a touchdown.</i>

231
00:12:48,101 --> 00:12:50,395
[Daniels] Decades of darkness.

232
00:12:50,479 --> 00:12:54,733
[man] The identity of the Lions
going into 1989,

233
00:12:54,816 --> 00:12:58,653
{\an8}it was same old Lions.
They were 4-12. They're horrible.

234
00:12:58,737 --> 00:13:01,031
- [cheering]
- But there was a level of hope

235
00:13:01,114 --> 00:13:04,826
because Wayne Fontes had taken over
as head coach.

236
00:13:05,619 --> 00:13:09,331
And Wayne was one of the best salesmen
that you could ever meet.

237
00:13:09,414 --> 00:13:13,043
{\an8}I want to sell the people in Michigan,

238
00:13:13,126 --> 00:13:17,005
{\an8}in Detroit area,
that the Detroit Lions are for real.

239
00:13:17,088 --> 00:13:20,050
I want them back. We need the people back.

240
00:13:20,133 --> 00:13:23,929
He sold the Lions gonna be different,
and he sold it on,

241
00:13:24,012 --> 00:13:25,430
"We got Barry Sanders."

242
00:13:25,514 --> 00:13:27,516
[cameras clicking]

243
00:13:28,767 --> 00:13:30,101
[Fontes] Ladies and gentlemen,

244
00:13:30,185 --> 00:13:33,605
I'd like at this time to introduce to you

245
00:13:33,688 --> 00:13:36,483
one of the finest running backs
in the United States of America

246
00:13:36,566 --> 00:13:40,403
and our number one pick, Barry Sanders.

247
00:13:41,446 --> 00:13:43,907
[Sanders] When I was drafted,
I guess I would have been 20,

248
00:13:43,990 --> 00:13:47,452
but I was so excited
and I was looking forward

249
00:13:47,536 --> 00:13:51,122
to the challenge of playing in the NFL.

250
00:13:51,206 --> 00:13:53,667
It's really good to be here in Detroit.

251
00:13:53,750 --> 00:13:56,127
I really feel... I feel good

252
00:13:56,211 --> 00:13:59,965
and I feel it's a privilege
to be one of the players

253
00:14:00,048 --> 00:14:03,468
that will help
restore the roar in the Dome.

254
00:14:03,552 --> 00:14:05,512
[cameras clicking]

255
00:14:05,595 --> 00:14:06,888
Get drafted.

256
00:14:06,972 --> 00:14:10,976
{\an8}And then I signed
the week of the first game.

257
00:14:11,059 --> 00:14:14,396
{\an8}The plan was not to play the first game.

258
00:14:14,479 --> 00:14:17,691
Just to put my uniform on,
let the fans see me.

259
00:14:17,774 --> 00:14:21,069
[laughs] That's... at least, that's
what I was told going into the game.

260
00:14:21,152 --> 00:14:23,863
{\an8}[announcer]
<i>Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.</i>

261
00:14:23,947 --> 00:14:27,492
{\an8}<i>Crowd of about 40,000,
half-filled here at the Silverdome.</i>

262
00:14:28,868 --> 00:14:31,162
<i>Those kids can move up,
there are some empty seats.</i>

263
00:14:31,246 --> 00:14:33,039
<i>Join the crowd.</i>

264
00:14:33,123 --> 00:14:36,334
[Peete] And they didn't see him
in the backfield to start the game,

265
00:14:36,418 --> 00:14:39,879
that's when they started.
Barry, Barry, Barry!

266
00:14:39,963 --> 00:14:42,716
[crowd chanting] Barry!

267
00:14:42,799 --> 00:14:46,511
[announcer] <i>Waiting in the wings
on the sideline is Barry Sanders.</i>

268
00:14:46,595 --> 00:14:51,349
{\an8}<i>Signed a $9 million contract plus,
the highest paid Lion in history.</i>

269
00:14:51,433 --> 00:14:53,435
<i>Cardinals look like they're ready to come.</i>

270
00:14:54,019 --> 00:14:57,188
<i>Paige. A loss on the play of a couple.</i>

271
00:14:57,272 --> 00:15:00,609
<i>Tony Paige. He doesn't have nearly
the speed Barry Sanders has.</i>

272
00:15:00,692 --> 00:15:03,570
[announcer 2] <i>Obviously.
He runs about a 5.1 40.</i>

273
00:15:03,653 --> 00:15:06,615
[man] But you could feel
the uneasiness with the fans, like,

274
00:15:06,698 --> 00:15:08,366
{\an8}"Come on, man, what's going on?

275
00:15:08,450 --> 00:15:11,494
{\an8}What are you doing?
What point are you trying to prove?

276
00:15:11,578 --> 00:15:13,038
Put him in there."

277
00:15:13,121 --> 00:15:16,541
[announcer] <i>Barry Sanders is primed
in case his number is called.</i>

278
00:15:16,625 --> 00:15:18,335
[Peete] He didn't get in before half.

279
00:15:18,418 --> 00:15:20,003
And there were some boos.

280
00:15:20,086 --> 00:15:22,547
{\an8}[crowd booing]

281
00:15:22,631 --> 00:15:25,759
{\an8}[announcer] <i>I wouldn't be surprised if we
don't see Sanders on in the second half.</i>

282
00:15:25,842 --> 00:15:29,220
<i>I don't think the Lions
can beat the Cardinals without him.</i>

283
00:15:29,304 --> 00:15:31,514
The first part of the game
pretty much went as planned.

284
00:15:31,598 --> 00:15:33,516
I watched the game.

285
00:15:34,434 --> 00:15:35,810
[announcer]
<i>The Lions went to the dressing room.</i>

286
00:15:35,894 --> 00:15:39,314
<i>The crowd started chanting,
"Barry, Barry." We heard it again here.</i>

287
00:15:44,152 --> 00:15:46,404
[Sanders]
Around the end of the third quarter,

288
00:15:46,488 --> 00:15:51,660
Coach came to me and asked me,
did I want to go in the game? [laughs]

289
00:15:53,370 --> 00:15:56,790
And I wasn't going to turn that down.
So I said, "Absolutely."

290
00:15:57,791 --> 00:15:59,626
[announcer] <i>He's coming up to Fontes.</i>

291
00:15:59,709 --> 00:16:03,046
[Sanders] So they showed me
a few running plays on the sideline...

292
00:16:03,129 --> 00:16:05,674
[announcer] <i>You'll hear the cheer.</i>

293
00:16:05,757 --> 00:16:08,468
After I guess they felt
I had a pretty good handle on it,

294
00:16:08,551 --> 00:16:09,803
you know, they sent me in.

295
00:16:09,886 --> 00:16:12,472
- [announcer] <i>Here it is.</i>
- [crowd cheering]

296
00:16:29,197 --> 00:16:33,618
[announcer] <i>What kind of play might be
best for a Barry Sanders in his debut?</i>

297
00:16:37,205 --> 00:16:38,998
<i>And he gets the call.</i>

298
00:16:39,082 --> 00:16:43,962
<i>Cuts it back, reverses field, 25, 20!
He's to the 15! Barry Sanders!</i>

299
00:16:44,045 --> 00:16:47,841
<i>On his first NFL carry,
goes 19 yards!</i>

300
00:16:47,924 --> 00:16:50,051
[Sanders] I was off
and running in more ways than one.

301
00:16:50,135 --> 00:16:53,221
[announcer] <i>Well, you talk about
restoring the roar.</i>

302
00:16:53,304 --> 00:16:55,515
<i>Barry Sanders does it in one carry.</i>

303
00:16:55,598 --> 00:16:57,892
That Silverdome crowd really woke up,
and it was...

304
00:16:57,976 --> 00:17:00,562
To that point, I feel like
it had been a pretty boring game,

305
00:17:00,645 --> 00:17:02,439
but they came alive after that.

306
00:17:04,190 --> 00:17:08,278
[announcer] <i>This 40,000 crowd
sounds as if there are 70,000.</i>

307
00:17:13,533 --> 00:17:18,163
<i>Handoff Barry Sanders, left side!
Sanders breaks a tackle! Touchdown, Lions!</i>

308
00:17:19,330 --> 00:17:20,874
<i>Barry Sanders!</i>

309
00:17:21,791 --> 00:17:25,128
- [cheering]
- <i>Listen to this crowd!</i>

310
00:17:26,713 --> 00:17:28,673
<i>What a debut.</i>

311
00:17:31,843 --> 00:17:32,969
[announcer 2] <i>From the end zone,</i>

312
00:17:33,052 --> 00:17:35,513
<i>Barry Sanders is gonna
shake off two tackles.</i>

313
00:17:35,597 --> 00:17:38,767
<i>And now he knows exactly
how to get into that pay dirt.</i>

314
00:17:39,642 --> 00:17:42,312
[Sanders] Reaching pay dirt,
getting my first touchdown,

315
00:17:42,395 --> 00:17:44,189
it was such a thrill, man.

316
00:17:44,272 --> 00:17:49,110
It was as much a surprise to me
as it was to everyone else. [laughs]

317
00:17:49,694 --> 00:17:52,113
But it was also, I guess, almost a relief.

318
00:17:52,697 --> 00:17:54,991
[announcer] <i>It has been years
since the Detroit crowd</i>

319
00:17:55,074 --> 00:17:56,910
<i>has been this excited about the Lions,</i>

320
00:17:56,993 --> 00:18:00,038
<i>and Barry Sanders
has given them a shot in the arm.</i>

321
00:18:01,748 --> 00:18:04,542
{\an8}Right then and there, you knew
that we had something special

322
00:18:04,626 --> 00:18:07,337
{\an8}and something to build around
and something that was unique.

323
00:18:07,420 --> 00:18:09,214
And that's Barry.

324
00:18:09,297 --> 00:18:13,009
It was lightning
from the first snap that he took.

325
00:18:13,092 --> 00:18:16,429
And because of that,
Detroiters were just all-in.

326
00:18:16,513 --> 00:18:19,140
[dramatic music plays]

327
00:18:31,444 --> 00:18:34,531
[announcer] <i>Rolling right, draw play.
Barry Sanders... Touchdown, Lions!</i>

328
00:18:40,078 --> 00:18:42,372
[man] Barry was the messiah
when he came here.

329
00:18:42,455 --> 00:18:46,626
{\an8}Thank the football gods
for letting Barry fall into the hands

330
00:18:46,709 --> 00:18:50,338
{\an8}of the Detroit Lion fans
and the Detroit Lion organization.

331
00:18:50,421 --> 00:18:52,048
[music continues]

332
00:18:54,592 --> 00:18:57,720
[Sanders] I was very satisfied with,
you know, how the season started,

333
00:18:57,804 --> 00:19:00,181
but I wasn't really paying attention to,

334
00:19:00,265 --> 00:19:02,851
you know, how popular,
this, that, and the other.

335
00:19:02,934 --> 00:19:05,186
For me, it was I had to continue to go out

336
00:19:05,270 --> 00:19:07,105
and continue to prove myself,
I felt like.

337
00:19:07,188 --> 00:19:10,149
[announcer] <i>Another flag here
in the late going. Here's Sanders. Draw.</i>

338
00:19:10,233 --> 00:19:12,402
<i>Ran right around Bubba Baker!</i>

339
00:19:12,485 --> 00:19:16,990
<i>And with those 13 yards,
rookie Barry Sanders</i>

340
00:19:17,073 --> 00:19:20,869
<i>is over a thousand yards
and gets a standing ovation.</i>

341
00:19:23,288 --> 00:19:25,582
[Patrick] I just remember
he was so unassuming.

342
00:19:25,665 --> 00:19:29,502
The spotlight was on him,
but he never reacted to the spotlight.

343
00:19:30,253 --> 00:19:34,549
I did a story his first year in Detroit,

344
00:19:34,632 --> 00:19:37,635
and he agreed to do an interview.

345
00:19:37,719 --> 00:19:40,179
He said, "The only thing I ask,

346
00:19:40,263 --> 00:19:44,309
the only thing, when I get out of my car
in the parking lot,

347
00:19:44,392 --> 00:19:49,188
I don't want you to have a camera there
following me down the tunnel,

348
00:19:49,272 --> 00:19:51,983
the loading dock,
where the players would go in."

349
00:19:52,066 --> 00:19:55,111
He said,
"I don't want the veterans to see that.

350
00:19:55,194 --> 00:19:58,156
I don't want them to think
that I'm getting special treatment."

351
00:19:58,239 --> 00:20:01,117
I mean, he was cognizant of those things.

352
00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,913
He was cognizant of being,
"Can I just blend in?"

353
00:20:04,996 --> 00:20:10,168
The best example of what kind of person
Barry is, is his rookie season.

354
00:20:11,377 --> 00:20:13,796
When he had a chance
to take home the rushing title.

355
00:20:15,131 --> 00:20:18,259
[announcer] <i>Of course,
All-Pro rookie Barry Sanders,</i>

356
00:20:18,343 --> 00:20:21,596
<i>going today for the '89 season
rushing title.</i>

357
00:20:21,679 --> 00:20:23,681
[dramatic music plays]

358
00:20:32,899 --> 00:20:35,568
<i>Sanders now with 133.</i>

359
00:20:37,487 --> 00:20:39,155
[announcer 2] <i>Oh, there it is again!</i>

360
00:20:39,238 --> 00:20:42,617
[announcer 1] <i>Sanders going out to
the right again and he will score again!</i>

361
00:20:43,284 --> 00:20:44,869
<i>Sanders on the delay.</i>

362
00:20:47,330 --> 00:20:50,416
<i>Inside the ten! Touchdown!</i>

363
00:20:50,500 --> 00:20:53,878
Barry only needed nine yards
to win the rushing title.

364
00:20:53,962 --> 00:20:59,217
{\an8}We had got word on the sideline
that the Kansas City game was over with

365
00:20:59,300 --> 00:21:02,971
{\an8}and Barry was only nine yards
behind Christian Okoye.

366
00:21:03,054 --> 00:21:05,348
{\an8}We had a whole quarter left.

367
00:21:06,724 --> 00:21:12,480
{\an8}As a rookie in the league, I would think
you would want to win the rushing title,

368
00:21:12,563 --> 00:21:15,149
{\an8}but we didn't know that records
didn't matter to Barry.

369
00:21:15,817 --> 00:21:17,568
[William] Barry's not after records.

370
00:21:17,652 --> 00:21:19,570
If they have kept track of Barry's career,

371
00:21:19,654 --> 00:21:21,364
Barry just take himself
out of ballgames.

372
00:21:21,447 --> 00:21:23,449
[dramatic music plays]

373
00:21:25,827 --> 00:21:28,037
[Sanders] It was North High in Wichita.

374
00:21:28,121 --> 00:21:31,624
We were playing against
the crosstown rival East High.

375
00:21:31,708 --> 00:21:34,043
It was the last regular season game,

376
00:21:34,127 --> 00:21:36,713
and I had a chance
to get the city rushing title.

377
00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:39,590
We were up by two or three touchdowns,

378
00:21:39,674 --> 00:21:42,051
and I remember calling him over
in the third quarter saying,

379
00:21:42,135 --> 00:21:43,469
"Hey, we got the game in hand.

380
00:21:43,553 --> 00:21:46,723
{\an8}Do you want to get in and get some...
get some numbers on that stats

381
00:21:46,806 --> 00:21:50,351
{\an8}to win the thing, or not?
Or should I let the young kids play?"

382
00:21:50,435 --> 00:21:51,853
And he said, "Let the young kids play."

383
00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:54,731
[Sanders] It had been pretty much
mission accomplished.

384
00:21:54,814 --> 00:21:56,733
I mean, it had been a great season.

385
00:21:56,816 --> 00:21:59,444
And being that the game
was already over, no.

386
00:21:59,527 --> 00:22:01,362
You know,
those few extra yards, just...

387
00:22:02,113 --> 00:22:03,823
{\an8}just was not important to me.

388
00:22:08,411 --> 00:22:11,622
{\an8}[announcer]
<i>Now Sanders is going off the field.</i>

389
00:22:12,457 --> 00:22:14,500
<i>This is unbelievable.</i>

390
00:22:14,584 --> 00:22:16,919
<i>Sanders is not in the game.</i>

391
00:22:17,587 --> 00:22:22,050
Man, we begged Berry to go back
in the game to get that nine yards

392
00:22:22,133 --> 00:22:26,137
because that meant something to us,
you know, to have the rushing king,

393
00:22:26,220 --> 00:22:29,724
you know, that's a lot
to an offensive line.

394
00:22:29,807 --> 00:22:32,769
[Fontes] So I walk over the bench.
I said, "Barry, you're five yards away

395
00:22:32,852 --> 00:22:35,646
{\an8}from leading the league in rushing.
You want to go back in?"

396
00:22:35,730 --> 00:22:38,524
{\an8}He goes, "No, Coach."
He said, "That's not important to me."

397
00:22:38,608 --> 00:22:41,986
{\an8}[announcer] <i>Why is he not in the game,
unless he's injured?</i>

398
00:22:42,070 --> 00:22:43,988
{\an8}[announcer 2] <i>It's hard to understand it.</i>

399
00:22:44,072 --> 00:22:45,323
{\an8}[announcer 1] <i>Unbelievable.</i>

400
00:22:45,406 --> 00:22:48,785
{\an8}[Glover] To me, that says a great deal
about his character

401
00:22:48,868 --> 00:22:51,162
and the fact that
he was all about team success.

402
00:22:51,245 --> 00:22:53,915
He really didn't
care much about individual awards.

403
00:22:53,998 --> 00:22:56,250
[Sanders] I don't feel like
I've ever been one

404
00:22:56,334 --> 00:22:59,253
who's really pinpoint focused
on the record

405
00:22:59,337 --> 00:23:02,507
as much as just the performance.

406
00:23:02,590 --> 00:23:05,176
You know,
the performance will tell you everything.

407
00:23:06,469 --> 00:23:10,098
[Daniels] I don't think it's that
different from being an actor,

408
00:23:10,181 --> 00:23:11,432
or Hollywood,

409
00:23:11,974 --> 00:23:14,060
which is all about fame.

410
00:23:14,143 --> 00:23:18,481
What athletes, you know,
they become larger than life instantly.

411
00:23:18,564 --> 00:23:23,319
[announcer] <i>At running back from
Oklahoma State, number 20, Barry Sanders!</i>

412
00:23:23,402 --> 00:23:26,489
There are a lot of actors who live

413
00:23:26,572 --> 00:23:30,368
for between "action" and "cut".

414
00:23:31,619 --> 00:23:33,287
I'm one of those guys.

415
00:23:33,371 --> 00:23:35,123
That's where it's at for me.

416
00:23:35,206 --> 00:23:39,168
That's the exciting part.
That's the thing I love to do.

417
00:23:39,252 --> 00:23:44,423
Action. And then you're on the ride
all the way to cut, and then you're done.

418
00:23:44,507 --> 00:23:48,386
Everything else,
I don't... I'm not interested in.

419
00:23:49,053 --> 00:23:51,305
And so I completely get that.

420
00:23:51,389 --> 00:23:54,934
He loved game starts, game's over.

421
00:23:55,017 --> 00:23:57,979
You know, you could tell that
that's what he loved doing.

422
00:23:58,062 --> 00:24:00,815
It was like when the play started,
boom, the ball's in his hands.

423
00:24:00,898 --> 00:24:02,733
That's his action,

424
00:24:02,817 --> 00:24:06,654
all the way to either getting tackled
or a touchdown. Cut.

425
00:24:07,446 --> 00:24:10,491
That's it. That's all you get.

426
00:24:10,575 --> 00:24:14,036
[Sanders] Looking back,
I never remember thinking when I was a kid

427
00:24:14,120 --> 00:24:19,125
that ballplayers are famous or,
you know, they get a lot of money.

428
00:24:19,208 --> 00:24:20,835
Everyone knows who they are.

429
00:24:20,918 --> 00:24:23,588
That was never really
a big attraction for me.

430
00:24:23,671 --> 00:24:28,176
I felt like I had had enough attention...
[laughs] growing up.

431
00:24:28,259 --> 00:24:30,595
You know, I had, you know,
ten brothers and sisters.

432
00:24:30,678 --> 00:24:34,265
I had enough people around me all my life.
So I don't know.

433
00:24:34,348 --> 00:24:37,476
So it was just really weird going places
and, you know,

434
00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:39,687
people stop and you,
saying that you're a star.

435
00:24:39,770 --> 00:24:41,189
[boy] Can you please sign this?

436
00:24:41,272 --> 00:24:44,150
[Hill] He was a perfect superstar
in many ways.

437
00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:49,030
And I know that a lot of people love
athletes who have bolder personalities.

438
00:24:49,113 --> 00:24:51,032
[man] Thanks a lot, Barry.
Good luck this year.

439
00:24:51,115 --> 00:24:53,993
But I think what added
to the allure of Barry

440
00:24:54,076 --> 00:24:58,623
and what gave him
an even sort of greater status,

441
00:24:58,706 --> 00:25:01,417
not just in the city of Detroit,
but I would just say everywhere

442
00:25:01,500 --> 00:25:06,172
across the nation is that he was a dude
that let his play speak for itself.

443
00:25:07,089 --> 00:25:11,969
[man] How do you juke people, spin,
make adults fall down,

444
00:25:12,053 --> 00:25:13,179
get to the end zone

445
00:25:13,262 --> 00:25:16,849
{\an8}and just give the ball to the ref?

446
00:25:18,935 --> 00:25:20,811
That's a decompression

447
00:25:20,895 --> 00:25:24,982
that 99.9 percent of us just don't have.

448
00:25:26,859 --> 00:25:29,737
[Daniels] I doubt that
the phrase was coined

449
00:25:30,488 --> 00:25:33,115
when he started
just handing the ball to the ref.

450
00:25:33,199 --> 00:25:36,577
But it was the first time that I heard,

451
00:25:36,661 --> 00:25:38,704
"Act like you've been there before."

452
00:25:39,664 --> 00:25:43,876
[Sanders] After going from sideline
to sideline and disappearing... [laughs]

453
00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:45,962
[announcer] <i>Watch out the other way!</i>

454
00:25:46,045 --> 00:25:48,547
[announcer 2] <i>I don't think anybody
in football can do that.</i>

455
00:25:48,631 --> 00:25:52,093
[Sanders] I don't have the energy to dance
and plus I don't have that kind of rhythm.

456
00:25:52,176 --> 00:25:54,262
Maybe I should work with Deion
to see if maybe he could

457
00:25:54,345 --> 00:25:56,055
give me one of his spare dances.

458
00:25:56,138 --> 00:26:00,518
[Eminem] It just made him
so much more likable.

459
00:26:00,601 --> 00:26:02,687
The fact that he was that good.

460
00:26:02,770 --> 00:26:07,775
I've never seen somebody be that good
at something and be so humble.

461
00:26:07,858 --> 00:26:12,071
I think probably because he knew,
I don't have to say this,

462
00:26:12,154 --> 00:26:14,448
you know, you can... you can see.

463
00:26:16,158 --> 00:26:20,079
[Sanders] My dad, you know, I think
there was a time when I did... I scored,

464
00:26:20,162 --> 00:26:22,123
I may have done something, you know,

465
00:26:22,206 --> 00:26:24,959
that was other than just
giving the ball to the ref.

466
00:26:25,042 --> 00:26:27,295
And he just said, "No, you don't...
You don't gotta do that.

467
00:26:27,378 --> 00:26:31,173
I don't want you doing that.
I don't want you doing anything extra."

468
00:26:32,049 --> 00:26:35,636
But it's just really something
that I took as my own.

469
00:26:36,846 --> 00:26:38,848
[dramatic music plays]

470
00:26:41,225 --> 00:26:44,729
[Sanders] From a very early age,
I was exposed to sports.

471
00:26:45,521 --> 00:26:48,899
When I was in diapers, you know,
my dad had season tickets

472
00:26:48,983 --> 00:26:51,193
to OU football games.

473
00:26:51,277 --> 00:26:54,822
He was going down there
to Oklahoma watching the Sooners.

474
00:26:55,698 --> 00:26:59,035
[woman] He was an OU fan.
We all, you know, we all knew that.

475
00:26:59,118 --> 00:27:01,620
{\an8}I didn't know how serious it was.

476
00:27:01,704 --> 00:27:06,042
Oh, man. I used to get mad
at my wife a lot. When they lose a game,

477
00:27:06,125 --> 00:27:09,670
I wouldn't show up at the barber shop,
I would get mad at my wife and family.

478
00:27:09,754 --> 00:27:13,716
I wouldn't even talk to nobody.
I was a serious Oklahoma fan.

479
00:27:14,258 --> 00:27:17,720
There was no greater name on the planet...

480
00:27:18,846 --> 00:27:21,724
{\an8}than Barry Switzer, in my dad's mind.

481
00:27:21,807 --> 00:27:25,728
{\an8}[announcer] <i>A national championship season
for the Sooners of Oklahoma.</i>

482
00:27:28,022 --> 00:27:31,442
[Sanders] All my life,
he continued being a big OU Sooner fan.

483
00:27:31,525 --> 00:27:34,028
If one of my sons
coulda went to Oklahoma, OU,

484
00:27:34,111 --> 00:27:36,697
I coulda laid down and died in peace.
That's the way I feel.

485
00:27:36,781 --> 00:27:38,824
- That's the way I feel about the Sooners.
- [laughter]

486
00:27:40,201 --> 00:27:43,412
{\an8}[man] <i>North High School, it's a familiar
sight to see Coach Dale Burkholder</i>

487
00:27:43,496 --> 00:27:46,332
{\an8}<i>on the phone, you know,
answering college recruiters' questions</i>

488
00:27:46,415 --> 00:27:47,833
<i>about his prize player.</i>

489
00:27:47,917 --> 00:27:50,336
{\an8}Well, I've been getting letters,
but, you know, Coach says

490
00:27:50,419 --> 00:27:53,422
{\an8}there's going to be more,
so I can't just focus on one school yet.

491
00:27:53,506 --> 00:27:55,132
{\an8}They're just now finding out about him.

492
00:27:55,216 --> 00:27:57,635
{\an8}You know, they've seen the stats
and their seasons are over

493
00:27:57,718 --> 00:28:00,721
{\an8}and they're having a chance
to look at who's done well.

494
00:28:00,805 --> 00:28:02,723
And so now they're starting to focus in
on Barry Sanders.

495
00:28:02,807 --> 00:28:04,558
[Sanders] I didn't have a flood of offers.

496
00:28:05,309 --> 00:28:10,231
My three offers were Iowa State,
Tulsa and Oklahoma State.

497
00:28:10,314 --> 00:28:12,775
Tulsa tried. They tried really hard.

498
00:28:12,858 --> 00:28:17,071
But in the end, I knew Barry
wanted to play... Big Eight back then.

499
00:28:17,154 --> 00:28:18,697
Who wouldn't want to play the Big Eight?

500
00:28:18,781 --> 00:28:21,242
That's our big show
in the middle of the country.

501
00:28:21,325 --> 00:28:23,786
When you grew up in Kansas,
you're thinking, "Okay,

502
00:28:23,869 --> 00:28:25,913
that's where like the real athletes are."

503
00:28:25,996 --> 00:28:27,998
[upbeat music plays]

504
00:28:30,251 --> 00:28:32,503
[Sanders] Oklahoma State,
when I visited there,

505
00:28:32,586 --> 00:28:34,463
I just loved being there.

506
00:28:35,005 --> 00:28:36,966
Something about it felt like home.

507
00:28:37,883 --> 00:28:41,137
For me, it was a clear picture
I was going to Oklahoma State.

508
00:28:41,971 --> 00:28:44,890
For my dad,
I was playing against his team.

509
00:28:45,516 --> 00:28:48,644
Oklahoma State was like the little brother
in the state of Oklahoma,

510
00:28:48,727 --> 00:28:50,187
compared to University of Oklahoma.

511
00:28:50,271 --> 00:28:53,399
Of course, his dad's like,
"Man, you gotta go to Oklahoma."

512
00:28:55,276 --> 00:28:59,572
{\an8}Barry Sanders, to me, Ron, is exactly
what you would want your son to be

513
00:28:59,655 --> 00:29:02,074
{\an8}if you want your son
to be a wholesome youngster.

514
00:29:02,575 --> 00:29:04,702
[Sanders] The coach from Oklahoma State
comes to the house

515
00:29:04,785 --> 00:29:07,621
going through
the whole signing day routine.

516
00:29:07,705 --> 00:29:11,292
And Dad comes out of the bedroom.
Coach tries to greet my dad.

517
00:29:11,375 --> 00:29:13,169
My dad wouldn't shake his hand,

518
00:29:13,252 --> 00:29:15,754
and he just says, "You know,
I think he's making a mistake."

519
00:29:15,838 --> 00:29:17,923
And he just walks out of the house.

520
00:29:18,007 --> 00:29:20,676
And I just, I couldn't believe
I was experiencing this.

521
00:29:20,759 --> 00:29:24,722
I mean, it was, you know...
I don't know. It was tough, man.

522
00:29:24,805 --> 00:29:27,308
That was a tough morning. Um...

523
00:29:27,391 --> 00:29:29,894
He wasn't too thrilled about that.
And so...

524
00:29:29,977 --> 00:29:32,605
Uh, and so he let me know it.

525
00:29:36,817 --> 00:29:39,820
A lot of guys like myself
have two years under their belt.

526
00:29:39,904 --> 00:29:43,782
And, um, to have a record
of below .500 for two years,

527
00:29:43,866 --> 00:29:45,993
for me, it doesn't sit well.

528
00:29:46,076 --> 00:29:49,163
And maybe it's not anything
that the coaches can do.

529
00:29:49,246 --> 00:29:53,292
Maybe we have to take it upon ourselves
to say, "Hey, we're sick of the way

530
00:29:53,375 --> 00:29:56,378
things have been going. We're going to do
something on our own to change it."

531
00:29:58,005 --> 00:29:59,507
[announcer] <i>Sanders.</i>

532
00:30:01,509 --> 00:30:02,718
<i>Touchdown!</i>

533
00:30:03,928 --> 00:30:08,682
<i>All I saw today was the impact of
a superstar player on a football team.</i>

534
00:30:08,766 --> 00:30:12,019
<i>When Barry Sanders was announced
that he was going to start for the Lions,</i>

535
00:30:12,102 --> 00:30:14,522
{\an8}<i>you could see the entire squad
getting a lift.</i>

536
00:30:15,773 --> 00:30:19,068
{\an8}[Sanders] I think the team that they
predicted us to be the previous year

537
00:30:19,151 --> 00:30:21,695
{\an8}finally showed up that year,
my third season,

538
00:30:21,779 --> 00:30:23,822
and we kind of just got on a roll.

539
00:30:28,536 --> 00:30:30,663
[announcer]
<i>Sanders turned around the defender,</i>

540
00:30:31,455 --> 00:30:33,499
<i>and he's going to score. Touchdown!</i>

541
00:30:34,375 --> 00:30:37,753
<i>Look at Peete with his hands up.
He knows it's going to be a touchdown.</i>

542
00:30:37,836 --> 00:30:42,299
{\an8}[announcer 2] <i>Oh, yeah.
It's vintage Barry Sanders.</i>

543
00:30:42,383 --> 00:30:44,552
{\an8}[Peete] We started
to build up a little momentum.

544
00:30:44,635 --> 00:30:47,471
Barry's running wild,
we're winning games.

545
00:30:47,555 --> 00:30:51,600
[announcer] <i>Pitch out to Barry.
35, 40, Barry on the run to the 50!</i>

546
00:30:51,684 --> 00:30:53,894
{\an8}<i>To the 45! To the 40! Look out! 30!</i>

547
00:30:53,978 --> 00:30:56,772
{\an8}<i>They'll never catch him! See you later!</i>

548
00:30:57,606 --> 00:31:00,818
[Hill] Because the Lions
have such a negative history,

549
00:31:00,901 --> 00:31:03,237
it was almost like people
couldn't believe it.

550
00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:06,031
Like, Detroit's actually good?

551
00:31:06,115 --> 00:31:09,910
We're considered a favorite in something?

552
00:31:09,994 --> 00:31:11,579
[announcer] <i>This was not sold out today.</i>

553
00:31:11,662 --> 00:31:14,206
{\an8}<i>There were many disbelievers
even here in Michigan.</i>

554
00:31:14,290 --> 00:31:16,000
{\an8}<i>Any word for them?</i>

555
00:31:16,083 --> 00:31:20,170
Me personally, we can't spend our time
worrying about what other people think

556
00:31:20,254 --> 00:31:22,798
and whether they believe in us or not.
We know we have the talent

557
00:31:22,881 --> 00:31:26,427
to go on and be in postseason play
and that's all that matters.

558
00:31:30,723 --> 00:31:35,352
[Sanders] Fall of '91, I feel like we
had arrived in the division.

559
00:31:36,228 --> 00:31:39,273
The Lions have been kicked around
for a lot of years.

560
00:31:39,356 --> 00:31:41,066
It had always been someone else.

561
00:31:42,651 --> 00:31:44,612
The Vikings had had their time.

562
00:31:44,695 --> 00:31:48,824
{\an8}[announcer] <i>The Vikings were chasing
Barry Sanders all day long.</i>

563
00:31:48,907 --> 00:31:51,410
{\an8}[Sanders] Obviously,
the Bears had dominated.

564
00:31:51,493 --> 00:31:55,789
[announcer] <i>They're playing a good team
in the Bears and they're beating them.</i>

565
00:31:55,873 --> 00:31:59,376
{\an8}<i>I think they're proving to themselves
that, "Hey, we belong."</i>

566
00:32:00,336 --> 00:32:02,713
{\an8}It was kind of a new kid on the block
within the division.

567
00:32:03,422 --> 00:32:09,094
{\an8}[Hill] Everybody had a sense of hope
and felt like this might be the year.

568
00:32:09,887 --> 00:32:12,640
You had people coming to school
wearing Lions gear,

569
00:32:13,557 --> 00:32:17,686
And just that sort of camaraderie
around the Lions.

570
00:32:17,770 --> 00:32:20,439
Um... there was such excitement.

571
00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:24,276
{\an8}[announcer] <i>The Lions have a shot
at the NFC Central Division title</i>

572
00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:25,235
{\an8}<i>with a victory today.</i>

573
00:32:27,112 --> 00:32:29,823
[Hill] Going into that game,
the Lions winning the division

574
00:32:29,907 --> 00:32:32,242
was just, you know, it was crazy.

575
00:32:32,326 --> 00:32:34,370
[announcer] <i>Trying to tie this game up.</i>

576
00:32:34,453 --> 00:32:38,832
<i>- Kramer. But Barry spins free, touchdown!</i>
- [announcer 2] <i>Oh, wow!</i>

577
00:32:38,916 --> 00:32:40,501
- [announcer 1] <i>Lions!</i>
- [announcer 2] <i>Wow!</i>

578
00:32:41,460 --> 00:32:47,049
[announcer 1] <i>Barry Sanders with a move
that Mikhail Baryshnikov couldn't make!</i>

579
00:32:48,050 --> 00:32:52,262
<i>Normal joints don't move the way
Barry Sanders' joints move. I'm sorry.</i>

580
00:32:52,346 --> 00:32:54,348
[dramatic music plays]

581
00:33:08,112 --> 00:33:10,322
[announcer]
<i>And this gives the Detroit Lions,</i>

582
00:33:10,406 --> 00:33:12,866
{\an8}<i>for the first time in franchise history,</i>

583
00:33:12,950 --> 00:33:14,827
{\an8}<i>they've won 12 games.</i>

584
00:33:16,036 --> 00:33:19,289
<i>The Lions will host
a playoff game in Detroit.</i>

585
00:33:21,500 --> 00:33:24,795
{\an8}[all shouting]

586
00:33:24,878 --> 00:33:27,506
{\an8}Lions, Sanders! Detroit is back!

587
00:33:27,589 --> 00:33:31,218
- RFK! Here we go!
- RFK, we'll be there. Next week, man.

588
00:33:31,301 --> 00:33:33,512
- Lions number one!
- [man] RFK!

589
00:33:33,595 --> 00:33:36,098
- Super Bowl!
- Go, Lions, go!

590
00:33:36,181 --> 00:33:40,310
- [music plays]
- [man] <i>Are you ready for the showdown</i>

591
00:33:40,394 --> 00:33:42,730
<i>in Motown?</i>

592
00:33:42,813 --> 00:33:45,441
<i>The Lions entertain the Dallas Cowboys.</i>

593
00:33:45,524 --> 00:33:48,986
<i>Sold out, and as loud
as we have ever heard it.</i>

594
00:33:50,946 --> 00:33:54,575
- [all shouting]
- Super Bowl! Super Bowl!

595
00:33:54,658 --> 00:33:56,326
[Brandstatter] This city is starved.

596
00:33:56,785 --> 00:33:59,079
They're starved for a championship.

597
00:33:59,163 --> 00:34:02,624
It's been 1957 since they had one. Okay?

598
00:34:03,333 --> 00:34:06,170
So when they went to that game,
that was the next step.

599
00:34:06,253 --> 00:34:08,756
We get this one,
we go to the NFC champion.

600
00:34:08,839 --> 00:34:11,383
Then we're only one game away
from a Super Bowl.

601
00:34:11,467 --> 00:34:12,968
[cheering]

602
00:34:14,636 --> 00:34:16,889
{\an8}How you feeling?
What's going on inside you today?

603
00:34:16,972 --> 00:34:19,266
{\an8}- You nervous, excited? You ready to go?
- I'm nervous. No, I'm nervous.

604
00:34:19,349 --> 00:34:20,517
{\an8}I'm always nervous.

605
00:34:20,601 --> 00:34:22,770
A little more today than usual.

606
00:34:22,853 --> 00:34:25,230
[cheering]

607
00:34:28,317 --> 00:34:31,612
When I think back
to that first playoff game,

608
00:34:32,613 --> 00:34:35,908
man, it was so loud and electric.

609
00:34:35,991 --> 00:34:36,950
Um...

610
00:34:38,786 --> 00:34:42,080
It was like they had been starved,
which they had,

611
00:34:42,164 --> 00:34:44,374
and it had just exploded.

612
00:34:45,167 --> 00:34:47,044
[cheering]

613
00:34:49,463 --> 00:34:51,131
[Sanders] We had such an advantage.

614
00:34:51,215 --> 00:34:53,634
I'm pretty sure that impacted the Cowboys.

615
00:34:55,052 --> 00:34:59,139
[Hill] To be going against one of
the storied franchises in the NFL,

616
00:34:59,223 --> 00:35:02,309
there was a sense
that this was the Lions' destiny,

617
00:35:02,392 --> 00:35:04,728
that this was finally their time.

618
00:35:04,812 --> 00:35:07,064
[announcer] <i>Jimmy Johnson
told us last night,</i>

619
00:35:07,147 --> 00:35:10,150
<i>Barry Sanders is not going to beat us.</i>

620
00:35:11,235 --> 00:35:13,946
The defense's priority
would have been to stop me.

621
00:35:14,029 --> 00:35:18,116
And so it hadn't been a great day for me
statistically, I understood that.

622
00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:20,744
[announcer] <i>Sanders has eight yards,
four carries.</i>

623
00:35:20,828 --> 00:35:25,165
I knew that eventually I'd have
an opportunity to try to make a play.

624
00:35:25,791 --> 00:35:31,004
Sweep! Watch the sweep!
Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!

625
00:35:31,088 --> 00:35:33,632
[announcer] <i>Barry off the right.
Barry to the 45.</i>

626
00:35:33,715 --> 00:35:37,135
<i>And bumps to the 40, breaks it, 35, 30!</i>

627
00:35:37,845 --> 00:35:40,389
<i>He's gone! Unbelievable!</i>

628
00:35:41,849 --> 00:35:44,560
Just kind of an off-tackle play
to the right.

629
00:35:44,643 --> 00:35:47,646
It's looking like I'm just going to
maybe get four or five yards,

630
00:35:47,729 --> 00:35:50,691
and I end up bouncing off of the tackler.

631
00:35:50,774 --> 00:35:53,193
[announcer] <i>You think you got him tackled?</i>

632
00:35:53,277 --> 00:35:56,154
Tony Casillas, kind of looking
around like, "Okay, this guy

633
00:35:56,238 --> 00:35:58,490
is still running down the field.
I thought we had him."

634
00:35:59,992 --> 00:36:01,994
[dramatic music plays]

635
00:36:04,580 --> 00:36:08,375
[announcer] <i>Every time we talk about
Barry, we say, "That's the greatest run.</i>

636
00:36:08,458 --> 00:36:11,712
<i>That's the greatest run."
That might have been the greatest run.</i>

637
00:36:17,426 --> 00:36:20,637
And I just remember the crowd
just absolutely went nuts.

638
00:36:20,721 --> 00:36:23,640
[cheering]

639
00:36:24,433 --> 00:36:28,520
It was such a moment, given the Lions'
history and given the city's history.

640
00:36:28,604 --> 00:36:33,400
For a lot of people in Detroit,
it was just like, "Wow, this is real."

641
00:36:34,067 --> 00:36:35,611
[Sanders] It was just a great feeling,

642
00:36:35,694 --> 00:36:38,113
a great way to cap off
the first playoff win

643
00:36:38,196 --> 00:36:39,573
in however many years.

644
00:36:39,656 --> 00:36:43,327
[announcer] <i>78,000 people
have been waiting 35 years,</i>

645
00:36:43,410 --> 00:36:46,079
<i>and there's probably a million more
in the Detroit area.</i>

646
00:36:47,247 --> 00:36:49,917
{\an8}[announcer 2] <i>And, you know,
after he'd done something like that,</i>

647
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,336
{\an8}<i>everyone around him gets excited.</i>

648
00:36:52,419 --> 00:36:54,880
<i>Barry Sanders does not throw the ball.</i>

649
00:36:54,963 --> 00:36:57,299
<i>He doesn't dance,
he doesn't do spikes.</i>

650
00:36:57,382 --> 00:37:01,053
<i>He scores, his feeling is one of relief.</i>

651
00:37:04,348 --> 00:37:06,850
<i>And this is about
as much as you get out of him.</i>

652
00:37:07,392 --> 00:37:08,685
[indistinct]

653
00:37:12,230 --> 00:37:14,149
[man] Sweet running, Barry,
sweet running.

654
00:37:14,232 --> 00:37:17,319
You know,
that was the expectation and the thought

655
00:37:17,402 --> 00:37:19,863
that, um, this is just the beginning.

656
00:37:19,947 --> 00:37:22,574
[man] Have you guys got another
one or two of these left in you?

657
00:37:22,658 --> 00:37:26,662
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
I mean, today was a pretty decisive win.

658
00:37:26,745 --> 00:37:30,499
It wasn't like we were just hanging on
by the skin of our teeth.

659
00:37:30,582 --> 00:37:33,835
We executed well, played well,
despite all the injuries.

660
00:37:33,919 --> 00:37:37,214
And I feel like we can go into Washington
and get a win.

661
00:37:38,799 --> 00:37:42,052
{\an8}[dramatic music plays]

662
00:37:43,887 --> 00:37:47,808
[crowd] Barry! Barry! Barry! Barry!

663
00:37:48,684 --> 00:37:52,020
I was really looking forward
to playing that game.

664
00:37:52,104 --> 00:37:54,898
At that point,
they were the class of the league.

665
00:37:56,483 --> 00:38:00,821
[announcer] <i>The best record in the NFC
was the Washington Redskins.</i>

666
00:38:04,282 --> 00:38:06,076
[Sanders] I knew that would be
a great test for us,

667
00:38:06,159 --> 00:38:08,704
but I know I was thrilled to go play.

668
00:38:12,916 --> 00:38:14,918
Things didn't go as planned.

669
00:38:20,465 --> 00:38:23,802
[Criner] I was frustrated thinking,
"Can we back...

670
00:38:23,885 --> 00:38:25,387
{\an8}Can we... what can we do?"

671
00:38:25,470 --> 00:38:29,266
{\an8}That was the last game before
they were going to go to the Super Bowl.

672
00:38:29,349 --> 00:38:31,518
I just... Anyway.

673
00:38:38,108 --> 00:38:40,736
The only thing you could say
that was good about that

674
00:38:40,819 --> 00:38:44,573
was we did lose to the eventual
Super Bowl champion.

675
00:38:44,656 --> 00:38:47,701
{\an8}We were one game away. One game away.

676
00:38:50,454 --> 00:38:54,374
{\an8}[Sanders] I was dejected, man.
I felt that one for a while.

677
00:38:55,667 --> 00:38:57,377
{\an8}[announcer] <i>That's a competitor.</i>

678
00:38:57,461 --> 00:39:01,757
<i>Something bad has happened to him
and he can't do anything about it.</i>

679
00:39:03,216 --> 00:39:04,760
[Sanders] But I also felt like,

680
00:39:04,843 --> 00:39:07,471
and assumed after that game,

681
00:39:08,472 --> 00:39:10,849
that we'd have, you know,
I'd have another chance

682
00:39:10,932 --> 00:39:13,810
to play to go to the Super Bowl. Um...

683
00:39:13,894 --> 00:39:18,690
That that wouldn't be my only time
playing in the NFC Championship game.

684
00:39:18,774 --> 00:39:21,443
I mean, that was my third season.

685
00:39:21,526 --> 00:39:27,032
I felt like we were on the rise
and we'll be back.

686
00:39:27,115 --> 00:39:28,992
We'll be back
to the NFC Championship game.

687
00:39:29,076 --> 00:39:32,037
And we'll be back for a chance
to play to go to the Super Bowl.

688
00:39:35,499 --> 00:39:38,543
[Hammond] Everybody always thought
that Detroit and Dallas

689
00:39:38,627 --> 00:39:40,504
would be the big rivalry

690
00:39:40,587 --> 00:39:43,256
because they had the two best
running backs in the game.

691
00:39:43,340 --> 00:39:45,425
It was the era for great running backs.

692
00:39:46,676 --> 00:39:49,763
Dallas had Emmitt, and Detroit had Barry.

693
00:39:49,846 --> 00:39:53,517
{\an8}With Barry back there, I thought we
were going to compete head-to-head

694
00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:55,519
{\an8}for many, many more years.

695
00:39:55,602 --> 00:39:57,354
{\an8}[announcer] <i>What a ride it's been.</i>

696
00:39:57,437 --> 00:40:01,191
{\an8}<i>From the absolute worst
to the absolute best!</i>

697
00:40:02,109 --> 00:40:05,654
{\an8}[announcer 2] <i>The Lions end
the regular season at 5-11.</i>

698
00:40:05,737 --> 00:40:07,155
{\an8}[announcer 3]
<i>It's been a long, tough year.</i>

699
00:40:07,239 --> 00:40:09,574
{\an8}<i>A lot to be done for the Detroit Lions.</i>

700
00:40:09,658 --> 00:40:12,577
You would have assumed that, you know,

701
00:40:12,661 --> 00:40:15,831
we would have been right there with them,
you know, for many years to come.

702
00:40:15,914 --> 00:40:18,166
{\an8}[announcer] <i>Your Cowboys
are still champions.</i>

703
00:40:18,250 --> 00:40:21,294
{\an8}Two in a row. How sweet it is.

704
00:40:21,378 --> 00:40:22,754
{\an8}[announcer] <i>Packers down by three.</i>

705
00:40:22,838 --> 00:40:26,633
{\an8}[Sanders] Somehow we leave Sterling Sharpe
uncovered with under a minute to go.

706
00:40:26,716 --> 00:40:28,468
{\an8}[announcer] <i>Touchdown!</i>

707
00:40:30,137 --> 00:40:32,556
{\an8}[Sanders]
There's certainly residual sort of

708
00:40:32,639 --> 00:40:35,016
frustration and disappointment.

709
00:40:35,100 --> 00:40:37,561
{\an8}[announcer] <i>Cowboys win
another Super Bowl title.</i>

710
00:40:37,644 --> 00:40:40,272
{\an8}[Sanders] Obviously,
we know what they went on to do,

711
00:40:40,355 --> 00:40:43,817
{\an8}but just being very surprised,
looking back,

712
00:40:43,900 --> 00:40:46,653
that we didn't fare better
in the playoffs.

713
00:40:46,736 --> 00:40:49,781
{\an8}- [crowd cheering]
- [announcer yelling indistinct]

714
00:40:49,865 --> 00:40:51,908
{\an8}[announcer] <i>That is the most points
the Eagles</i>

715
00:40:51,992 --> 00:40:53,410
{\an8}<i>have ever scored in a playoff game,</i>

716
00:40:53,493 --> 00:40:55,495
{\an8}<i>and they've done it in the first half!</i>

717
00:40:55,579 --> 00:41:01,334
Barry had this organization
that was known for being incompetent.

718
00:41:02,169 --> 00:41:05,630
Emmitt had better coaching,
better organization.

719
00:41:05,714 --> 00:41:10,010
Hall of Fame line, Hall of Fame
quarterback, Hall of Fame receivers.

720
00:41:10,093 --> 00:41:12,220
I don't want to speak down
about Emmitt Smith.

721
00:41:12,304 --> 00:41:14,472
Emmitt Smith was amazing, right?

722
00:41:14,556 --> 00:41:16,349
Um, but he had a team.

723
00:41:17,017 --> 00:41:21,855
If we had a team like the Cowboys had
and we had Barry, fuck.

724
00:41:23,273 --> 00:41:24,441
We'd have been unstoppable.

725
00:41:24,524 --> 00:41:27,527
[Rose] You swap Barry
and Emmitt right now, my God,

726
00:41:27,611 --> 00:41:29,779
Barry woulda had them three Super Bowls.

727
00:41:30,322 --> 00:41:33,116
When you start trying to go to,
"How many playoff games did he win?

728
00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:35,410
How many Super Bowl did he win?"

729
00:41:35,493 --> 00:41:38,205
You'll get into a fistfight
with a Detroiter talking about that.

730
00:41:38,288 --> 00:41:41,041
You don't even want to know
about Barry Sanders, man.

731
00:41:41,124 --> 00:41:44,085
Like a cannon ball
loose inside a pinball machine.

732
00:41:44,169 --> 00:41:48,298
Bing, bing, bing, bing,
bing, bing, bing, bing.

733
00:41:48,381 --> 00:41:51,593
Sometimes I...
I still see it when I sleep.

734
00:41:53,762 --> 00:41:57,724
Every time he got the ball, it was like
he's going to score a touchdown.

735
00:41:58,475 --> 00:42:00,060
I mean, that's how it felt.

736
00:42:00,143 --> 00:42:03,063
[announcer] <i>And the give to Barry Sanders,
cut back over the middle at the 15,</i>

737
00:42:03,146 --> 00:42:07,275
<i>breaks a tackle to the ten!
Barry to the five! Touchdown!</i>

738
00:42:07,359 --> 00:42:11,029
There will be plays where, like,
ten guys jumped on him.

739
00:42:11,655 --> 00:42:12,948
[announcer] <i>Barry Sanders.</i>

740
00:42:13,031 --> 00:42:14,950
[Eminem] You're like, "Oh, he's down."
And all of a sudden,

741
00:42:15,033 --> 00:42:16,868
he comes shooting out from the pile.

742
00:42:16,952 --> 00:42:19,746
[announcer] <i>He breaks it,
and he'll go all the way!</i>

743
00:42:19,829 --> 00:42:21,539
<i>Touchdown, Detroit.</i>

744
00:42:21,623 --> 00:42:23,041
[♪ Eminem: "Cinderella Man"]

745
00:42:23,124 --> 00:42:26,503
[announcer 2] <i>Sometimes there are
individuals that come along,</i>

746
00:42:26,586 --> 00:42:29,130
<i>superlatives just don't fit.</i>

747
00:42:29,214 --> 00:42:30,924
Like, what the fuck?

748
00:42:31,007 --> 00:42:32,717
<i>♪ Who can catch lightning in a bottle ♪</i>

749
00:42:32,801 --> 00:42:34,886
<i>♪ Set fire to water
coming out the nozzle ♪</i>

750
00:42:34,970 --> 00:42:37,055
<i>♪ On the firehose
Flyer than swatters ♪</i>

751
00:42:37,138 --> 00:42:42,435
<i>♪ Cinderella man, Cinderella man
Cinderella man, Cinderella man ♪</i>

752
00:42:42,519 --> 00:42:44,896
<i>♪ Smash an hourglass
Grab the sand, take his hands ♪</i>

753
00:42:44,980 --> 00:42:46,564
<i>♪ And cup 'em
Spin a rhyme to freeze the clock</i> ♪

754
00:42:46,648 --> 00:42:47,565
♪ <i>Take the hands... ♪</i>

755
00:42:47,649 --> 00:42:49,484
[Eminem] It was literally
like watching a video game.

756
00:42:49,567 --> 00:42:50,694
<i>♪ Cinderella man ♪</i>

757
00:42:50,777 --> 00:42:52,654
[man] The way he improvised
on so many plays

758
00:42:52,737 --> 00:42:54,489
and was able to take it all the way.

759
00:42:54,572 --> 00:42:56,449
[announcer] <i>Quintessential Barry Sanders.</i>

760
00:42:56,533 --> 00:42:59,536
{\an8}That's what endears us.
It's not even all those plays.

761
00:42:59,619 --> 00:43:01,663
{\an8}It's some of the plays
where he might've just gained a yard,

762
00:43:01,746 --> 00:43:05,083
but he dodged ten players, you know,
those are some of the greatest.

763
00:43:05,166 --> 00:43:09,004
You know, behind the line of scrimmage,
he get the ball... ah!

764
00:43:09,087 --> 00:43:10,672
They be right there on him.

765
00:43:11,923 --> 00:43:13,842
[Eminem] Running 40 yards
to get three yards.

766
00:43:13,925 --> 00:43:15,802
[announcer] <i>Barry will reverse his field.</i>

767
00:43:15,885 --> 00:43:18,179
And he's running back and forth.
You know what I'm saying?

768
00:43:20,223 --> 00:43:23,852
[Daniels] Everybody kept saying
they've never seen anybody like him.

769
00:43:24,728 --> 00:43:25,895
And I agree.

770
00:43:29,524 --> 00:43:32,402
I mean, for this second he's here,

771
00:43:32,485 --> 00:43:35,280
and then 1,001, he's not here anymore.

772
00:43:35,363 --> 00:43:38,783
He's over there and you're tackling air.

773
00:43:39,743 --> 00:43:43,204
[announcer] <i>Watch what he does.
He just put a move on Reggie White.</i>

774
00:43:44,622 --> 00:43:45,790
<i>Unbelievable.</i>

775
00:43:46,750 --> 00:43:48,793
[Daniels] He could go
from here to over there,

776
00:43:48,877 --> 00:43:51,338
like, don't even get
a finger on him.

777
00:43:52,047 --> 00:43:54,049
<i>♪ Cinderella man ♪</i>

778
00:43:54,132 --> 00:43:56,134
<i>♪ Cinderella man ♪</i>

779
00:43:57,719 --> 00:44:00,472
[announcer] <i>I think sometimes
you just have to look at something</i>

780
00:44:00,555 --> 00:44:04,017
<i>and just enjoy it. I mean,
there's no one else in football</i>

781
00:44:04,100 --> 00:44:05,393
<i>that can make these moves.</i>

782
00:44:05,477 --> 00:44:07,771
<i>♪ Cinderella man, Cinderella man ♪</i>

783
00:44:07,854 --> 00:44:11,024
[announcer]
<i>When God created Barry Sanders,</i>

784
00:44:11,107 --> 00:44:13,360
<i>even He didn't know what He made.</i>

785
00:44:13,443 --> 00:44:19,449
<i>♪ Cinderella man, Cinderella man
Cinderella man, Cinderella man ♪</i>

786
00:44:22,744 --> 00:44:24,371
[Glover] Playing for the Lions,

787
00:44:24,454 --> 00:44:27,415
Barry Sanders won
the team MVP award every year.

788
00:44:27,499 --> 00:44:32,379
And one year he leaves the banquet
and leaves his award on the table.

789
00:44:32,462 --> 00:44:35,340
{\an8}I pick it up, take it on the bus,
give him his award.

790
00:44:35,423 --> 00:44:37,425
{\an8}He leaves it on the bus.

791
00:44:37,509 --> 00:44:38,885
{\an8}He said, "Oh, take it home."

792
00:44:38,968 --> 00:44:43,098
{\an8}I take it home, and Barry,
William White, and Bennie Blades

793
00:44:43,181 --> 00:44:45,141
would come over to our house on Thursdays.

794
00:44:45,225 --> 00:44:46,768
My wife would cook for 'em.

795
00:44:46,851 --> 00:44:50,063
Lomas Brown's wife would cook
on different days for 'em.

796
00:44:50,146 --> 00:44:55,193
And he left his MVP trophy
in my apartment the entire year.

797
00:44:55,276 --> 00:44:56,778
And would not take it home.

798
00:44:57,612 --> 00:44:59,948
[Stein III] Of course,
Barry didn't want the MVP trophy.

799
00:45:00,031 --> 00:45:02,575
He's never really cared about accolades.

800
00:45:04,494 --> 00:45:09,082
He did the same thing at Oklahoma State
after having the most magnificent

801
00:45:09,165 --> 00:45:12,460
college season I have ever
seen in my life.

802
00:45:13,670 --> 00:45:19,175
[announcer] <i>Let's see how they answer.
How about Barry Sanders to midfield!</i>

803
00:45:19,259 --> 00:45:20,760
<i>He might go!</i>

804
00:45:20,844 --> 00:45:22,846
[upbeat music plays]

805
00:45:24,389 --> 00:45:26,433
[announcer] <i>And doesn't Dad love it?</i>

806
00:45:26,516 --> 00:45:30,019
His dad, his heart was a Sooner,
but he jumped...

807
00:45:30,103 --> 00:45:34,399
He jumped on the wagon pretty quick
once he saw Barry run at Oklahoma State.

808
00:45:34,482 --> 00:45:36,484
[music continues]

809
00:45:42,949 --> 00:45:45,493
[Criner] His junior year, OSU,

810
00:45:46,619 --> 00:45:49,414
he just came out of nowhere.

811
00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:03,761
As far as a school rushing record,
he broke the record that Thurman set

812
00:46:03,845 --> 00:46:07,015
against Iowa State last year with 293.
That was 300 and something.

813
00:46:08,808 --> 00:46:11,978
I thought, "He really is good."

814
00:46:13,188 --> 00:46:15,523
{\an8}[announcer] <i>Barry Sanders,
the storybook year.</i>

815
00:46:15,607 --> 00:46:18,776
{\an8}<i>24 NCAA records.</i>

816
00:46:20,153 --> 00:46:21,613
{\an8}[Peete] We went into that season

817
00:46:21,696 --> 00:46:24,574
{\an8}and all the hoopla and fanfare

818
00:46:24,657 --> 00:46:27,535
and Heisman talks
involved Troy Aikman and me.

819
00:46:28,411 --> 00:46:31,664
Then you start to hear the name
Barry Sanders.

820
00:46:31,748 --> 00:46:33,833
He hated that notoriety.

821
00:46:33,917 --> 00:46:36,252
I mean,
he did not want to win the Heisman.

822
00:46:36,336 --> 00:46:37,879
I heard him say that.

823
00:46:39,088 --> 00:46:41,049
He was hoping Rodney Peete got it.

824
00:46:42,717 --> 00:46:46,930
[Stein III] The Heisman Trophy is
the highest honor in college football.

825
00:46:47,847 --> 00:46:51,226
It's the biggest award you can get,
hands down.

826
00:46:52,352 --> 00:46:56,523
{\an8}[Sanders] I happened to be in Japan
during Heisman Trophy ceremonies.

827
00:46:56,606 --> 00:46:58,733
As far as the team is concerned...

828
00:46:58,816 --> 00:47:02,612
I was there to play a game,
and it just so happened that the game

829
00:47:02,695 --> 00:47:05,114
was on the same day as the ceremonies.

830
00:47:05,823 --> 00:47:07,617
Oklahoma State scheduled that game,

831
00:47:07,700 --> 00:47:09,577
not thinking they'd have
a Heisman Trophy candidate.

832
00:47:10,370 --> 00:47:13,122
[reporter] <i>For some of Barry's sisters,
it seemed like forever</i>

833
00:47:13,206 --> 00:47:15,166
<i>before the announcement was made.</i>

834
00:47:15,250 --> 00:47:18,836
- That's the living room in the back.
- [all laugh]

835
00:47:18,920 --> 00:47:20,964
[woman] I can't take it!

836
00:47:21,047 --> 00:47:24,092
{\an8}We didn't understand
the magnitude of the Heisman Trophy.

837
00:47:24,175 --> 00:47:27,345
We just understood
it was just another award.

838
00:47:28,221 --> 00:47:30,765
{\an8}I didn't know a lot
about what Heisman was.

839
00:47:30,848 --> 00:47:33,184
It was really a nice affair.

840
00:47:33,268 --> 00:47:35,687
[Sanders]
I'm on the other side of the world.

841
00:47:35,770 --> 00:47:38,022
And because of
the 13-hour time difference,

842
00:47:38,106 --> 00:47:41,985
it means I had to get up at, I don't know,
three in the morning or whatever it was.

843
00:47:42,068 --> 00:47:43,820
I was halfway asleep.

844
00:47:46,990 --> 00:47:49,659
It is my special privilege to announce

845
00:47:50,493 --> 00:47:51,828
with great joy,

846
00:47:52,954 --> 00:47:57,750
the 1988 winner of the Heisman Award,

847
00:47:57,834 --> 00:48:00,461
the John W. Heisman Memorial Trophy,

848
00:48:00,545 --> 00:48:05,466
<i>and the winner, and I know him now
as you will know him...</i>

849
00:48:09,053 --> 00:48:12,307
- <i>is Barry Sanders...</i>
- [screaming]

850
00:48:15,184 --> 00:48:18,396
<i>...of Oklahoma State University.</i>

851
00:48:22,775 --> 00:48:25,528
It was typical Barry, when they announced
his name as the winner,

852
00:48:26,446 --> 00:48:31,659
it was almost as if he was embarrassed
to get that kind of attention.

853
00:48:31,743 --> 00:48:34,912
[man] Thank you, Barry.
Thank you very, very much. Thank you.

854
00:48:36,414 --> 00:48:38,374
Congratulations to you.

855
00:48:38,458 --> 00:48:40,960
[Sanders] You know, I'd like
to thank William and Shirley Sanders

856
00:48:41,044 --> 00:48:43,296
for being so inspirational in my life

857
00:48:43,379 --> 00:48:46,257
and bringing me up
the way they know I should be brought up.

858
00:48:46,341 --> 00:48:47,216
Thanks a lot.

859
00:48:49,594 --> 00:48:52,055
Barry, I love you,
and have a great game tonight.

860
00:48:53,431 --> 00:48:57,602
Pops was lighting it up,
smiling ear-to-ear, holding court.

861
00:48:58,645 --> 00:49:01,147
We might just store it in the living room
and just look at every day.

862
00:49:05,693 --> 00:49:07,695
[Aikman] For him to be able to come in
and do the things he did

863
00:49:07,779 --> 00:49:10,239
{\an8}without having any
of the widespread media attention

864
00:49:10,323 --> 00:49:12,909
{\an8}that I did receive in Los Angeles
is amazing.

865
00:49:14,035 --> 00:49:17,413
Finally, a guy won the award
on just sheer ability,

866
00:49:17,497 --> 00:49:19,666
without having to receive any publicity.

867
00:49:20,458 --> 00:49:23,002
[Sanders] And I'd come from nowhere
to win the Heisman Trophy.

868
00:49:23,086 --> 00:49:26,005
And I was now someone
that people recognized.

869
00:49:26,589 --> 00:49:29,425
You know, that's something we can all
take with us, you know, for a lifetime.

870
00:49:30,843 --> 00:49:34,681
{\an8}That was one of those markers
where a lot changed after that.

871
00:49:40,770 --> 00:49:41,979
Hey, Coach.

872
00:49:42,063 --> 00:49:44,607
{\an8}[indistinct chatter]

873
00:49:44,691 --> 00:49:47,151
{\an8}I appreciate you
telling the people the truth.

874
00:49:47,235 --> 00:49:49,696
- I told them, man.
- [both laugh]

875
00:49:49,779 --> 00:49:52,365
- Absolutely.
- You know what, Barry?

876
00:49:52,448 --> 00:49:56,828
- We had every piece but the core.
- You think so?

877
00:49:56,911 --> 00:50:00,957
- Everybody knows that.
- Right, right, right. Yeah.

878
00:50:01,040 --> 00:50:03,042
- We didn't have it...
- It would have been interesting

879
00:50:03,126 --> 00:50:06,337
just to be a part of some of y'all
conversations about that.

880
00:50:06,421 --> 00:50:08,005
I can only... [laughing]

881
00:50:08,089 --> 00:50:11,592
[Fontes] Joe Montana called,
called me at my desk.

882
00:50:11,676 --> 00:50:13,219
I'm telling the truth.

883
00:50:13,761 --> 00:50:16,431
He called me and said, "I'd love to play
with you and Barry Sanders."

884
00:50:16,514 --> 00:50:18,641
- Wow.
- I said... I jumped off my desk

885
00:50:18,725 --> 00:50:22,228
{\an8}and I went and saw Chuck Schmidt
and I said,

886
00:50:22,311 --> 00:50:24,772
{\an8}"We got a chance to get Joe Montana."

887
00:50:24,856 --> 00:50:30,903
And Chuck Schmidt said, "He's too old.
He's over the hill.

888
00:50:30,987 --> 00:50:34,449
He's done, another year..."
I went back to Joe, "I'm sorry."

889
00:50:34,532 --> 00:50:36,909
- He goes to Kansas City, and plays...
- [Sanders] Lit it up.

890
00:50:36,993 --> 00:50:40,955
- Yeah, he lit it up.
- [Fontes] So I said let's get Warren Moon.

891
00:50:42,039 --> 00:50:43,499
Said, "He's too old."

892
00:50:43,583 --> 00:50:45,960
[laughter]

893
00:50:47,754 --> 00:50:51,090
- Wow. That's amazing.
- Yeah.

894
00:50:54,427 --> 00:50:56,262
[man] <i>The Lions finished
this past year, 5-11.</i>

895
00:50:56,345 --> 00:50:58,389
<i>That's their worst performance
in four years.</i>

896
00:50:58,473 --> 00:51:02,268
<i>But Wayne Fontes is now a</i> Paper Lion,
<i>he is in the team's record book.</i>

897
00:51:02,351 --> 00:51:06,230
<i>But he is no longer the head coach.
That's right. It happened.</i>

898
00:51:06,314 --> 00:51:08,524
<i>Fontes had more resurrections
than a televangelist,</i>

899
00:51:08,608 --> 00:51:11,444
<i>but he was fired today
by team owner William Clay Ford.</i>

900
00:51:12,653 --> 00:51:16,741
And without much further ado,
I'll introduce you to our new coach,

901
00:51:16,824 --> 00:51:19,452
Bobby Ross. Thank you.

902
00:51:21,746 --> 00:51:23,956
[man] If you haven't gotten yourself
to the playoffs

903
00:51:24,040 --> 00:51:29,712
and ultimately to the Super Bowl,
there is an empty feeling inside.

904
00:51:29,796 --> 00:51:33,007
And I can tell you
from this very moment on,

905
00:51:33,090 --> 00:51:36,969
that that's going to be the direction
and the goal of our football program

906
00:51:37,053 --> 00:51:38,930
here with the Detroit Lions.

907
00:51:39,847 --> 00:51:43,059
[Sanders] 1997 started out
very, very slow.

908
00:51:43,142 --> 00:51:45,269
You know,
I chalk it up to being a new offense.

909
00:51:45,353 --> 00:51:47,355
[dramatic music playing]

910
00:51:55,154 --> 00:51:58,950
The first two games,
I think I had a total of 50 yards,

911
00:51:59,033 --> 00:52:00,827
53 yards or something like that.

912
00:52:00,910 --> 00:52:03,496
And Bobby Ross was like,
"We gonna get Barry a fullback."

913
00:52:03,579 --> 00:52:05,206
I'm like, "No, we not."

914
00:52:05,289 --> 00:52:08,751
You mess with the other 52 guys,
leave Barry alone.

915
00:52:09,544 --> 00:52:12,338
[man] What is the basic problem
with the system?

916
00:52:12,421 --> 00:52:15,508
{\an8}The bad offense
they're running him out of.

917
00:52:16,217 --> 00:52:19,804
{\an8}In fact, there's no...
it's a nonexistent offense.

918
00:52:20,763 --> 00:52:23,766
[Sanders] He was used to seeing me
in the run and shoot.

919
00:52:23,850 --> 00:52:25,852
He felt like that was
a better offense for me.

920
00:52:25,935 --> 00:52:28,312
[announcer] <i>Detroit has been
stymied offensively so far,</i>

921
00:52:28,396 --> 00:52:30,940
<i>especially this man, Barry Sanders.
Stymied again.</i>

922
00:52:31,023 --> 00:52:33,025
[announcer 2] <i>Only 20 yards rushing today.</i>

923
00:52:33,109 --> 00:52:35,486
[announcer 3] <i>He's not going to set
many records today.</i>

924
00:52:35,570 --> 00:52:37,905
I just remember the rumblings about,
you know,

925
00:52:37,989 --> 00:52:42,076
me being in my ninth year,
maybe losing a step. Uh... [laughs]

926
00:52:42,159 --> 00:52:45,913
If they want changes, they can...
they can kiss Barry Sanders goodbye,

927
00:52:45,997 --> 00:52:49,000
number 20 goodbye. That's a promise.

928
00:52:51,335 --> 00:52:53,421
[Sanders] I can't sit here
and say what clicked.

929
00:52:54,005 --> 00:52:56,173
But for those guys up front,

930
00:52:56,257 --> 00:53:00,553
they always were talking about,
"Let's not get too cute with the offense.

931
00:53:00,636 --> 00:53:02,054
Run the freaking football."

932
00:53:02,138 --> 00:53:05,099
[upbeat music plays]

933
00:53:06,517 --> 00:53:08,644
[announcer] <i>Barry Sanders,
cut back over the middle.</i>

934
00:53:08,728 --> 00:53:11,314
<i>Back free to the 25, 30!
He's off to the races!</i>

935
00:53:11,397 --> 00:53:14,859
<i>40, midfield 40!
It's a foot race to the 30!</i>

936
00:53:16,485 --> 00:53:20,197
<i>He slowed up, keeps going to the ten,
five, and touchdown!</i>

937
00:53:20,281 --> 00:53:21,991
<i>80 yards!</i>

938
00:53:23,701 --> 00:53:26,787
<i>Barry Sanders, cut back over the middle
to midfield, right side 45.</i>

939
00:53:26,871 --> 00:53:28,956
<i>Barry in the open, 35, 30,
off to the races.</i>

940
00:53:29,040 --> 00:53:33,419
<i>20 to the 15 to the ten
to the five, touchdown Lions!</i>

941
00:53:44,847 --> 00:53:49,018
{\an8}[announcer] <i>And he moves into second
on the all-time rushing list.</i>

942
00:53:50,061 --> 00:53:52,438
<i>Now he only has
one more running back to catch,</i>

943
00:53:52,521 --> 00:53:54,273
<i>the former Bear, Walter Payton.</i>

944
00:53:54,357 --> 00:53:56,359
[music continues]

945
00:54:04,617 --> 00:54:07,495
[announcer] <i>Also, aiming for 2,000 yards.</i>

946
00:54:07,578 --> 00:54:13,501
<i>And he has to average this week
and next week 144.5 yards a game</i>

947
00:54:13,584 --> 00:54:15,336
<i>to get to 2,000.</i>

948
00:54:17,338 --> 00:54:22,593
[Hill] I just remember there just being
this campaign of Barry Sanders

949
00:54:22,677 --> 00:54:24,720
has got to get this 2,000 yards.

950
00:54:24,804 --> 00:54:27,723
But people wanted that for him
in the sense of

951
00:54:27,807 --> 00:54:30,267
you're never going to get to
the level of success

952
00:54:30,351 --> 00:54:32,520
as a team that you deserve to have.

953
00:54:32,603 --> 00:54:33,813
You gotta get this.

954
00:54:34,772 --> 00:54:39,026
{\an8}2,000 yards rushing
for a running back in a season

955
00:54:39,110 --> 00:54:41,070
{\an8}is one of the most notable records

956
00:54:41,153 --> 00:54:44,240
because at that time
only two players had done it.

957
00:54:44,949 --> 00:54:46,701
It'll be 2,000 this year, Barry.

958
00:54:46,784 --> 00:54:49,745
To be able to eclipse 2,000 yards,

959
00:54:49,829 --> 00:54:53,749
um, it just is such an elite mark
for a running back.

960
00:54:54,333 --> 00:54:57,294
And it almost seemed
to feel like it was impossible.

961
00:54:57,378 --> 00:54:59,547
Or if not impossible, not likely.

962
00:55:00,506 --> 00:55:03,926
{\an8}That was probably the first time
we had seen him

963
00:55:04,010 --> 00:55:07,013
{\an8}get excited about a personal goal.

964
00:55:07,096 --> 00:55:09,473
We all told everyone on the team,
"Don't mention it.

965
00:55:09,557 --> 00:55:13,144
Don't ask him anything about it.
If it happens, it happens."

966
00:55:14,770 --> 00:55:16,772
{\an8}[Sanders] There were a lot
of the sort of storylines

967
00:55:16,856 --> 00:55:19,108
{\an8}going into that last game
against the Jets.

968
00:55:19,650 --> 00:55:21,068
[dramatic music plays]

969
00:55:21,152 --> 00:55:23,779
We needed the win
to get into the playoffs.

970
00:55:23,863 --> 00:55:27,033
We were playing against
one of the toughest run defenses.

971
00:55:27,116 --> 00:55:29,201
[man] Bill Parcells was the head coach.

972
00:55:30,494 --> 00:55:33,289
Bill Belichick
was the defensive coordinator.

973
00:55:33,998 --> 00:55:36,542
{\an8}That was actually an all-star staff
when it comes to the coaching staff.

974
00:55:37,918 --> 00:55:39,795
[announcer]
<i>And good afternoon, everybody. Welcome.</i>

975
00:55:39,879 --> 00:55:45,092
<i>As the Detroit Lions and New York Jets
are prepared to kick it off here.</i>

976
00:55:45,176 --> 00:55:49,096
<i>Barry Sanders, 131 yards away from 2,000.</i>

977
00:55:51,599 --> 00:55:55,186
[announcer 2] <i>Sanders has a hole
and it closes in a hurry.</i>

978
00:56:00,107 --> 00:56:03,694
[Sanders] They did a pretty good job
of shutting us down the first half.

979
00:56:03,778 --> 00:56:07,907
[announcer] <i>Trapped, tries to get away,
and their gain is only two.</i>

980
00:56:07,990 --> 00:56:11,035
But as a defensive player,
you don't want that on your resume,

981
00:56:11,118 --> 00:56:12,495
that Barry got the 2,000 yards.

982
00:56:13,788 --> 00:56:18,334
[Sanders] It did not look like I was gonna
be able to get the 130 to get 2,000.

983
00:56:18,417 --> 00:56:21,921
<i>The New York Jets with a 10-3 lead
on the Detroit Lions at halftime.</i>

984
00:56:22,004 --> 00:56:24,965
<i>Barry Sanders, we've been talking
about him all weekend long,</i>

985
00:56:25,049 --> 00:56:27,676
<i>in the first half today,
eight carries for 20 yards.</i>

986
00:56:27,760 --> 00:56:31,472
We had it in the bag on both parts.
He wasn't going to get his 2,000,

987
00:56:31,555 --> 00:56:32,973
- and we were going to win.
- [announcer] <i>And the fact,</i>

988
00:56:33,057 --> 00:56:35,059
{\an8}<i>he has only 20 yards in the first half,</i>

989
00:56:35,142 --> 00:56:37,770
{\an8}<i>gives the Jets defense very high marks.</i>

990
00:56:37,853 --> 00:56:41,524
{\an8}Gotta do it up front now, let's go!
It's gotta be done up there, okay?

991
00:56:41,607 --> 00:56:43,400
The running game has gotta get going!

992
00:56:43,484 --> 00:56:45,486
[dramatic music plays]

993
00:56:54,703 --> 00:56:55,871
[announcer] <i>Sanders.</i>

994
00:56:57,331 --> 00:57:00,960
<i>Inside the ten-yard line,
a gain of nine more.</i>

995
00:57:01,043 --> 00:57:04,171
[announcer 2]
<i>When in doubt, give it to Barry.</i>

996
00:57:14,932 --> 00:57:19,728
[announcer 1] <i>Barry to the 15,
to the ten, five, touchdown!</i>

997
00:57:20,604 --> 00:57:25,025
<i>The curtain has finally raised
on the Barry Sanders show.</i>

998
00:57:27,987 --> 00:57:30,489
[dramatic music plays]

999
00:57:35,661 --> 00:57:37,371
[announcer] <i>2:15 to go.</i>

1000
00:57:37,454 --> 00:57:39,623
<i>Will he get it here?</i>

1001
00:57:39,707 --> 00:57:44,295
<i>Barry. Off the right side to the 44.</i>

1002
00:57:44,712 --> 00:57:47,756
<i>And that should be it.
That should be 2,000.</i>

1003
00:57:50,134 --> 00:57:52,386
[announcer 2]
<i>So, yes, it is 2,000 officially.</i>

1004
00:57:52,469 --> 00:57:54,763
[announcer 1]
<i>And Barry Sanders will get the football.</i>

1005
00:57:54,847 --> 00:57:57,516
<i>Officially, 2,000 yards.</i>

1006
00:58:02,521 --> 00:58:05,524
<i>Right on the button, 2,000 yards.</i>

1007
00:58:05,608 --> 00:58:07,693
[announcer 2] <i>Now, if Barry
loses a yard in the next carry,</i>

1008
00:58:07,776 --> 00:58:10,321
<i>- do they go take the ball away?</i>
- [announcer 1] <i>I don't know.</i>

1009
00:58:16,452 --> 00:58:18,412
<i>Second down and eight.</i>

1010
00:58:20,206 --> 00:58:22,208
<i>Barry cut back. Now he's got it!</i>

1011
00:58:22,291 --> 00:58:25,336
<i>50, 40, 30! Look out!</i>

1012
00:58:25,419 --> 00:58:29,215
<i>Right side, 20, 15 to the ten to the five!</i>

1013
00:58:29,298 --> 00:58:31,717
<i>He's well over 2,000 now!</i>

1014
00:58:31,800 --> 00:58:35,221
<i>Holy mackerel! Aaron Glenn with the stop!</i>

1015
00:58:35,304 --> 00:58:38,349
[announcer 2]
<i>They can't take that ball away from him!</i>

1016
00:58:44,563 --> 00:58:48,525
<i>- Once again, Sanders, as good as they get!</i>
- [announcer 1] <i>Whoa, nelly!</i>

1017
00:58:48,609 --> 00:58:51,195
<i>Barry gets 2,000 and then some!</i>

1018
00:58:51,278 --> 00:58:56,951
<i>A 53-yard run, 2,053 yards!</i>

1019
00:58:57,034 --> 00:58:59,495
<i>The Lions are gonna head to the playoffs.</i>

1020
00:59:07,002 --> 00:59:10,172
[Glover] That was the loudest
that I've ever heard the Silverdome,

1021
00:59:10,256 --> 00:59:13,634
when Barry broke for that 53-yard run
at the end of the game.

1022
00:59:18,055 --> 00:59:20,266
Now you've downplayed this all week.

1023
00:59:20,349 --> 00:59:22,935
In fact, all season,
and you've always been very modest.

1024
00:59:23,018 --> 00:59:25,354
But beneath this all,
we're told that you really did want this.

1025
00:59:25,437 --> 00:59:28,232
- How much of a thrill is this for you?
- Well, don't get me wrong.

1026
00:59:28,315 --> 00:59:31,527
I want to go into each game
and run for as many yards as I can.

1027
00:59:31,610 --> 00:59:34,571
And... but I just needed
to focus on what was important,

1028
00:59:34,655 --> 00:59:37,283
and, you know, playing a complete game.

1029
00:59:37,366 --> 00:59:41,245
And if that means blocking
and catching, running routes,

1030
00:59:41,328 --> 00:59:45,040
- whatever, running, then so...
- And to have your father here with you.

1031
00:59:45,124 --> 00:59:48,585
Well, you know, that didn't hurt any.
Having my father and my brother here.

1032
00:59:48,669 --> 00:59:52,506
I think it meant more to everyone else
than it did him.

1033
00:59:55,718 --> 00:59:58,137
{\an8}[triumphant music plays]

1034
01:00:07,896 --> 01:00:12,901
[Daniels] Every franchise wants to be able
to point to greatness.

1035
01:00:12,985 --> 01:00:16,822
You want to be able to go,
"That's when we were great.

1036
01:00:16,905 --> 01:00:20,576
That's when we were
excellence personified."

1037
01:00:21,243 --> 01:00:23,704
Barry Sanders gave us that.

1038
01:00:26,540 --> 01:00:29,626
[announcer] <i>Papa watching on
the sidelines, William.</i>

1039
01:00:30,127 --> 01:00:33,130
He was so... just beyond himself.

1040
01:00:34,882 --> 01:00:39,094
He probably enjoyed it more than
anyone else in the world.

1041
01:00:39,178 --> 01:00:42,806
To be on the sideline cheering me on,

1042
01:00:42,890 --> 01:00:44,308
it really meant the world to him.

1043
01:00:44,391 --> 01:00:47,061
And it meant a ton to me, as well.

1044
01:00:47,144 --> 01:00:48,103
[indistinct chatter]

1045
01:00:48,187 --> 01:00:51,106
Congratulations, B.
Great job, man. Great job.

1046
01:00:51,190 --> 01:00:54,818
[indistinct chatter]

1047
01:00:54,902 --> 01:00:57,780
Thank you, appreciate it. Thanks. Thanks.

1048
01:00:57,863 --> 01:01:01,408
- Congrats, Coach. Congratulations.
- Very proud for you.

1049
01:01:02,910 --> 01:01:05,954
What happened to the shoes
I was wearing that day?

1050
01:01:06,038 --> 01:01:07,998
Um, I don't know.

1051
01:01:09,917 --> 01:01:13,670
Let me think.
Who has my shoes from that day?

1052
01:01:13,754 --> 01:01:15,005
Um...

1053
01:01:18,133 --> 01:01:19,927
One of my teammates?

1054
01:01:20,010 --> 01:01:22,304
{\an8}I walked over to Barry and I said...

1055
01:01:22,388 --> 01:01:24,264
{\an8}I didn't say,
"Congratulations, great job."

1056
01:01:24,348 --> 01:01:28,394
{\an8}I said, "Can I get those shoes?"
And actually had him sign those.

1057
01:01:28,477 --> 01:01:32,314
Put "December 27th", signed both pair
of shoes by Barry Sanders

1058
01:01:32,398 --> 01:01:34,733
for the shoes he broke 2,000 yards with.

1059
01:01:34,817 --> 01:01:36,110
I have those shoes.

1060
01:01:36,193 --> 01:01:37,611
{\an8}- No...
- Everybody else gonna tell you...

1061
01:01:37,694 --> 01:01:39,488
{\an8}- Jocko, that's not...
- Everybody gonna tell you

1062
01:01:39,571 --> 01:01:41,949
{\an8}that Barry Sanders
is better than Jim Brown.

1063
01:01:42,032 --> 01:01:43,575
- Them guys don't know.
- Well...

1064
01:01:43,659 --> 01:01:46,161
- I know football, too.
- [laughter]

1065
01:01:46,245 --> 01:01:50,332
Mr. Sanders, what does that mean
to you from your son?

1066
01:01:50,416 --> 01:01:52,751
Jocko, it...

1067
01:01:52,835 --> 01:01:56,046
It means you the third leading...
second leading ground gainer.

1068
01:01:56,130 --> 01:01:58,132
Second leading ground gainer.

1069
01:01:58,215 --> 01:02:00,843
And it probably don't mean
anything to him now,

1070
01:02:00,926 --> 01:02:04,221
it probably won't mean anything to him
till maybe ten or 15 years down the road,

1071
01:02:04,304 --> 01:02:06,932
and he's through playing,
he look back through the history books

1072
01:02:07,015 --> 01:02:09,017
and see the things
he accomplished on the football field.

1073
01:02:09,101 --> 01:02:10,602
What does it mean to you, though?

1074
01:02:11,728 --> 01:02:13,021
Jocko...

1075
01:02:14,773 --> 01:02:16,024
Believe me...

1076
01:02:17,526 --> 01:02:20,988
I don't feel good for me.
I feel good for the city of Detroit.

1077
01:02:21,071 --> 01:02:23,574
Because this means
they can go on another day,

1078
01:02:23,657 --> 01:02:26,285
they can go to another playoff game.

1079
01:02:26,368 --> 01:02:29,997
I feel good, but I'm not...
It don't mean... it don't mean much to me

1080
01:02:30,080 --> 01:02:32,791
as it should to you people in Detroit.

1081
01:02:32,875 --> 01:02:36,879
I think it's a great honor to have this.

1082
01:02:36,962 --> 01:02:39,465
And your son gave it to you.
And I think it's... it's great.

1083
01:02:39,548 --> 01:02:41,758
- [man] We're all a part of that.
- That's true.

1084
01:02:41,842 --> 01:02:44,052
The entire Sanders family.

1085
01:02:45,554 --> 01:02:48,265
[man] The biggest thing about that game,

1086
01:02:48,348 --> 01:02:50,726
{\an8}and that game is off the charts for me
compared to any other game,

1087
01:02:50,809 --> 01:02:52,227
{\an8}was the Reggie Brown situation.

1088
01:02:56,190 --> 01:02:58,817
- [announcer] <i>Murrell.</i>
- [whistle blows]

1089
01:02:58,901 --> 01:03:02,196
{\an8}<i>Close to the 30, a gain of about three.</i>

1090
01:03:02,279 --> 01:03:04,615
<i>11:45 left in the 4th.</i>

1091
01:03:04,698 --> 01:03:06,867
<i>Reggie Brown, the injured Lion.</i>

1092
01:03:06,950 --> 01:03:10,412
<i>And from the action
of coaches and players,</i>

1093
01:03:10,496 --> 01:03:13,707
<i>uh, it's not an ordinary injury.</i>

1094
01:03:15,459 --> 01:03:19,588
You get a young linebacker going in,
making a routine tackle.

1095
01:03:19,671 --> 01:03:21,757
And all of a sudden he falls
and he doesn't get up.

1096
01:03:23,258 --> 01:03:26,261
[announcer] <i>There is an awfully
scary situation going on.</i>

1097
01:03:26,345 --> 01:03:28,931
<i>Reggie Brown is lying motionless.</i>

1098
01:03:32,017 --> 01:03:35,521
They had to do CPR right there
on the field to revive him.

1099
01:03:36,605 --> 01:03:40,275
I mean, this was a life and death
situation that was occurring

1100
01:03:40,359 --> 01:03:42,444
and unfolding right in front of us.

1101
01:03:42,528 --> 01:03:43,737
[Sanders] We were all just praying

1102
01:03:43,820 --> 01:03:46,240
and hoping for
Reggie's safety and recovery.

1103
01:03:46,323 --> 01:03:49,868
Reggie had a serious neck injury.

1104
01:03:49,952 --> 01:03:52,955
[announcer] <i>I had hoped we would never,
ever see this again.</i>

1105
01:03:53,830 --> 01:03:57,334
It definitely brought back memories,
you know, with Mike Utley.

1106
01:04:01,547 --> 01:04:05,551
{\an8}[Peete] So that '91 season,
we're playing the Rams.

1107
01:04:05,634 --> 01:04:09,388
{\an8}And on a freak play, Mike Utley goes down.

1108
01:04:09,471 --> 01:04:12,975
[announcer] <i>Mike Utley
is down for the Lions.</i>

1109
01:04:13,058 --> 01:04:17,145
[announcer 2] <i>And we can only hope
that it's not as serious as it appears.</i>

1110
01:04:18,605 --> 01:04:21,275
He hits the turf, hits in an awkward way,
and he's paralyzed.

1111
01:04:22,359 --> 01:04:26,863
[announcer] <i>And the scary thing about this
is, is Mike has not moved at all.</i>

1112
01:04:26,947 --> 01:04:31,034
Mike kept pounding his chest,
and said, "I can't feel my body.

1113
01:04:31,118 --> 01:04:33,078
I can't feel my body."

1114
01:04:33,161 --> 01:04:36,873
A lot of us were just frozen
in disbelief, stunned.

1115
01:04:36,957 --> 01:04:42,004
It was a reality check
that there are some dangers involved.

1116
01:04:42,087 --> 01:04:45,340
It was tough. It was tough to see that.
It was tough to experience it.

1117
01:04:45,424 --> 01:04:49,886
The impact of it, um,
I think, stayed with us.

1118
01:04:51,847 --> 01:04:55,517
{\an8}Over his career,
I mean, he'd seen two of his teammates

1119
01:04:55,601 --> 01:04:58,729
{\an8}suffer serious spinal cord injuries.

1120
01:05:00,188 --> 01:05:04,610
{\an8}He was beginning to wonder,
"Should I continue?

1121
01:05:04,693 --> 01:05:08,947
{\an8}And if I continue,
why should I continue?"

1122
01:05:09,781 --> 01:05:14,578
We were on vacation,
and just kind of offhandedly, he said,

1123
01:05:14,661 --> 01:05:17,998
"You know,
I've thought about hanging it up."

1124
01:05:18,915 --> 01:05:22,711
It's like, "Really? Um... why?"

1125
01:05:22,794 --> 01:05:25,589
He said, "You know, um,

1126
01:05:25,672 --> 01:05:30,886
I'm really wrestling with
continuing to... to do this.

1127
01:05:31,720 --> 01:05:32,721
Uh...

1128
01:05:32,804 --> 01:05:34,681
It's kind of a grind."

1129
01:05:36,767 --> 01:05:38,769
[Sanders] What started sort of happening,

1130
01:05:38,852 --> 01:05:42,272
guys end up going elsewhere, you know,

1131
01:05:42,356 --> 01:05:45,817
guys like Chris Spielman, you know, Lomas.

1132
01:05:45,901 --> 01:05:49,071
[Brown] Chris Spielman became
a salary cap victim

1133
01:05:49,154 --> 01:05:50,906
the same year I did.

1134
01:05:51,907 --> 01:05:54,910
I left kicking and screaming.
I didn't want to go.

1135
01:05:54,993 --> 01:05:56,995
[Sanders] Like Ray Crockett, for instance,

1136
01:05:57,079 --> 01:06:00,749
Jerry Ball, even Erik Kramer.

1137
01:06:00,832 --> 01:06:03,460
And you go to war
and go to battle with those guys,

1138
01:06:03,543 --> 01:06:05,879
you form a bond, obviously.

1139
01:06:05,962 --> 01:06:08,757
Some of the guys they may have brought in
to replace those guys,

1140
01:06:09,424 --> 01:06:11,051
just not the same.

1141
01:06:11,134 --> 01:06:14,596
But you got to take the field
with the guys that you practice with.

1142
01:06:15,389 --> 01:06:17,182
[announcer] <i>Quietly just labors away.</i>

1143
01:06:17,265 --> 01:06:21,687
<i>He has had just constant shuffling
on the offensive line in front of him.</i>

1144
01:06:21,770 --> 01:06:23,480
[Hill] As every year passed,

1145
01:06:23,563 --> 01:06:27,109
and they didn't quite duplicate
the success that they had in '91,

1146
01:06:27,192 --> 01:06:31,154
there was a intense feeling
among the fan base

1147
01:06:31,238 --> 01:06:35,075
that here they have this great
generational player in Barry Sanders,

1148
01:06:35,158 --> 01:06:37,828
and they are wasting his time.

1149
01:06:37,911 --> 01:06:40,706
Had that group stayed...
been able to stay together somehow,

1150
01:06:40,789 --> 01:06:42,666
yeah, we definitely
could have done much better

1151
01:06:42,749 --> 01:06:45,001
and definitely won some playoff games,

1152
01:06:45,085 --> 01:06:47,671
you know, because a lot
of those guys went other places

1153
01:06:47,754 --> 01:06:51,049
and did win playoff games
and win Super Bowls.

1154
01:06:52,008 --> 01:06:56,722
Toward the end of my ninth season,
Kevin Glover pulled me aside,

1155
01:06:56,805 --> 01:06:57,681
and he says,

1156
01:06:57,764 --> 01:07:01,435
"I think, you know, I'm probably
not going to be here next year."

1157
01:07:01,518 --> 01:07:04,730
And I said, you know, I just thought,
there's no way that's going to happen.

1158
01:07:04,813 --> 01:07:07,858
I mean, why would... why would
we do something like that?

1159
01:07:07,941 --> 01:07:10,444
{\an8}Contract was up, and...

1160
01:07:10,527 --> 01:07:13,864
{\an8}Yeah, I don't want to
get into all the details.

1161
01:07:14,614 --> 01:07:16,992
The franchise tag was put on me.

1162
01:07:17,075 --> 01:07:19,661
It was taken off after the cutoff date,

1163
01:07:19,745 --> 01:07:22,456
so it wasn't handled properly.

1164
01:07:22,539 --> 01:07:24,666
I just... I'll leave it at that.

1165
01:07:24,750 --> 01:07:27,878
[Sanders] To see Kevin go
was definitely tough

1166
01:07:27,961 --> 01:07:30,505
just because of how
he solidified the locker room

1167
01:07:30,589 --> 01:07:33,175
and was so much a part of my career.

1168
01:07:33,258 --> 01:07:37,304
And so when that actually happened,
to me that was a blow.

1169
01:07:38,555 --> 01:07:41,975
[Moore] They underestimated the fact
that when you start getting rid of

1170
01:07:42,058 --> 01:07:46,396
the leaders of your team,
like a Kevin Glover and a Lomas Brown,

1171
01:07:46,480 --> 01:07:48,982
and it's not a lot of money,

1172
01:07:49,065 --> 01:07:51,777
you're sacrificing the opportunity
for a franchise

1173
01:07:51,860 --> 01:07:53,153
to go from good to great.

1174
01:07:53,236 --> 01:07:56,740
I think we looked at the dollars and cents
of it, more so than we looked at,

1175
01:07:56,823 --> 01:07:58,950
you know what,
sometimes you just got to pay.

1176
01:07:59,034 --> 01:08:01,745
[William] These guys both know football,
that's what we brings.

1177
01:08:01,828 --> 01:08:04,790
Them suckers don't know more
about the game than I do.

1178
01:08:05,707 --> 01:08:08,919
The Lions attempts at rebuilding
only made things worse.

1179
01:08:10,212 --> 01:08:14,966
And the '98 season played out
just like every other one before it.

1180
01:08:16,676 --> 01:08:18,887
[announcer] <i>And he did not
find running room there.</i>

1181
01:08:18,970 --> 01:08:20,847
<i>Goes up the middle! 40-50.</i>

1182
01:08:20,931 --> 01:08:22,724
[Hammond] Barry was one of the best backs
in the league

1183
01:08:22,808 --> 01:08:24,100
and the team just couldn't win.

1184
01:08:24,184 --> 01:08:25,602
[announcer] <i>30, 20, ten!</i>

1185
01:08:25,685 --> 01:08:29,147
<i>They'll never catch him!
Touchdown, Lions! Barry Sanders!</i>

1186
01:08:29,231 --> 01:08:32,108
[announcer 2] <i>That puts Barry
over a thousand yards</i>

1187
01:08:32,192 --> 01:08:36,029
<i>for the tenth straight season.
Nobody's ever done that.</i>

1188
01:08:36,112 --> 01:08:39,491
[Sanders] By most standards,
it was an okay year, individually.

1189
01:08:39,574 --> 01:08:42,202
[announcer] <i>Career rushing,
and Sanders second all-time</i>

1190
01:08:42,285 --> 01:08:44,329
<i>on the heels of Walter Payton.</i>

1191
01:08:44,412 --> 01:08:47,541
[announcer 2] <i>If he stays healthy,
he will be the leading running back</i>

1192
01:08:47,624 --> 01:08:50,001
<i>in the history of the NFL.</i>

1193
01:08:50,877 --> 01:08:53,922
But team wise, we didn't play very well.

1194
01:08:54,005 --> 01:08:55,590
[William] They lost that game in Chicago.

1195
01:08:55,674 --> 01:08:58,718
They blew a 17-point lead,
and I'm not lying.

1196
01:08:58,802 --> 01:09:01,054
I've never seen Barry
so dejected in my life.

1197
01:09:01,137 --> 01:09:04,432
[announcer] <i>You look over
what the team has lost free agent wise.</i>

1198
01:09:04,516 --> 01:09:06,768
{\an8}<i>It's pretty devastating.
The guys that were there</i>

1199
01:09:06,852 --> 01:09:08,687
{\an8}<i>that made up the backbone of the team,</i>

1200
01:09:08,770 --> 01:09:11,648
{\an8}<i>- the Spielmans, the Perrimans... Glover.</i>
- [announcer 2] <i>Glover.</i>

1201
01:09:11,731 --> 01:09:14,651
{\an8}[announcer 1] <i>Guys that have gone
other places have done well.</i>

1202
01:09:14,734 --> 01:09:17,529
Somewhere along the line,
I definitely felt like,

1203
01:09:17,612 --> 01:09:19,239
you know, just that drive,

1204
01:09:19,322 --> 01:09:23,201
um, you know,
and that passion to play the game,

1205
01:09:23,285 --> 01:09:25,120
you know, it was different.

1206
01:09:25,912 --> 01:09:28,915
[man] What's his level of enthusiasm
for football right now?

1207
01:09:28,999 --> 01:09:31,459
I think it's like about zero.

1208
01:09:31,543 --> 01:09:33,545
{\an8}[pensive music plays]

1209
01:09:36,006 --> 01:09:40,343
{\an8}[Sanders] The Baltimore game,
there was really nothing to play for.

1210
01:09:40,427 --> 01:09:41,678
The season was over.

1211
01:09:43,221 --> 01:09:44,639
It was a tough game.

1212
01:09:44,723 --> 01:09:48,602
You know, we didn't play well,
had a couple of fumbles and...

1213
01:09:48,685 --> 01:09:50,687
And it just wasn't a good game.

1214
01:09:50,770 --> 01:09:53,982
{\an8}[music continues]

1215
01:09:55,525 --> 01:09:58,278
[announcer] <i>Sanders loses another yard.</i>

1216
01:09:58,361 --> 01:09:59,863
[Sanders] I mean, I just remember

1217
01:09:59,946 --> 01:10:01,907
walking off the field,

1218
01:10:01,990 --> 01:10:05,869
I pretty much knew
this great journey was over.

1219
01:10:06,453 --> 01:10:09,164
[music continues]

1220
01:10:39,778 --> 01:10:43,490
[Sanders] I definitely couldn't
hold back a few tears.

1221
01:10:51,915 --> 01:10:55,001
Kevin Glover had moved on.
I think he was in Seattle at that time.

1222
01:10:55,085 --> 01:10:59,798
But he's from the Baltimore area,
and I remember he had come to that game.

1223
01:10:59,881 --> 01:11:03,426
Somebody on staff came and got me
and asked me to come in the locker room.

1224
01:11:03,510 --> 01:11:07,013
I said, "Well, I'm not really on the team,
so I'm not going in the locker room."

1225
01:11:07,097 --> 01:11:10,642
He said, "No, we need you to come in
and talk to Barry."

1226
01:11:10,725 --> 01:11:13,687
I said, "What's going on?" He said, "Well,
he's in the back of the locker room.

1227
01:11:13,770 --> 01:11:15,522
He won't talk to anybody."

1228
01:11:15,605 --> 01:11:20,068
And I went in and he's sitting back
by the lockers, by himself.

1229
01:11:20,151 --> 01:11:21,987
Everybody else was gone.

1230
01:11:22,070 --> 01:11:24,656
I said, "Man, you had another solid year."

1231
01:11:24,739 --> 01:11:27,951
I said, "Hey, when you break the record
next year, no matter where I am,

1232
01:11:28,034 --> 01:11:30,245
I'll be at that game.
I'm coming to see it.

1233
01:11:30,328 --> 01:11:31,746
I want to witness it for myself."

1234
01:11:31,830 --> 01:11:35,959
And he said, "I don't know
if there's going to be a next year."

1235
01:11:42,048 --> 01:11:44,676
[Sanders] I decided to get away
from everything,

1236
01:11:44,759 --> 01:11:47,137
that I was going to get away
for a few days.

1237
01:11:47,220 --> 01:11:49,431
So I go out to Metro Airport.

1238
01:11:49,514 --> 01:11:52,934
I came to the gate as I was heading
to London, and several of the passengers

1239
01:11:53,018 --> 01:11:55,437
were like, "Man, I think that's
Barry Sanders over there.

1240
01:11:55,520 --> 01:11:58,982
Don't the Lions have training camp
starting, like, tomorrow?" [laughs]

1241
01:11:59,065 --> 01:12:01,651
'Twas the night before training camp
and all through the town,

1242
01:12:01,735 --> 01:12:04,571
word traveled like lightning
that Barry Sanders won't be around.

1243
01:12:04,654 --> 01:12:08,700
{\an8}[laughs] It was hysteria in the newsroom.
It was just...

1244
01:12:08,783 --> 01:12:10,118
<i>CSI: Find Barry.</i>

1245
01:12:10,201 --> 01:12:11,327
[Sanders laughs]

1246
01:12:11,411 --> 01:12:14,706
And so people found out
that I was on this plane,

1247
01:12:14,789 --> 01:12:16,249
including the media.

1248
01:12:16,332 --> 01:12:19,210
And some media members
ended up coming to the gate.

1249
01:12:20,003 --> 01:12:22,797
[man] <i>Pretty odd going off to Europe
as you announce your retirement.</i>

1250
01:12:22,881 --> 01:12:25,800
[man 2] <i>Well, he wanted... It was funny,
he wanted to get away from everything.</i>

1251
01:12:25,884 --> 01:12:28,470
<i>And it turns out somebody found out
he was going to be there.</i>

1252
01:12:28,553 --> 01:12:30,346
<i>And so he actually had cameras
waiting for him.</i>

1253
01:12:30,430 --> 01:12:31,389
[man 1] <i>That's funny.</i>

1254
01:12:31,473 --> 01:12:34,768
So, I boarded a plane
and flew to London.

1255
01:12:34,851 --> 01:12:36,436
[♪ Ed Sheeran (feat. Stormzy)
"Take Me Back to London"]

1256
01:12:36,519 --> 01:12:39,022
<i>♪ Jet plane headed up to the sky ♪</i>

1257
01:12:39,105 --> 01:12:42,859
<i>♪ Spreading wings
in the clouds getting high ♪</i>

1258
01:12:42,942 --> 01:12:46,446
<i>♪ We ain't hit a rave in a while ♪</i>

1259
01:12:46,529 --> 01:12:48,490
<i>♪ So take me back to London ♪</i>

1260
01:12:48,573 --> 01:12:52,035
[reporter] <i>On the day that the Lions
opened camp, Barry Sanders is in London,</i>

1261
01:12:52,118 --> 01:12:53,787
<i>and he sends word that he's retiring.</i>

1262
01:12:53,870 --> 01:12:56,539
[Glover] I actually was on the way
to training camp

1263
01:12:56,623 --> 01:12:58,958
and I'm walking
by the sports bar in the airport.

1264
01:12:59,042 --> 01:13:04,672
There must have been 60 guys
crowded around the TVs in the sports bar,

1265
01:13:04,756 --> 01:13:07,258
and I'm walking by, like,
"What's happening?"

1266
01:13:07,342 --> 01:13:11,179
As Sanders announced his retirement
from the NFL at age 31.

1267
01:13:11,262 --> 01:13:15,016
And I just stood there and kind of smiled
and shook my head. It's like, that's B.

1268
01:13:15,100 --> 01:13:18,561
<i>♪ So take me back to London ♪</i>

1269
01:13:18,645 --> 01:13:21,397
[boy] We're in London
with my dad, Barry Sanders.

1270
01:13:21,481 --> 01:13:24,442
{\an8}Uh, I'm assuming something
on his retirement.

1271
01:13:24,526 --> 01:13:26,236
I do not know the story.

1272
01:13:26,319 --> 01:13:29,072
[anchor] Was Barry frustrated
playing for a losing team? Who knows?

1273
01:13:29,155 --> 01:13:33,743
All we know is Sanders ran to daylight
again, taking off for London.

1274
01:13:33,827 --> 01:13:36,037
[boy] I really don't know why we're here.
My dad don't talk about, you know,

1275
01:13:36,121 --> 01:13:38,873
{\an8}football a whole lot or retirement really.

1276
01:13:38,957 --> 01:13:44,212
{\an8}I know he retired and he came here,
so that's pretty much all I know.

1277
01:13:44,295 --> 01:13:45,922
<i>♪ So take me back to London ♪</i>

1278
01:13:46,005 --> 01:13:49,759
{\an8}I'm here with my dad and my brothers.
He retired in 1999.

1279
01:13:49,843 --> 01:13:53,513
He came over here to London. I'm sure
that was a pivotal point in his life.

1280
01:13:53,596 --> 01:13:55,974
Spending ten years in NFL
and then just calling it quits.

1281
01:13:56,057 --> 01:13:58,518
We got a couple of questions
for him to see what happened.

1282
01:13:58,601 --> 01:13:59,936
<i>♪ So take me back to London ♪</i>

1283
01:14:03,481 --> 01:14:06,484
[Sanders] In '99, it was so chaotic,

1284
01:14:06,568 --> 01:14:09,946
and I knew that I had left, I don't know
if you want to call it a mess.

1285
01:14:10,029 --> 01:14:11,531
So it feels nice to be back.

1286
01:14:11,614 --> 01:14:14,200
<i>♪ So take me back to London ♪</i>

1287
01:14:15,785 --> 01:14:17,620
[Barry Jr.]
You come to London. Why London?

1288
01:14:17,704 --> 01:14:20,456
[Sanders] Why London?
I had been there before.

1289
01:14:20,540 --> 01:14:22,584
Um, it's a different country.

1290
01:14:22,667 --> 01:14:24,961
But, you know,
I kind of knew how to get around.

1291
01:14:25,044 --> 01:14:29,632
I knew that it would be crazy back home
and I just wanted to get away.

1292
01:14:29,716 --> 01:14:33,219
- And London seemed like a good idea.
- Did you tell Grandma and Grandpa?

1293
01:14:33,303 --> 01:14:35,680
I mean, I'm sure Grandpa had
something interesting to say about that.

1294
01:14:35,763 --> 01:14:39,225
I called Mother and told her
that I was retiring,

1295
01:14:39,309 --> 01:14:42,437
and I was going to head to London
for a few days.

1296
01:14:42,520 --> 01:14:44,981
No Grandpa? Where's Grandpa come in?

1297
01:14:45,064 --> 01:14:47,901
- He found out eventually.
- Oh, okay.

1298
01:14:47,984 --> 01:14:50,028
[phone rings]

1299
01:14:51,404 --> 01:14:53,740
{\an8}[man] How many people
have called you today?

1300
01:14:54,699 --> 01:14:59,621
Oh, at least... maybe 25 or 30.
God, I did so many interviews today.

1301
01:15:00,830 --> 01:15:03,791
[Sanders] Grandpa Sanders, man,
he thought I was out of my mind.

1302
01:15:03,875 --> 01:15:08,171
In particular, he was just very shocked
and surprised and disappointed,

1303
01:15:08,254 --> 01:15:11,674
you know, as to why... why I would retire.

1304
01:15:11,758 --> 01:15:14,844
But he was definitely
caught off guard by that.

1305
01:15:14,928 --> 01:15:16,763
- He was probably...
- So that's why... So that's why

1306
01:15:16,846 --> 01:15:18,932
I called my mom and told her. [laughs]

1307
01:15:19,015 --> 01:15:21,392
I wasn't going to tell him. [laughs]

1308
01:15:21,476 --> 01:15:23,102
{\an8}They had a good relationship,

1309
01:15:23,186 --> 01:15:26,564
{\an8}but he was pissed
when Barry quit football. [laughs]

1310
01:15:26,648 --> 01:15:29,484
[man] You talked to him last year,
he was considering it even then?

1311
01:15:29,567 --> 01:15:33,947
Considering it last year and I talked...
I talked him into playing one more year.

1312
01:15:34,030 --> 01:15:38,868
- [man] But what did he say?
- I can't tell you. [laughs]

1313
01:15:38,952 --> 01:15:41,329
It was... it wasn't nice.

1314
01:15:41,412 --> 01:15:44,499
He don't know why the hell he did this.
He could have played, this and that.

1315
01:15:44,582 --> 01:15:48,878
[anchor] Barry Sanders played his hand
today, revealing his desire to retire.

1316
01:15:48,962 --> 01:15:51,589
A shocking announcement
has thousands of fans feeling flustered.

1317
01:15:51,673 --> 01:15:54,801
People are very disgusted
with the way Barry handled this.

1318
01:15:54,884 --> 01:15:56,010
I think rightfully so.

1319
01:15:56,094 --> 01:16:00,181
They're insulted the star running back
simply faxed in his retirement.

1320
01:16:00,265 --> 01:16:03,643
[upbeat music plays]

1321
01:16:03,726 --> 01:16:07,480
I think it was his idea
to release it by fax.

1322
01:16:07,563 --> 01:16:10,817
So I crafted a statement with Mark.

1323
01:16:10,900 --> 01:16:13,820
[McCormick] I was working
at the <i>Wichita Eagle</i> at the time

1324
01:16:13,903 --> 01:16:19,742
and we were faxing a retirement letter
back and forth under his pseudonym,

1325
01:16:19,826 --> 01:16:23,871
which was first initial B.,
last name Abernathy.

1326
01:16:23,955 --> 01:16:26,624
I don't know where we came up with that.

1327
01:16:26,708 --> 01:16:32,505
It was important to him
that his hometown paper get that story.

1328
01:16:32,588 --> 01:16:35,341
[man] <i>Who's the big loser
in this Barry Sanders fiasco?</i>

1329
01:16:35,425 --> 01:16:37,260
{\an8}<i>Undoubtedly, it's the fans.</i>

1330
01:16:37,343 --> 01:16:38,720
{\an8}Tears.

1331
01:16:40,179 --> 01:16:42,140
{\an8}Devastation.

1332
01:16:42,223 --> 01:16:43,683
Like literal.

1333
01:16:43,766 --> 01:16:46,185
Like literal fucking devastation.

1334
01:16:46,269 --> 01:16:49,272
{\an8}What the F are you doing?

1335
01:16:49,355 --> 01:16:52,442
{\an8}Shocked. Completely shocked,

1336
01:16:52,525 --> 01:16:56,487
{\an8}because Barry looked like he was the guy
that could have rushed for 20,000 yards.

1337
01:16:56,571 --> 01:16:58,072
Here's a guy in the prime of his career

1338
01:16:58,156 --> 01:17:00,533
{\an8}who could have really help this team
and he didn't retire,

1339
01:17:00,616 --> 01:17:02,118
he quit and left them in the lurch.

1340
01:17:02,201 --> 01:17:05,038
[man] <i>Issuing the following statement,
and we quote:</i>

1341
01:17:05,121 --> 01:17:09,167
Eventually, we got the verbiage down

1342
01:17:09,250 --> 01:17:11,878
that his desire to be out of the game...

1343
01:17:11,961 --> 01:17:14,964
[man] <i>...is greater
than my desire to remain in it.</i>

1344
01:17:15,048 --> 01:17:18,134
[Sanders] And so we released a statement
in the local paper.

1345
01:17:18,217 --> 01:17:19,927
We faxed the Lions,

1346
01:17:20,720 --> 01:17:22,472
and that's how I announced it.

1347
01:17:23,139 --> 01:17:24,640
Fax machine?

1348
01:17:24,724 --> 01:17:28,102
That's when you knew, like,
he hates this thing.

1349
01:17:29,645 --> 01:17:32,940
[man] <i>The Sanders statue
at the Lions Experience in Saginaw,</i>

1350
01:17:33,024 --> 01:17:37,070
<i>since the Barry fiasco, the middle finger
on the left hand was manipulated.</i>

1351
01:17:38,196 --> 01:17:40,531
{\an8}It was like a divorce.
And you took sides.

1352
01:17:40,615 --> 01:17:42,992
[host] I've got an email right here
that says, "Until yesterday,

1353
01:17:43,076 --> 01:17:44,786
O.J. was my least favorite NFL runner,

1354
01:17:44,869 --> 01:17:46,496
but he only stabbed
two people in the back.

1355
01:17:46,579 --> 01:17:51,501
He could have came on national TV
and said that he was going to retire.

1356
01:17:53,044 --> 01:17:56,339
Yeah, I heard there was a fax
that Barry... but that's Barry.

1357
01:17:56,422 --> 01:17:59,884
You know Barry wasn't going to
have no press conference

1358
01:17:59,967 --> 01:18:03,721
and he wasn't going to put on
no whole big shindig.

1359
01:18:03,805 --> 01:18:07,809
[Hill] There were some Lions fans who were
angry at him for the way that he left.

1360
01:18:07,892 --> 01:18:11,229
There was a lot of Lions fans
who understood.

1361
01:18:11,312 --> 01:18:14,899
Because frankly, if they had
an opportunity to send the Lions a fax

1362
01:18:14,982 --> 01:18:17,318
and divorce them and then go to London
for a couple of weeks and walk around,

1363
01:18:17,402 --> 01:18:20,029
they would have done the same thing.

1364
01:18:20,113 --> 01:18:22,949
Was there another way that you could have
sent it or like, why a fax?

1365
01:18:23,032 --> 01:18:26,202
I guess email was around, you know,
I guess I could've just driven over there.

1366
01:18:26,285 --> 01:18:27,954
I could've driven over there, you know...

1367
01:18:28,037 --> 01:18:31,541
- Could have done a press conference.
- ...and just handed in a pink slip.

1368
01:18:31,624 --> 01:18:34,335
- [laughs]
- What, so you like run a paper

1369
01:18:34,419 --> 01:18:36,045
- through like a printer?
- Correct.

1370
01:18:36,129 --> 01:18:38,965
- And then it just prints out somewhere?
- On the other side. Yeah.

1371
01:18:39,048 --> 01:18:41,259
- Exactly what it was.
- That's actually kinda cool.

1372
01:18:41,342 --> 01:18:44,762
So, I mean, why after that ten years
when you're still having great,

1373
01:18:44,846 --> 01:18:47,265
great seasons, why then, why retire?

1374
01:18:47,348 --> 01:18:50,017
I feel like that's...
that's a hard one to explain sometimes.

1375
01:18:50,101 --> 01:18:54,814
But I think it was even though
the retirement was, like,

1376
01:18:54,897 --> 01:18:58,025
kind of shocking
to the football sports world,

1377
01:18:58,109 --> 01:19:02,405
for me I felt like toward the beginning,
middle of that last season,

1378
01:19:02,488 --> 01:19:06,200
I was pretty sure that just, like, inside,

1379
01:19:06,284 --> 01:19:10,204
you know, in my mind,
I was like, "Okay, I'm pretty much done."

1380
01:19:10,288 --> 01:19:15,168
Did you consider going to a different team
and, you know, being able to win, or what?

1381
01:19:15,251 --> 01:19:18,796
I didn't. It was never really a thought.
That was it.

1382
01:19:18,880 --> 01:19:20,923
So you're saying,
there's no circumstances...?

1383
01:19:21,007 --> 01:19:24,093
- Circumstance...
- No circumstances could have changed?

1384
01:19:24,177 --> 01:19:26,345
- Oh, yeah.
- To have...

1385
01:19:26,429 --> 01:19:30,099
still ignited that... that drive?

1386
01:19:30,183 --> 01:19:33,436
That's a game you could
probably play all day.

1387
01:19:33,519 --> 01:19:37,899
You know, like if we were coming off
deep... a deep playoff run.

1388
01:19:37,982 --> 01:19:41,652
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- You know, a Super Bowl loss.

1389
01:19:41,736 --> 01:19:43,821
- Yeah.
- You know, those things do matter.

1390
01:19:43,905 --> 01:19:46,491
And thinking back,
I guess all I can say

1391
01:19:46,574 --> 01:19:48,910
is it could have
made the difference, you know.

1392
01:19:48,993 --> 01:19:51,662
So basically it was, like, the losing.

1393
01:19:51,746 --> 01:19:55,333
Because if you were winning Super Bowls,
you would have wanted to keep playing.

1394
01:19:56,375 --> 01:19:59,003
I'm not gonna say
we lost for ten years, but... [laughs]

1395
01:19:59,086 --> 01:20:01,672
- I mean, you didn't win the one.
- But yeah.

1396
01:20:01,756 --> 01:20:04,258
- But a lot of guys don't win...
- Yeah, no, I get that.

1397
01:20:04,342 --> 01:20:07,678
But like, if you're in the game,
you want to win. You want to win that.

1398
01:20:07,762 --> 01:20:09,931
- Everybody does. You know what I mean?
- Right, right.

1399
01:20:10,014 --> 01:20:11,807
If you were winning those bigger games...

1400
01:20:11,891 --> 01:20:14,727
I couldn't simplify it just to say
the losing because, again,

1401
01:20:14,810 --> 01:20:17,605
we had been losing
for many years, you know.

1402
01:20:17,688 --> 01:20:19,941
But obviously,
you do play to win the game.

1403
01:20:20,024 --> 01:20:21,275
[Noah] Well said. Yeah.

1404
01:20:21,359 --> 01:20:24,820
For me to continue to play,
I would've had to have the same drive.

1405
01:20:24,904 --> 01:20:28,658
And I just knew, like,
inside that that was it.

1406
01:20:28,741 --> 01:20:31,953
Yeah, I... That makes sense.

1407
01:20:32,036 --> 01:20:35,957
And I think if they had made
a concerted effort earlier

1408
01:20:36,040 --> 01:20:38,125
to say they was going to
change some things in Detroit,

1409
01:20:38,209 --> 01:20:40,294
I think Barry would have still been there.

1410
01:20:40,378 --> 01:20:42,672
But they played hard ball
that they was going to go

1411
01:20:42,755 --> 01:20:46,926
the same direction they've been going,
and Barry, he was just sick of it.

1412
01:20:47,009 --> 01:20:49,595
Oh, no, Grandpa Sanders, man,
he definitely felt

1413
01:20:49,679 --> 01:20:52,431
like I should go after
Walter Payton's record.

1414
01:20:52,515 --> 01:20:54,475
You guys don't even know
who that is, but...

1415
01:20:54,559 --> 01:20:57,395
- [Noah] I used to watch his highlights.
- [Sanders] You heard the names.

1416
01:20:57,478 --> 01:20:59,063
[Noah] I used to watch the highlights.

1417
01:20:59,146 --> 01:21:02,817
[announcer] <i>The 31-year-old
is calling it quits just 1,458 yards short</i>

1418
01:21:02,900 --> 01:21:04,694
<i>of Walter Payton's all-time record.</i>

1419
01:21:04,777 --> 01:21:06,946
[William] In fact, I talked
to Walter Payton about a month ago.

1420
01:21:07,029 --> 01:21:09,156
He said he'd like to see Barry break it.

1421
01:21:09,240 --> 01:21:13,995
You know, that was something he was
looking forward to taking pride in.

1422
01:21:14,078 --> 01:21:15,413
You know, so...

1423
01:21:15,496 --> 01:21:17,415
[reporter] Sanders,
less than 1,500 yards shy

1424
01:21:17,498 --> 01:21:19,750
of breaking Payton's
career rushing record last season.

1425
01:21:19,834 --> 01:21:22,044
So barring injury,
this was really just a matter of time

1426
01:21:22,128 --> 01:21:24,088
before the record was Barry's.

1427
01:21:24,171 --> 01:21:26,841
You know, it's really just
almost hard to explain

1428
01:21:26,924 --> 01:21:30,177
because there was... there was a time
when I would've thought that same thing,

1429
01:21:30,261 --> 01:21:32,430
how could a person be that close to it?

1430
01:21:32,513 --> 01:21:35,850
And I never imagined that I would be
someone that would be that close

1431
01:21:35,933 --> 01:21:39,228
to Walter Payton's all-time rushing record
in the NFL.

1432
01:21:39,312 --> 01:21:42,148
If they have kept track of Barry's career,
Barry used to take himself

1433
01:21:42,231 --> 01:21:43,316
out of ballgames.

1434
01:21:44,358 --> 01:21:46,694
When he was in college,
he wouldn't go back in.

1435
01:21:46,777 --> 01:21:48,654
[Burkholder]
He did not wanna win the Heisman.

1436
01:21:48,738 --> 01:21:50,406
[William] He's done the same thing in pro.

1437
01:21:50,489 --> 01:21:54,452
[announcer] <i>Sanders needs ten yards
to win the rushing title.</i>

1438
01:21:54,535 --> 01:21:56,746
<i>Why is he not in the game?</i>

1439
01:21:56,829 --> 01:21:59,165
[woman] Everything you saw him do
in the NFL,

1440
01:21:59,248 --> 01:22:02,543
{\an8}some component of that had already
happened in his life prior to that, right?

1441
01:22:02,627 --> 01:22:05,838
Barry's not after records.
Barry wants to win football games.

1442
01:22:07,673 --> 01:22:11,260
[Sanders] I mean, I think about how much
football I had played at that point,

1443
01:22:11,344 --> 01:22:14,972
how much I had invested myself
into the game.

1444
01:22:15,222 --> 01:22:21,020
For me, just that...
that thing that drove me to play,

1445
01:22:21,103 --> 01:22:23,898
which is just, you know, that passion.

1446
01:22:23,981 --> 01:22:25,358
It just wasn't there.

1447
01:22:26,025 --> 01:22:28,235
There was nothing really left to play for.

1448
01:22:28,319 --> 01:22:32,448
I didn't see us as any kind of
a serious Super Bowl contender.

1449
01:22:33,449 --> 01:22:34,950
You know, I was still...

1450
01:22:35,034 --> 01:22:39,455
I felt like able-bodied
and, you know, sound mind.

1451
01:22:41,666 --> 01:22:45,294
Certainly, not according to my dad,
but I felt like I had a sound mind

1452
01:22:45,378 --> 01:22:49,131
and was making, um,
you know, a pretty clear decision.

1453
01:22:49,674 --> 01:22:54,053
I just felt like, in my mind,
yeah, this is pretty much it.

1454
01:22:55,846 --> 01:22:59,934
I think everybody still wants
to know why Barry retired.

1455
01:23:00,017 --> 01:23:01,394
They want to know the mystery.

1456
01:23:01,477 --> 01:23:04,313
The real mystery might be why
we're surprised in the first place.

1457
01:23:05,064 --> 01:23:08,859
Because everything he did
throughout his life, his career,

1458
01:23:08,943 --> 01:23:11,404
how he felt about fame
and personal records,

1459
01:23:11,904 --> 01:23:15,199
walking away the way he did
is just another example

1460
01:23:15,282 --> 01:23:17,785
of Barry being Barry.

1461
01:23:27,002 --> 01:23:30,005
- [man] All right, my man.
- [indistinct chatter]

1462
01:23:30,089 --> 01:23:31,507
Yes, yes.

1463
01:23:31,590 --> 01:23:34,760
[man] What are you going to do
on Sunday afternoons now?

1464
01:23:34,844 --> 01:23:37,930
Um... I can relax now.
Don't have to worry about watching.

1465
01:23:38,013 --> 01:23:40,516
Don't have to worry about getting home
from Sunday school

1466
01:23:40,599 --> 01:23:42,560
or missing church to see Barry play.

1467
01:23:42,643 --> 01:23:46,439
I don't have to worry about traveling.
Maybe I can save some money.

1468
01:23:46,522 --> 01:23:49,483
In fact, I'm gonna try to go see Oklahoma
play some games now.

1469
01:23:51,235 --> 01:23:53,028
So it's not all bad.

1470
01:23:54,071 --> 01:23:56,699
[reporter]
<i>Barry Sanders is officially gone now.</i>

1471
01:23:56,782 --> 01:24:00,286
{\an8}<i>This is video just shot of the mural
in downtown Detroit.</i>

1472
01:24:00,369 --> 01:24:04,582
{\an8}<i>As you can see, Barry is covered
with the message "Gone to Canton" over it.</i>

1473
01:24:04,665 --> 01:24:06,917
<i>And in case you didn't know,
the Canton on the sign</i>

1474
01:24:07,001 --> 01:24:11,464
<i>refers to Canton, Ohio,
location of the Football Hall of Fame.</i>

1475
01:24:12,715 --> 01:24:15,092
{\an8}Barry is one of those players
you could tell right away

1476
01:24:15,176 --> 01:24:16,927
{\an8}that was going to be special.

1477
01:24:17,011 --> 01:24:20,139
{\an8}But there was a gentleman who saw it
long before the rest of us.

1478
01:24:20,222 --> 01:24:24,101
- [cheering]
- His father, William Sanders.

1479
01:24:26,437 --> 01:24:30,149
[Sanders] I loved the fact
that I could give him that spotlight.

1480
01:24:30,232 --> 01:24:31,859
He loved every minute of it.

1481
01:24:31,942 --> 01:24:34,570
[cheering]

1482
01:24:34,653 --> 01:24:37,823
He found a way to, you know,
make sure he kept me in my place.

1483
01:24:37,907 --> 01:24:41,702
First, I want to say hello to
the greatest running back that ever lived,

1484
01:24:41,786 --> 01:24:45,122
the number one running back
who ever lived. He's not with us today.

1485
01:24:45,206 --> 01:24:48,918
I think he's with his family
in Los Angeles, Mr. Jim Brown.

1486
01:24:49,001 --> 01:24:52,046
- So I want to say hello to him. Jim.
- [applause]

1487
01:24:52,838 --> 01:24:54,507
And now I want to introduce you

1488
01:24:54,590 --> 01:24:56,884
to the third best running back
that ever lived.

1489
01:24:56,967 --> 01:24:58,761
- Barry Sanders.
- [applause]

1490
01:24:58,844 --> 01:25:01,388
[Glover] His dad and I had
a good relationship.

1491
01:25:01,472 --> 01:25:03,390
We could talk afterwards.

1492
01:25:03,474 --> 01:25:06,435
I said, "Well, if Barry is number three,
who's number two?"

1493
01:25:06,519 --> 01:25:08,813
He said, "Well, I'm number two."
I was like, "What?"

1494
01:25:08,896 --> 01:25:11,524
He said, "Yeah, I was good too,
so I'm putting Barry behind me.

1495
01:25:11,607 --> 01:25:15,528
He's number three behind me and Jim."
I was like, "Oh, okay." [laughs]

1496
01:25:15,611 --> 01:25:18,405
Well, he was good. [laughs]

1497
01:25:18,489 --> 01:25:21,200
The little time that he did play,
he was real good.

1498
01:25:21,283 --> 01:25:26,247
- [man] But he was better than Barry?
- I wouldn't say all that. [laughs]

1499
01:25:26,330 --> 01:25:29,124
Was there anything you
could have done for you

1500
01:25:29,208 --> 01:25:31,877
to have been his favorite player
over Jim Brown?

1501
01:25:31,961 --> 01:25:33,254
- I doubt it.
- [laughs]

1502
01:25:33,337 --> 01:25:35,798
I doubt if there was anything...
I doubt if there was.

1503
01:25:35,881 --> 01:25:39,885
Because there was just
that nostalgic attachment...

1504
01:25:39,969 --> 01:25:42,096
- Absolutely.
- ...to that era, you know.

1505
01:25:42,179 --> 01:25:46,433
And for him, so...
And obviously, Jim Brown was amazing.

1506
01:25:46,517 --> 01:25:47,768
- [laughs]
- Yeah.

1507
01:25:48,686 --> 01:25:52,481
My dad, uh, is truly the reason

1508
01:25:52,565 --> 01:25:54,608
why I am here.

1509
01:25:56,235 --> 01:26:00,739
At one point,
when he was sick but in remission,

1510
01:26:00,823 --> 01:26:04,076
I was at home visiting
and I was driving down the street.

1511
01:26:04,159 --> 01:26:06,078
And he was in the front yard,

1512
01:26:06,161 --> 01:26:09,832
and he was chopping
a stump out of the ground.

1513
01:26:10,499 --> 01:26:14,795
When someone like that passes,
it's like watching a redwood fall.

1514
01:26:14,879 --> 01:26:18,716
[Sanders] It was amazing
just to see how many people

1515
01:26:18,799 --> 01:26:21,635
he had impacted,
you know, when he had his services.

1516
01:26:21,719 --> 01:26:24,555
It's like, how did he
find time to do all this?

1517
01:26:26,015 --> 01:26:28,267
He helped raise 11 kids.

1518
01:26:28,350 --> 01:26:29,768
He would just say things like,

1519
01:26:29,852 --> 01:26:33,147
he's definitely not trying
to raise a great athlete.

1520
01:26:33,230 --> 01:26:36,066
He wants to raise good young men
and young women.

1521
01:26:36,150 --> 01:26:39,069
And when you do that,
then you can go off and do anything.

1522
01:26:41,697 --> 01:26:44,533
It seems like he gets wiser
and smarter every day.

1523
01:26:46,201 --> 01:26:48,829
[man] As a dad who's
very proud of his son,

1524
01:26:48,913 --> 01:26:51,373
what do you wish for him
in the coming months?

1525
01:26:51,457 --> 01:26:55,336
I wish all my sons would get married
and have two or three kids.

1526
01:26:55,419 --> 01:26:57,796
I think a man do need
two or three kids to be whole.

1527
01:26:57,880 --> 01:27:00,257
[man] So that's what's important,
not football.

1528
01:27:00,341 --> 01:27:02,468
[William] That's...
that's what's important to me.

1529
01:27:04,094 --> 01:27:07,473
This has been just
an amazing few days.

1530
01:27:07,556 --> 01:27:10,643
And, you know, you think back, we've been
able to do a lot of cool stuff together.

1531
01:27:10,726 --> 01:27:16,023
But nothing quite like this, obviously,
to be able to share this with you guys.

1532
01:27:17,232 --> 01:27:20,235
I really appreciate it.
So cheers to that.

1533
01:27:20,319 --> 01:27:22,529
- Cheers.
- Cheers.

1534
01:27:24,990 --> 01:27:27,618
[slow tempo music plays]

1535
01:27:27,701 --> 01:27:29,036
[Sanders] Love you guys.

1536
01:27:29,119 --> 01:27:30,955
[sons] Love you too.

1537
01:27:46,553 --> 01:27:49,264
[Sanders] This stuff,
it just goes so fast, man.

1538
01:27:49,348 --> 01:27:50,975
It's amazing how fast it goes.

1539
01:27:51,058 --> 01:27:54,144
So enjoy it, it's precious.

1540
01:27:54,228 --> 01:27:57,147
And one thing that my folks
always believed is that, you know,

1541
01:27:57,231 --> 01:27:58,857
if you get the character things right,

1542
01:27:58,941 --> 01:28:01,402
then other things tend to fall into place.

1543
01:28:02,403 --> 01:28:04,989
[man on PA] <i>Kansas Shrine Bowl
Hall of Fame inductee:</i>

1544
01:28:05,072 --> 01:28:06,407
<i>Barry Sanders.</i>

1545
01:28:08,200 --> 01:28:09,660
[Patrick] He's a good dude.

1546
01:28:09,743 --> 01:28:12,413
You know, he's just a good dude.

1547
01:28:12,496 --> 01:28:14,581
- Let's go, let's go!
- How you doing?

1548
01:28:14,665 --> 01:28:16,125
How you doing?

1549
01:28:17,001 --> 01:28:19,712
[Sanders] Football is the greatest
team game out there.

1550
01:28:19,795 --> 01:28:24,633
And I was able to shine because of
the efforts of many so many others.

1551
01:28:24,717 --> 01:28:29,388
Shirley Sanders, I appreciate all that
you did to make this day happen.

1552
01:28:29,471 --> 01:28:32,474
And I know Dad is looking down,
I know Dad is proud.

1553
01:28:34,560 --> 01:28:36,437
[William] God, I'm so proud of him.

1554
01:28:36,520 --> 01:28:39,606
The average football player
would have been trying to set records

1555
01:28:39,690 --> 01:28:41,525
and trying to hang on.

1556
01:28:41,608 --> 01:28:44,278
And he walked away
at the height of his career,

1557
01:28:44,361 --> 01:28:46,405
and that really take guts.

1558
01:28:47,239 --> 01:28:49,658
[Sanders] If I could, I would go out

1559
01:28:49,742 --> 01:28:51,869
to each and every Lions fan

1560
01:28:51,952 --> 01:28:53,579
and give you a hug,

1561
01:28:54,163 --> 01:28:56,123
tell you how much I appreciate you.

1562
01:28:57,249 --> 01:29:00,461
It's been such a wonderful journey.

1563
01:29:00,544 --> 01:29:02,296
[announcer] <i>Barry, got room, 30.</i>

1564
01:29:02,379 --> 01:29:04,298
[♪ "Mimi Webb": Last Train To London
(I Won't Look Back)]

1565
01:29:04,381 --> 01:29:06,592
<i>♪ I'll be on the last train to London ♪</i>

1566
01:29:06,675 --> 01:29:09,011
[announcer] <i>Barry off to the 40, 30!</i>

1567
01:29:09,094 --> 01:29:11,805
<i>♪ I'm so sorry, darling ♪</i>

1568
01:29:11,889 --> 01:29:15,142
<i>♪ Couldn't give you what you wanted ♪</i>

1569
01:29:15,225 --> 01:29:16,685
[Sanders] Wow.

1570
01:29:16,769 --> 01:29:19,480
[man] The Barry Sanders Air Zoom Jet
that you made famous.

1571
01:29:19,563 --> 01:29:21,482
- Right. Recognize that shoe?
- Sweet.

1572
01:29:22,524 --> 01:29:25,235
<i>♪ You can tell your lies ♪</i>

1573
01:29:25,319 --> 01:29:31,784
<i>♪ But don't you dare say
that I didn't ever try ♪</i>

1574
01:29:31,867 --> 01:29:34,036
[Sanders] I love being here.

1575
01:29:34,119 --> 01:29:35,454
I still live here.

1576
01:29:36,497 --> 01:29:39,875
And I'm sorry if there
are any hard feelings.

1577
01:29:42,002 --> 01:29:45,130
Detroit does not win a lot
of brochure contests.

1578
01:29:45,214 --> 01:29:50,052
Miami, Chicago, New York, LA, those are
all the fashionable, cool, it cities.

1579
01:29:50,135 --> 01:29:53,806
Detroit is not like that.
It's a city that you got to love.

1580
01:29:53,889 --> 01:29:58,018
And you know if people stay there,
that they really love the city.

1581
01:29:58,102 --> 01:30:01,563
Thank you so much for the joy you brought
to Detroit and everyone here.

1582
01:30:01,647 --> 01:30:05,859
[Hill] The way he carried himself
with dignity, class, professionalism.

1583
01:30:05,943 --> 01:30:09,863
He gave Detroit a representation
that the city desperately needed.

1584
01:30:09,947 --> 01:30:13,200
And so his legacy of greatness
won't just be about him

1585
01:30:13,283 --> 01:30:16,078
being arguably
the best running back of all time.

1586
01:30:23,460 --> 01:30:27,172
It'll be about him being
a beloved member of the city.

1587
01:30:28,799 --> 01:30:31,718
<i>♪ I hope one day you'll find someone ♪</i>

1588
01:30:31,802 --> 01:30:35,222
He's a Detroiter, and that's
the highest compliment I could pay him.

1589
01:30:35,305 --> 01:30:38,475
<i>♪ But I'll be on the last train... ♪</i>

1590
01:30:38,559 --> 01:30:41,979
[Sanders] I think it just sets in stone,
if you will,

1591
01:30:42,062 --> 01:30:46,567
so much of what I was taught by my parents
and what I tried to live out.

1592
01:30:47,317 --> 01:30:49,444
[man] We want to
thank you all for being here

1593
01:30:49,528 --> 01:30:51,446
for this very special celebration.

1594
01:30:51,530 --> 01:30:52,990
[man] You know Dad,
he would have been so...

1595
01:30:53,073 --> 01:30:56,785
He would have definitely enjoyed it.
Yeah, that was the only thing missing.

1596
01:30:56,869 --> 01:30:58,787
- He may have been...
- [man] You made him proud.

1597
01:30:58,871 --> 01:31:01,123
I tried. Yeah. I tried to, man.

1598
01:31:01,206 --> 01:31:04,126
[Patrick] We'll never see somebody
like Barry Sanders again.

1599
01:31:04,918 --> 01:31:05,878
Never.

1600
01:31:07,129 --> 01:31:09,506
[Eminem] We had the greatest running back

1601
01:31:10,174 --> 01:31:11,633
that ever played the game.

1602
01:31:12,384 --> 01:31:17,639
<i>♪ I'm going back to London tonight ♪</i>

1603
01:31:23,061 --> 01:31:25,772
{\an8}[upbeat music plays]