That's a flight I may have to find a way to catch, if my wife's health permits me to make the trip.
Almost a half century ago, I stood in the darkness outside the players' door in the Lambeau Field parking lot after a Steelers game waiting to meet that man and ask for an autograph. I still recall as clearly as if it were yesterday the respect that the man showed me, a 7-year old boy... the way he spoke to me man-to-man and treated me like an equal, with genuine respect and sincere interest about who I was as a person. I've met him several more times since, as the years have passed, but those 3 or 4 minutes taught me lessons that I've never forgotten about what it means to be a professional athlete and the responsibilities that come with being a role model. As silly as it may sound, those lessons helped make me a better man over the course of my entire life.
I want to be there partly for myself, of course, but my reasons are not purely selfish. I owe the man a debt. If I can partially repay that debt by standing up in my seat and applauding the man for a few minutes on this occasion, then it's a small price to pay. I have to see if I can find a way to repay that man.