9601030550
DETROIT FREE PRESS
960124
Wednesday, January 24, 1996
METRO FINAL
1D
Photo Color
:
Emmitt Smith
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1996, Detroit Free Press
THOUGH NOT TALLEST, COWBOYS' SMITH RIDES THE HIGHEST
TEMPE, Ariz. -- What is it with all these little men? First Barry
Sanders, who makes gigantic moves on the field yet, at 5-feet-8, is actually
shorter than some of the cheerleaders. And now Emmitt Smith, who is walking
up the steps of Sun Devil Stadium, ready for his media duty at Super Bowl XXX.
As he approaches, his blue No. 22 seems to grow larger. But Emmitt does not.
Wait. Isn't he taller than that? Isn't he bigger than that? Surely the
way he runs, plowing through linemen, then linebackers, then safeties -- the
front door, lobby and rear exit of a defense -- he must be bigger than that,
no?
No. When Emmitt Smith shakes your hand, unless you are under 69 inches
tall, you are looking down.
But only in height.
Every other way, Emmitt is large. So large, he needs only one name. So
large, he gets to call Texas Stadium -- in his latest commercial -- "my ranch,
no matter whose brand is on the front."
So large, a TV reporter from Sweden asks him to say something into the
camera, "for all the girls in Sweden who have your poster on their wall."
"Women in Sweden have my poster on their wall?"
"Yah. They do."
"Well! Hey! I gotta get me over to Sweden!"
Who's gonna stop him? He can go anywhere he wants. Barry Sanders may have
the moves, and Thurman Thomas may have the longevity, but Emmitt gets to ride
the big pony. Year after year, he is the last running back in the picture.
Three of the last four seasons, he has been at the Super Bowl. Four of the
last five years, he has taken home the rushing title. Who's gonna stop him?
The others come and go, the quick flashes, the one-good-
season-and-it-goes-to-their-head runners. When they realize they can't keep up
with Emmitt, maybe they secretly pray for his body to betray him -- and Lord
knows, it has tried. The separated shoulder that hung limply through the
second half of that famous game against the New York Giants -- when he single-
handedly clinched the NFC East title for Dallas in 1993. Or, more recently,
the hamstrings that kept pulling and snapping like violin strings. Doctors
cluck their tongues when they watch him. They think Emmitt should run with an
ice pack, just so he's ready for the next rip.
Yet he keeps going.
Who's gonna stop him?
Power to drag the pile
I ask Emmitt if there is one running back in football from whom he would
like to borrow something -- and what it would be.
"Barry Sanders," he says quickly. "I'd like his quickness. The way he gets
away from people."
"What would you be if you had that talent plus the skills you already
have?"
He grins. "I don't think anyone in the secondary would be touching me."
They already don't touch him at the line of scrimmage. He is as sure a bet
as sunshine in Arizona. Hand off. Count your change. Emmitt Smith could pick
up four yards in a nuclear explosion.
Of course, some of that is the Cowboys' mammoth offensive line, the best
in football. But not all of it. How many times have you seen defenders piling
on Smith as he churns, carrying them, tossing them, steamrollering them?
Consider that he is 5- feet-9 -- only one inch taller than Barry -- and you
see the amazing strength this takes. Sanders can sometime out-juke defenders,
but if they smother him, he goes down.
Smith carries the whole pile with him.
Which leads to my next question. Which is more valuable, the ability to
run away from defenders for big gains -- or the ability to get through them
on every third-and-two situation?
"Well, I already have the ability to do one," says Smith, "so why would I
say the other?"
Fair enough. Allow me. As much as I love Barry Sanders, and as much as his
moves leave me -- and the rest of us -- breathless, in the trenches, in the
must-have game, in the game that determines whether you live or die, I don't
think you can argue. You take Emmitt Smith. He is the most valuable man
carrying a football today. The reason is simple.
Who's gonna stop him?
Much success at a young age
"Emmitt," someone asks. "Why are the Cowboys so high- profile?"
He surveys the mob and laughs. "You seem to enjoy talking to us more than
we enjoy talking to you!"
That is not true. But in Emmitt's case, it is simply irresponsible to stay
away. He is a compelling athlete. Only 26, with nearly 9,000 career rushing
yards, he could well end up the all-time rushing leader in the NFL.
By the way, did you know that Smith keeps the football every time he
scores? He has nearly all of the touchdown balls in his career -- and there
are more than 100. The reason, he says, "is because, outside of the
sentimental value, they'll make a good investment one day."
Always trust a man willing to bet on himself.
So maybe age will stop him. Or maybe injury. But so far, nothing else has
done it. And it's unlikely the Pittsburgh Steelers will, either. We are
witnessing something special here. You realize that when you see how small a
package it comes in.
What was it Abe Lincoln said? A man's legs should only be long enough to
reach the ground? Let's face it. If they made Emmitt Smith any bigger, we'd
all have to run for cover.
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