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Our Doug

Doug Flutie's career was a matter of some interest here in New England. His retirement at age 43 yesterday has already drawn just about every conceivable comment and recollection possible. I'll keep this brief.

The year Flutie made the Pro Bowl for the Bills, I bought my wife Alice his replica jersey for a nightgown as a Christmas present. My children got her a box of Flutie Flakes. She loved both presents. She loves Doug. She was enthralled by the doings of the gifted, hard-bitten little scamp, whose sports soul was half small boy, half old pro in an uneasy alliance. Before Flutie, Alice didn't care a whit for football.

There have hundreds of better NFL quarterbacks through history. Few of them had Flutie's special gift. He didn't simply appeal to folks who were already football fans, although of course he did. Doug CREATED fans out of previously uninterested bystanders.
In the final analysis, that's an amazingly vital attribute for an athlete in a game played for money-the fans' money.

posted by Michael Gee @ 7:12 AM