Wright Thompson, you magnificent bastard

Really good story on Montana. Recommended.

 

Curtis is really good with these interviews.

 

There is a lot to unpack there with the Montana story.

Win 4 super bowls, and you are carrying a grudge about your high school coach 50 years later.

Jesus fucking christ

 

All while living this perfect life with the kids and grandkids and billionaire private equity deals and month-long trips to France and Spain.

 

many want to get back at some asshole who thought it couldn't be done.

 

Brady, Montana, Jordan... they all sound like psychopaths. I assume you need it to reach their levels. But they sound like prisoners of their own psychoses. God help Marino, who doesn't have a super bowl ring.

I hear Steve Young frequently on KNBR. He sounds the most normal, by a long shot.

 

They sound like miserable people. I guess we're just wired differently. What's the point of experiencing something great if it doesn't bring you joy looking back upon it? Why remain laser-focused on those you think didn't believe in you, instead of reveling in believing you proved them wrong? If I were Tom Brady, I'd be quite content knowing my name is synonymous with the greatest champions of all-time and Drew Henson is probably selling insurance somewhere.

I wonder how it was a couple generations ago, before fame, money, media coverage and all that shit elevated athletes and probably fed those psychoses. Just as an example, Yogi Berra certainly seemed well-adjusted, happy and more focused on the 10 rings he won instead of the four times the Yankees lost in the World Series. He seemed happy with becoming a Hall of Famer and not obsessed with anyone who said a 5-foot-7 catcher couldn't last. Of course, Berra also served in World War II, so he probably had different things in the back of his mind.

 

ted williams and pancho gonzalez, to name just a couple, had as much resentment and competitive asshole-ness as anyone today.

 

Remembering wounds is regarded as an evolutionary thing. The instinct to remember the places where you get hurt helps you avoid them in the future.

 

True on Ted, but I thought he softened as he got older. I could be wrong.

 

I read in his autobiography he admitted he wasn't very good to his first wife and daughter. It was speculated that he overindulged John Henry because he felt he neglected his older children.

He hated Boston sportswriters, but he had great relationships with his teammates and did the Jimmy Fund after the Braves left.

He was among the greatest at three separate skills. He gets a pass. I got the impression he was more self focused than an actual asshole to people.