Burrow made more than 500 Rugby League appearances for Leeds Rhinos, and was capped 13 times for England as a scrum half, recording nine tries. Despite standing just 5'5", he was named to the Super League Dream Team three times, and was named Man of the Match in the Super League grand final twice. His try in the 2011 grand final is regarded as one of the greatest tries in final history.
In late 2019, Burrow announced that he'd been diagnosed with MND. From that point, he and teammate Kevin Sinfield were tireless advocates for victims of the disease and raised more than £6 million for charities associated with MND. Both men were awarded CBEs for their efforts, and the Rugby Football League announced that the trophy for Super League Final Man of the Match would be called the Rob Burrow Award henceforth.
Near the end of Burrow's life, Sinfield and teammates took part in the Leeds Marathon, where he pushed Burrow in a specially-adapted wheelchair. You can see highlights here, in particular the moment at the end of the race where Sinfield carried his friend across the finish line:
MND is a particularly pernicious disease, all the more so when it takes people whose lives had been marked with extraordinary vitality. Sinfield and Burrow did incredible things for the MND community, but as Sinfield said at the end of the marathon, there's was a story as much about celebrating friendship as fighting a medical challenge.
And here's cheers to that.
*Not cancer, but we'll allow it.
Quite a juxtaposition with the prior post, and a reminder that life isn't fair.
ReplyDeletewe are nothing if not a clearinghouse for jarring juxtapositions.
ReplyDeletespeaking of prior posts, my apologies for not acknowledging until now. i'm sure it's been on your mind. really great stuff. will read this post by end of week at latest. happy monday everyone.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya Danimal. Sometimes you stop by for some dipshittery, then you show up here and there's a homework assignment.
ReplyDeleteThis story is a shitty pisser and a great joy at once.
ReplyDeleteI would say it's more like vegetables than homework. It's good for you.
ReplyDeleteyikes--this is heart-breaking.
ReplyDeletea good reminder to carpe diem
like Whitney explained with his car post--loved the stories and glad you survived all of those adventures.
lost in all the noise about whether caitlin clark should have made the olympic roster (the answer is no) is the fact that not going to paris is going to be a blessing for her. she played an entire ncaa season and went directly into wnba training camp and then the season, all while dealing with a media maelstrom. the last thing she needed was another level of noise.
ReplyDeleteand the month without games certainly won't hurt
ReplyDeleteHey Danimal, saw a story that might be up your alley. The Athletic has a piece on Angela Moser, one of the few women golf course architects in the world and the primary dirt pusher in construction of new Pinehurst No. 10. Fascinating read. The hook, obviously, is that U.S. Open is back at Pinehurst this week.
ReplyDeleteOther linksters in the audience might be interested, as well. If you don't subscribe to the Athletic, list email address and I'll copy and send.
OBX Dave, you could share a gift link here to spare you the copy and paste job.
ReplyDeleteI've never played Pinehurst, but was in the town last month. They have the most impressive Ace Hardware I've ever seen. It's like a hometown hardware store that's the size of a giant box store.
Scott, I would be happy to do so but do not know how. Some websites and stories have icons and such that say or indicate 'gift link' but I don't see one on this piece. Of course, it could be operator error.
ReplyDeleteOBX Dave - yes, fairly familiar w/her - she works for Tom Doak, the architect of #10 and many other world greats. A quirky fella. She seems like a treasure.
ReplyDeleteJust pulled into Pinehurst an hour or so ago actually. Special place having lived here for 8 or so years, making this 4 for 4 for (that's a lot of 4's) US Opens here at the cradle of golf for this old effer.
Hey Danimal, should have known you'd be at least familiar with Moser and certainly with Doak. Having just a passing interest in golf, I had only come across Doak's name and knew nothing of Moser. Carry on. I'll try not to clutter you with redundant stuff going forward.
ReplyDeleteprops to you, espn.com headline writers: "'Gutted' Chestnut out of hot dog contest over beef"
ReplyDelete