Monday was a sad day for the National Football League and for the sports world in general. The greatest receiver of all time and arguably the best football player that ever lived, Jerry Rice retired after twenty seasons.
Rice will end his career with 38 NFL records, among those for career receptions (1,549), yards receiving (22,895) and touchdowns receiving (197).
Jerry Rice revolutionized the receiver position in the NFL. Jerry Rice started his career at the collegiate level at Mississippi Valley State and ended up being an NFL icon. Rice entered the league playing for the San Francisco 49ers; this is where Rice went from a young athlete to a legend.
Jerry Rice broke records, went to Pro-Bowls, won Super Bowl rings and won MVP awards all while he played in San Francisco. Rice caught passes from NFL legends Joe Montana and Steve Young, who credit Rice as the best receiver to ever play the game.
Jerry Rice’s career started to slide in 1999. In this season Rice only caught seven touchdowns and the 49er’s decided to let him go, but Rice was not finished in his mind.
Rice left the Bay area for the ‘Black Hole’ in Oakland. In Oakland, Rice put up solid numbers for two seasons, he also broke many of his records while he wore the silver and black.
After the 2003 season, Rice was let go and he and the Raiders parted ways. His fans and his own competitive mentality drove Rice to comeback to the NFL and make one last stand in Seattle.
Playing for the Seattle Seahawks Rice had a poor season with only 429 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jerry Rice and his record breaking career seemed to be over. After the season, Rice left the Seattle and had to decide his fate.
In the off-season Rice got a call from the Denver Broncos’ Head Coach Mike Sherman inviting him to their training camp. Rice agreed and worked hard for the past couple months to make an impact in his 21st season.
Unfortunately, Jerry Rice was faced with a tough decision retire or be the team’s fourth receiver. Monday, September 5, Jerry Rice retired from the game of football.
At the end of Jerry Rice’s career he walked away being the best receiver of all time and holder of 38 NFL Records. Notably Rice also won MVP: 1987 ,1988 (Super Bowl), 1996 (Pro Bowl) Player of the Year: 1985 (Rookie), 1987 (AP Offensive) 1993 (AP Offensive) Pro Bowl: 1987-97, 1999, 2003.
The NFL will never have a receiver with the talent and character as Jerry Rice. When Rice retired, he cleared the way for other great receivers in the NFL to shine. Great Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson may be but character is something that some NFL superstars lack these days.
It will be a long season without Jerry Rice, no more one handed grabs, crisp route running or multi-touchdown games. While NFL fans may see these rare occurrences they wont see the character that Jerry Rice portrayed.
Jerry Rice honored the NFL with his play for twenty seasons. The next time the NFL can show their appreciation will be in 2010, when Rice is inducted into the Hall of Fame.
