For those of you who have asked for more information about the condition of Steve Sabol, who has been battling in recent weeks a brain tumor, Peter King of Sports Illustrated provides a definitive update at the top of his brand-new Monday Morning Quarterback column.
Sabol doesn’t know whether he’ll make it -- he told King he doesn’t want to know -- but Sabol knows this: Whatever is on the other side, whenever he may get there, can’t match his life on earth.
“So they talk about heaven,’' Sabol said, “and I don’t know what is waiting for me up there. But I can tell you this: Nothing will happen up there that can duplicate my life down here. Nothing. That life cannot be better than the one I’ve lived down here, the football life. It’s been perfect.”
And Sabol’s passion for bringing the game of football to life for fans has now taken a very personal turn.
“For a company that prides itself on telling good stories, this is one hell of a story,” Sabol said. “I mean, isn’t it? Dad makes the Hall of Fame. Son’s going to be his presenter. Son gets a brain tumor. Now the story is, Is the son going to be there? Will the son make it? What a great story this is going to be, however it turns out.’'
Though Sabol hasn’t asked for information on his long-term prognosis, he has asked if he’ll make it to August, when the induction ceremony will be held. “You’ll make it,” Sabol was told by his doctors.
King also points out that there’s one more thing for which football fans can thank Sabol. When Mike Mayock of NFL Network and NBC was unhappily working in commercial real estate and pondering a career change that entailed analyzing football, Sabol urged Mayock to go for it.
It’s advice that we all should heed. If you’re doing something that you don’t like, look for something that makes you happy -- regardless of the field. We’re not suggesting that anyone should shirk their responsibilities in the name of selfishness, but if there’s a way to pay the bills and do something that truly makes you happy to the point at which an eternity of heavenly bliss would be incomplete without it, why would you even think twice about at least giving it a try?