He has overcome a wide variety of injuries, both minor and serious. But as the most memorable birthday card I’ve ever seen says, with a picture of the Grim Reaper on the cover, “You can run, but you cannot hide.”
Gore has been running for years, and he’s hiding in plain sight atop the 49ers depth chart. Now 30, he’s even more conspicuous.
In an industry so heavily premised on confidence, Gore is embracing it.
“I love it,” Gore said Thursday, via the Associated Press. “I feel like every year it’s something with me. I have to overcome everything, every year. Now that I’m 30 I just have to keep working and training hard.”
Like many successful athletes, Gore will find motivation in the actual or perceived diss. Installed at No. 32 on the inherently flawed NFLN players-only top 100 list, Gore has found a way to fashion it into a chip on his shoulder.
“They said he’s turning 30 and he might not have [any] more left,” Gore said. “I like that type of stuff. Whenever [the 49ers] let me get on the field, I’m going to go hard and prove everybody wrong again.”
Still, Gore only will be able to do that for so long. For many football players, the spirit remains willing long after the flesh has rebelled.
For Gore, the team’s decision to draft Marcus Lattimore and basically give him a redshirt year means that, by the time Gore is 31, his time as a 49er could be over.