Sports' Biggest What ifs: Careers Cut Short By Injury

Opening

Sue 0:00

Sports fans love debating greatness. Who accomplished the most? Who deserves to be called the GOAT? But sometimes the biggest debate isn't about who was the greatest. It's about what could have been. Every generation has that one athlete who makes you stop and wonder, what if they had stayed healthy? What records would they have broken? What championships would they have won? And would they have changed sports history? We'll never know. And maybe that's what makes these stories so unforgettable.

TFTO Intro

Sue 0:35

Welcome to True Fan True Opinions. I'm Sue. Around here, being a true fan doesn't mean blindly agreeing with everything your team does. It means caring enough to tell the truth. So let's talk sports, like fans do.

Welcome Back

Sue 0:51

Welcome back. And thanks for joining me today. So as I was putting this episode together, something kept coming back to me. That every athlete tells a story. But every one of these stories ends with the same two words. What if? And that's the question we're gonna ask throughout today's episode. Now, just a reminder, today's athletes are not ranked. These are simply athletes who careers, I believe, were changed or ended too soon because of injuries or extraordinary circumstance.

11 Athletes who's careers ended too early

Sue 1:23

Okay, so let's get into it. Alright, when I think of one of the greatest all-around athlete ever, I think of Bo Jackson. Right? Everybody remembers Bo Jackson. Bo knows, right? Famous for cracking that bat over his knee when he was striking out when he played baseball. In case you didn't know, Bo Jackson did play in the NFL and Major League Baseball all at the same time. A devastating hip injury ended his football career and changed that would have been an extraordinary legacy across two professional sports. Like I said, NFL, MLB. Bo Jackson was doing something very few athletes have ever attempted. And I've always wondered if asking his body to perform at an elite level in two professional sports came at a price. All right, so like I said, he was famous for cracking that bat over his knee when he was striking out in baseball. Maybe some of you guys don't remember, but he was a pop icon with Nike commercials. Uh, I think he was promoting like the cross trainer shoes. They are trainers. And these commercials were famous, right? So if you remember, he was trying different sports, and he had cameo appearance from athletes like hockey Rangretsky, Jordan, John McEnroe, a few more. And in these commercials, he's playing their sport, like hockey, tennis, basketball. And the catchphrase was Bo knows. Bo knows hockey, tennis. So he was famous for that. Now, besides the celebrity fame, he had a good career. Could have been a great career, but it was short-lived. So we're gonna talk a little bit about that, just to remind everybody. Uh, he played four seasons in the NFL and eight seasons for baseball. Uh, started with 1986 in baseball until 1994, and in there there was the four seasons of football. He retired at the age of 32. Uh he had like 141 home runs, 82 stolen bases for baseball. At his peak here in baseball, before his injury, uh, he had 32 home runs, 105 RBIs, and 26 stolen bases. He had the speed, he had the power. Um, everybody wanted him on your team, right? So for the NFL, uh, one of the stats is he is tied with Jim Brown for the highest career yards per carry average among running backs with at least 500 attempts since 1950. So that's to me is telling me that he was quick. He can catch the ball, he was powerful, and he would have been an amazing football player without that injury. He remains the only player in NFL history to record two separate touchdowns, runs over 90 yards. Only player in history to do that. So in 1991, during an NFL playoff game, Bo suffered a devastating hip injury. It was a routine tackle caused his hip to dislocate, fracturing the bone and tearing blood vessels, which led to a vascular necrosis. Hope I said that right, which means it literally starves the bone tissue of blood, which forced him to undergo a total hip replacement in 1992. So that was a devastating injury. So even though he played eight years total in professional baseball, and some, like I said, some four years in football, he had some great achievements, right? He's the only athlete in history to be named an all-star in both the NFL and MLB. And this is again before his injury. He also got MLB All-Star Game MVP, and he coming out of college, he won the Heisman Trophy as well. So, as you guessed it, a lot of potential for this guy. Everybody was thinking he was gonna have an amazing career in both sports. So, what makes Bo Jackson such a compelling what-if isn't just the injury. It's that so many experts believe his greatest achievements were still to come. So if you didn't know, he was a compact player. He was 6'1, about 230 pounds. The experts say that his sprint speed was like Olympic level. And he had devastating power. Baseball experts say if he had focused solely on baseball or just simply avoided the hip injury, he would have joined the 500 home run club by the time he retired. And football analysts believe his unique blend of size and speed would have changed the running back position, likely have multiple Russian titles, and probably even end up in the Hall of Fame. And sadly, because of that hip injury, his career ended way too soon. And not even Bo knows what could have been. And sometimes the biggest what if in sports isn't caused by the game itself, but by circumstances no athlete should ever have to face. Monica Sellis wasn't slowed by a lack of talent or dedication. She was at the top of the tennis world when an act of violence changed the course of her career forever. Women's tennis changed forever when Cellas got stabbed. And it was during a match in 1993. And yes, she did return to competition, but she was never the same. Many people believe she was on pace to become one of the greatest players ever in tennis history. So she started her pro career very, very young, 14-15, in 1988, and she played her final professional match at the French Open in 2003. So yeah, she had injuries just like any other athlete. But what was her falling from being unstoppable was an unbelievable stabbing in 1993. If you don't remember, let me just break it down quickly. She was in Germany, um, playing a match, and there was a break, and she's sitting at her chair, and then there was like a spectator, a fan, an insane person, who we later find out was obsessed with Steffi Graf. He rushes on to the court and stabbed her between the shoulder blades with a knife. Can you imagine just sitting there, refocusing, regrouping, thinking about your match, and then just having this amazing pain and not knowing what is happening? Unbelievable. The impact of the attack was not just physical. It did cause a 28-month absence from the sport, but it also, I as anyone can imagine, triggered severe trauma, right? PTSD and depression. So even going through all that, she still played another 10 years, but then suffered a career-ending foot injury that prevented her from returning to the tour after 2003. So before this stabbing, she was unbeatable. She was amazing. Her peak dominance was just before that stabbing in 1993. She reached the finals of eight Grand Slam tournaments that she entered, winning seven of them. And this is all again before the attack. And all by the age of 19. Um, she did win another Australian Open later on after the attack in 1996. So a total of nine Grand Slam titles for this lady. There's like 53 career single titles. She held number one in the world for 178 weeks, and she finished number one three different years. She was just amazing as a teenager playing. She became the youngest ever French Open champion in 1990 at the age of 16, and that still stands today over like 36 years. As I mentioned, the stabbing completely altered tennis history. Monica Cellas was actively the throwing Steffi Graaff when she was attacked. Many tennis experts and Hall of Famer Chris Evert even said that Cellis would have won significantly more majors. Which directly means Steffi Graff wouldn't have had 22 open titles, right? Monica would have had some of those. And that insane, crazy, obsessed fan of Steffi Graff, he widely achieved exactly what he wanted, right? Because five weeks after Cellus was sidelined, Steffi Graff swept the next four consecutive Grand Slams and reclaimed number one. So tennis legends and experts widely view her attack as the greatest what-if in sports history, with many believing it denied her the title of the undisputed greatest female player of all time. Then there's the youngest MVP in NBA history, Derek Rose. Repeated knee injuries robbed basketball fans of what looked like the beginning of a Hall of Fame career and stripped the Chicago Bulls of multiple NBA championships. For me, being a Michael Jordan fan and a Bulls fan, I was thrilled to see him with Chicago. He was so exciting to watch, so explosive. I just love watching him play. It was so much fun. And at that time, the Chicago Bulls built their entire roster to stop LeBron James. And that led to a mutual dislike between the teams of the Bulls and the Heat and the Bulls and the Cavs. And those games were fun to watch. I love watching those games. So Derek Rose was a number one overall pick by the Bulls in 2008. He played about 16 years professionally. He was 35 when he formally announced his retirement. And the main reason he gave was for family focus. He wanted to pivot his energy towards being more of a present father to his younger children. But there's no denying that his career, which would have been remarkable, was permanently altered by devastating knee injuries. He had a torn ACL in 2012 and a torn meniscus in 2013. And as you can totally imagine, it totally changed his style of play. And it forced him to be more of a like a veteran player, uh, a reserve role later in his career, and not that superstar, that main guy. Now, despite all his physical setbacks, the injuries, Derek Rose did put together an incredible basketball resume. He was the NBA rookie of the year in 2009 when he came in the league, won the MVP award at just 22 years old, which still remains the youngest player ever to achieve the honor. He was also a three-time NBA All-Star. And this all before his injury, his ACL injury in 2012. And he also got his jersey retired from the Chicago Bulls this past winter, which I think is pretty cool. We'll never know the answer to this, but during Derek Rose's career, LeBron James and Stephen Curry combined have won eight NBA championships, six regular seasons MVP trophies, and five finals MVP trophies. It makes me wonder if Rose had stayed healthy, how many championships, MVP trophies, and unforgettable moments would we be talking about today? Okay, so now Prince Filder, one of the baseball's most feared power hitters of his generation. Sadly a serious neck condition forced him to retire at 32. He played 12 years, leaving fans wondering how many more home runs he might have hit. This guy was so dominant when he played. Becoming the youngest player in MLB history to cross that milestone in a single season. And it still stands today. He was a six-time All-Star, a three-time silver slugger winner, a two-time home run derby champion, which I still remember 2012 because it was up against the Blue Jays, Jose Batista. I still remember it. He was somewhat of an Iron Man when he played, despite his massive 5'11, 275-pound frame. He played 157 to 162 games in nine out of his 10 consecutive seasons. And that led the league in total games played for four separate times. Fun fact, he finished with the exact same career home runs total, 319, as his famous all-star father, Cecil Fielder. And they are the only father-son duel in MLB history to each record 50 plus home runs in a season. Wow. So the summer of 2016, Fielder was diagnosed with a severe C4, C5 dys hernias in his neck. Now, already having another neck surgery in 2014, he required a second spinal fusion surgery that summer in 2016. Following that procedure, the doctors told him he was no longer medically clear to play professional baseball. How sad is that? Can you imagine waking up from surgery and thinking, okay, rehab, maybe this season's gone, but I'll be playing next year. And the doctors are like, uh-uh, it's not happening for you. So then he had that press conference. And I'm telling you guys, I remember that press conference because Filter was somebody I enjoyed watching, loved his father. I couldn't believe the power this guy had. Anyways, this press conference was so sad. He had his children there, he was tearful, and what's so sad about retiring for this young man, it wasn't because he decided to walk away. It was the doctors. It was for medical reasons. And this was forced during his prime. Now, baseball experts, they all agree that if Prince Filder had remained healthy, he would have easily surpassed 400 home runs, locking down a serious case for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He would have gotten in. Because he was an elite Iron Man who rarely missed games prior to his neck injuries. Many experts view his forced retirement at only age 32 as one of the modern's baseball biggest what-ifs. Okay, so let's switch gears to Formula One. Sometimes a career isn't changed by what happens in the sports you're known for, but by a split-second moment somewhere else entirely. So for Robert Kubica, that moment came during a rally crash that nearly cost him his life. He was regarded as future Formula One world champion before this horrific crash at a rally caused life-changing injuries. His comeback was inspirational, but many wonder what his career would have been. Could have been. Now he did spend seven active seasons in the F1. Uh he retired at the age of 34. Now, he didn't retire from racing entirely. Today, he continues to race successfully in endurance motorsport, but not competitive in F1 at all. Because of that nasty crash, his right forearm was partially severed. It was like nearly he almost required amputation. It was nasty. So because of his physical limitations, and even though his recovery was like somewhat of a miracle, like the guy almost died. Obviously, he was left with limited mobility and strength in his right arm. Physical demands of the F1, that kind of injury proved way too difficult, and he was forced to retire. And then some of these achievements, I had to look them up before his crash, because I'm not a big F1 person, Formula car racing. I'm not into that. To this day, he remains the first and only Polish driver to ever compete in Formula One. He was the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix winner, and he had success at the podium. He secured 12 different podiums, one pole position, and finished a career best fourth place in the 2008 drivers' championship. And then here's a little bit of info as well. And I looked up and I thought it was kind of cool. Before his 2011 accident, okay, so he signed a top secret big time contract, partnered with Ferrari for the 2012 season. So of course, with this horrific crash and all his physical limitations, that contract was automatically voided and canceled by Ferrari. But what an opportunity for this guy, for his team. Unbelievable. F1 experts and legendary drivers, they all agreed that if that crash in 2011 had not happened, he would have become a multiple-time F1 world champion. He was one of the most natural gifted and toughest to drive against, and the absolute highest talent among all the drivers of his generation. Okay. From four wheels to two feet. Another unforgettable what if. Let's talk about Marco Van Basten. He's a three-time Ballon d'Or winner whose ankles' injuries force him to retire far earlier than expected. Many consider him one of the football's greatest what-if stories. So he was forced out of the game as he was entering his absolute physical and tactical peak. He was just 28 when he retired. Still had a 13-year career, but still so young. He led AC Milan to three Serie A titles and two consecutive European Cups. He is one of the handful of players to win the prestigious Ballon d'All three times in 88, 89, and 92, cementing his status as the undisputed king of world football in his prime. 1988 Euro Championship, he finished as the tournament's top scorer in football fans and experts, because I'm not one. They said he arguably netted the most famous volley in football history in the final against the Soviet Union. When said and done, he scored an amazing 277 club goals in just 373 appearances, including a ridiculous amount of 128 goals in 133 games for Ajax. He really was the complete forward. So Marco suffered from many, many ankle issues, chronic ankle issues, and they were usually from a series of brutal attacks from behind, right? It was so common in the 80s and 90s. He underwent multiple invasive ankle surgeries and he just couldn't recover. And the last procedure in 1992 was a botch procedure. He couldn't even recover properly. He spent like two grueling years trying to rehab his ankle before officially announcing his retirement in 1995. I have a question for all you soccer football fans. Could he have become the greatest striker football has ever seen? I want to know. Yao Ming was an ambassador for basketball, a global ambassador. He bridged between NBA and China, right? He made it popular out there. And his recurring foot and ankle injuries just cut his career short. But to this day, he still remains one of the most successful Asian players in NBA history, paving the way for international marketing. Everybody wanted him in his commercials representing their brands. He brought hundreds of millions of new fans to the sport. He was such a big guy. He was like 7'6. And that frame just took a physical toll. Too many injuries with his ankles, his knees. He was a number one overall picker. By the Houston Rockets, a lot of potential. He retired at only 30 years old, played nine seasons, and he was dominant. He had three major surgeries, a big one. 2006, he broke his right knee. 2008, they had to insert pins in his left foot to repair a severe stress fracture. And in 2009, he had a major left foot reconstruction, metal plates with multiple screws. How he played after that, I'm not sure. But that last one, he had to take a whole year off, right? Recovering from that broken foot and that surgery. And there was no denying how good he was. He was the NBA all-rookie. He was an NBA All-Star eight times. Every year he was in the league, except for that one year when he missed because of the surgery. He's in the NBA Hall of Fame. And the Houston Rockets retired his jersey, number 11. And internationally, he always played for his country, played in the Olympics. And that took a toll because there are long pounding seasons in the NBA with that massive size, his 7'6 frame. And it just again took a beating playing all these games and playing for his country. He just never had a chance to rest. But for a big man, he had the soft touch. He had excellent mid-range shooting and his free throw, it was lethal. I mean, I think he finished with like in the 80s percentile. I think it was like 83% free throw, which I would take on my team anytime. He really stood as the only true physical match for Shaquille O'Neal in his prime. Basketball experts widely consider Yang Ming one of the greatest international players to ever play the game. And I wonder if, without all those injuries, would he have ever won a championship with Houston? And how much more could Yang Ming have changed the game? Sometimes the greatest what-if isn't about one hit. It's about everything we didn't know at the time. And this brings me to Paul Korea. When Korea played, concussions were treated very differently than they are today. Looking back now, it's impossible not to wonder how his career, and perhaps many others, might have been different if today's understanding of brain injuries had existed then. He was one of the hockeyest, most dynamic, exciting players on the ice at that time. His speed made him a fan favorite. Mine as well. I loved watching him. He retired at 36 and he played about 15 NHL seasons. Fun fact, he finished exactly 989 points in 989 regular games. So when we talk about Korea, we go straight into concussions, right? That's what everybody remembers. They say he suffered at least six diagnosed major concussions from dangerous hits. And the one that I still remember, it was in the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals against the New Jersey Devils. And you know that you know who I'm gonna say, Scott Stevens. Right? It was just a nasty hit. The Ducks were having, I would say, like a Cinderella run in the playoffs. And everybody was rooting for them because they were playing against the New Jersey Devils, which everybody hated the trapment back then, right? They just played straight defense. And the Ducks at that time were just a high-flying, fun team, and Korea leading all that. And then it was the hit from Stevens, right? Open ice hit. It was legal back then. Nowadays, that was such a dirty hit. And I remember seeing Korea lying there just on the ice, unconscious. How he came back later that game and score is just unbelievable. I don't think I mean I know for a fact that would not happen nowadays because with the concussion protocols, everybody would be in the locker room. They wouldn't come back. And that was in game six, and then the Ducks lost game seven, and that was devastating. And Paul Korea just never looked the same again. Then he had another major concussion in 2009, and that led him to retire, and it was due to post-concussion syndrome. He was 11 games short of playing a thousand games. He did have a great career. He was drafted number four overall. He won gold medal with Team Canada in 2002 and a world junior goal that I remember in 1993. He won the Lady Bing Trophy twice. He was a three-time NHL All-Star. He was also a runner-up for the Hart Trophy, which I believe he should have won. He was voted into Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017, and the Anaheim Ducks did retire his jersey number nine in 2018. So hockey analysts and hockey experts, they all view Korea as a top five player during his peak. Um, and don't forget, this is during the dead puck era, right? When everybody was doing the trap zones, they weren't scoring as high as they normally did. The goalies had these big, huge equipment. He was consistently a 100-point threat during this time, which is amazing. Experts and his peers suggested that his head injuries robbed him of his prime years in the late 90s and 2000s. And with his blazing speed and elite vision, these experts said he would have definitely been over 12 to 1300 points. He would have rewritten playoff history. He really would have been one of the absolute greatest left-wingers in the NHL history. For me, I would have loved to see him win the Stanley Cup and to play a few more years. But thankfully, we did see him play and what an amazing career it was. I've never had the opportunity to watch Gail Sayers play live, but growing up, his name always seemed to come up whenever people talked about the greatest running backs of all time. One of the biggest what if in football. The more I learned about his career, the more I understood why. He had the nickname Kansas Comet, was one of the most electrifying running backs the NFL have ever seen, and devastating knee injuries shortened his career. Yet he still made the Hall of Fame. Many football historians believe he could have been one of the greatest running backs of all time if he would have remained healthy. So in his prime, 1968, he tore his ACL, MCL, and meniscus in the right knee. Like, that's unbelievable. I don't, I can't even imagine the pain. And then with a miracle of a comeback, he suffered a second major injury. This time, bone spurs and legament damage his left knee, requiring more surgery. Like this guy can't even get a break here, right? In 1971, he was only limited to two games. And during the preseason of the following year, he just realized that he just could no longer compete at the highest level. So then he decided to retire. And even though he only played seven years, he had a great career. He was named first team all pro in each of his first five seasons. He scored 22 touchdowns in 14 games in his rookie season. He led the league in Russian yards in 1966 and 1969, and he won the comeback player of the year in 1969 after the one major knee surgery. He retired as the NFL's all-time leader in kickoff return, a record that still stands today. And he remains the youngest player ever to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for his sport at 34. So some athletes become legends through history. Others become favorites because you were lucky enough to watch them play. And for me, Buster Posey was one of those players. He was such a great catcher. I love watching him play. But I believe the demands of this position, it just took a toll on his body. And it's sad because if you followed his career, you know he was at his prime. And then there was this injury accident at home plate. And that is what ultimately caused him the most pain. And he just never came back from that incident. So for the ones that don't know, Buster Posey suffered a devastating season-ending injury during a violent collision at home plate in 2011. So while he was attempting to catch a throw from the outfield to get the out at home plate, somebody from the Florida Marlins slammed directly into Buster. He fractured his left fibula and three torn ligaments in his ankle. So immediately he needed surgery and it forced him to miss the remainder of 2011. Now he did come back and he won a batting title and the MVP in 2012. But still, after that, he was just never the same player. Now, that specific play, that injury, that altered baseball history for player safety. So in 2014, MLB officially instituted Rule 7.13. So it's commonly known now as the Buster Posey rule. And that is where your base runners coming from third base, they have to deviate right from their path. So they're not colliding with the catcher. And the catchers can't be blocking the plate. So we all know that. And that is all from that horrific collision that Buster had. And for good reason. We don't want these collisions. We don't want superstars or any player for that matter to get hurt. And it took away a player that I know I enjoyed watching. And it makes us wonder what if for the rest of his career? What would he have won? Now he still had an amazing career. He did win three World Series. He was a rookie of the year, batting title. He won MVP. He won a Hank Aaron award. And then he won twice the comeback player of the year. He did finish his career with 1,500 hits and 158 home runs. Now, baseball experts, and I also think if he would have transitioned in his career to first base or even the DH position, he probably would have played an extra four or five more years, and he probably would have gotten 2,000 hits and 200 home runs. And who knows, maybe even another World Series. Like I mentioned, this was a player I enjoyed watching. And in my mind, he will go to Cooperstown. He'll get in. Maybe not the first ballad, but he'll get in. So every athlete we've talked about today tells a different story. But every one of those stories ends with the same two words. What if? And maybe no athlete represents those two words more than Bobby Orr. Perhaps the greatest what if in history, in hockey history. And you know his story, right? The chronic knee injuries. It effectively ended his career at age of like 27. He did play 12 seasons, and we know 10 of those seasons was he was so dominant with the Boston Bruins. He did play two years, his last two years with Chicago Blackhawks, which a lot of people don't remember. Uh it was limited to 26 games. So he finished playing with just 657 regular season games. But he recorded like 915 points, which is like an average of 1.41 points per game. And it's an all-time record for all defensemens. He also recorded like eight consecutive Norris trophies as the NHL's top defenseman, won three MVPs, and remains the only defenseman in history to ever win the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer. He also won two Stanley Cups with the Boston Bruins, capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy, so the playoff MVP both times. And everybody knows that picture. That moment, I believe it's called like the flight. He scored the legendary OT winner to secure the Stanley Cup, resulting in the most famous airborne photograph in sports history. I have a friend that has that picture in his basement in his living room. He was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1979 at age 31. What a career. I wish I would have seen him play. I mean, I was only like five or six when he retired, but man, it would have been great to see him play. Over his career, he had like 12 different operations. His knee was utterly destroyed. He played his entire prime with zero remaining cartilage. Meaning his bones rubbed directly against one another, causing like massive bone spurs, severe swelling, and chronic arthritis. Like this guy played in pain every day. If his injury happened nowadays, he would still be playing. Because back in the day, when they did surgery, they just like dug in there and took everything out. Now they could have done a reconstructive knee and he would have not been like bone on bone and playing in so much pain. And the rehabs are so much different now. What's not a debate is that if Bobby Ora had possessed healthy knees and played a standard 1,200 plus games, he would have easily surpassed 1600 career points. Not a doubt. And he would have won like 1214 Norse trophies and challenge Wayne's Greske's status as the absolute greatest of all time in the minds of every modern hockey fan, especially this true sports fan. Out of everyone we've talked about today, Bobby Orr may be the biggest what if of them all. If his knees had held up, would we even be having the goat debate in hockey?

4 additional athletes/Honourable mentions

Sue 36:43

And as you can imagine, there's many more I can mention and talk about, right? There's Eric Lindros for hockey, Andrew Luck from the NFL, there's Carrie Strugg from the Olympics. Now I know Olympians' gymnast careers are not as long, but she was like 18. There were still at least four more years, so at least another Olympic, maybe two. There's the Ron Martin Del Potro from tennis. And the list just goes on and on, sadly. After looking back at all these incredible athletes, one thing keeps coming back to me. As sports fans, we never stop asking the two simple words, what if? Maybe that's because we aren't mourning the stats, the numbers, the championship. We're mourning the stories that never got the chance to finish.

Sue's True Moment

Sue 37:35

And now, my friends, it's time for Sue's true moment. When we watch sports, we celebrate the championships, the MVPs, the Hall of Fame careers, and the unforgettable moments. But as fans, we only see a small part of the story. I've never played professional sports. I never had to spend months in rehab after an injury. I've never been told my career was over before I was ready. So I'll never truly understand that pain, that disappointment, or the sacrifices these athletes make every single day. What I do understand is what it's like to watch someone you admire disappear from the game far sooner than they should have. Behind every highlight reel are thousands of hours of training. Behind every championship are missed birthdays, family gatherings, holidays, surgeries, setbacks, and sacrifices that most of us will never see. We celebrate the awards, the championships, and the trophies. But at what cost? Some athletes lose seasons, some lose records, some lose careers. And when that happens, we don't just lose an incredible player. We lose the chance to see what they could have become. Maybe that's why these stories stay with us. Not because of what they accomplished, but because of everything we'll never get to witness. As sports fans, we always debate who was the greatest. But sometimes the stories that stay with us the longest are the ones that never got to finish. Every athlete tells a story, but every one of those stories leaves us with the same two words. What if?

TFTO Outro/Signoff

Sue 39:17

Thanks so much for listening to another episode of True Fan True Opinion. If you enjoyed today's conversation, I really appreciate it if you follow the show, leave a review, and share it with another sports fan. And don't forget, I want to hear your thoughts. Did you agree with my takes? Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments or on social media. Until next time, keep sharing, keep believing, and remember chin up, don't give up. I'm rooting for you.