My biggest takeaway from the documentary was that Barry retired because he didn’t want to break the rushing record. I was a big fan of his as a kid and you always heard “Barry doesn’t care about the accolades” “Barry isn’t in it for the individual accomplishments”, as if he was neutral or apathetic about them. But the documentary made it quite clear that he actively did not WANT the individual accolades. He didn’t want to hold the rushing title, he didn’t want the Heisman, he was so deeply uncomfortable with the spotlight that I think he dreaded being the #1 guy on the podium. I think he left because he knew he would break the record that year and he didn’t want it.
That’s not to say nothing else played a role. I imagine if he saw a path to get him and his teammates a SB he would have kept playing. But when that individual accomplishment seemed to be the only thing he was chasing I think he just said Nah.
My biggest takeaway from the documentary was that Barry retired because he didn’t want to break the rushing record. I was a big fan of his as a kid and you always heard “Barry doesn’t care about the accolades” “Barry isn’t in it for the individual accomplishments”, as if he was neutral or apathetic about them. But the documentary made it quite clear that he actively did not WANT the individual accolades. He didn’t want to hold the rushing title, he didn’t want the Heisman, he was so deeply uncomfortable with the spotlight that I think he dreaded being the #1 guy on the podium. I think he left because he knew he would break the record that year and he didn’t want it.
That’s not to say nothing else played a role. I imagine if he saw a path to get him and his teammates a SB he would have kept playing. But when that individual accomplishment seemed to be the only thing he was chasing I think he just said Nah.