Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders (http://img.infoplease.com/images/sanders.gif)

Barry Sanders was born on July 16, 1968, in Wichita, Kansas. His parents are William and Shirley Ann Sanders. He grew up with ten other kids in the family; he was one of the young ones. He is 5 foot 8 and weights 200 pounds. When he played in college he was 5 foot 7. He has a wife named Lauren Campbell and he has three kids.

When Barry Sanders was little, he always dreamed to play football, but his size made people think he'd have a hard time. People would always tell him that he was to small to play football and that he would get hurt if he tried. Those things never stopped him from playing the game; he knew that it wouldn’t be as bad as people made it sound. His first attempt at running the ball didn’t come until the fourth game of his senior year, in 1985, at Wichita High School North. In the final 7 games of the season he rushed for 1,322 yards. He proved people wrong and he knew that. He knew that it would be hard to get in to college standing at 5 foot 7. Most college coaches thought he was too small to play college ball but with that season he had in his senior year, Oklahoma State University decided to give him a scholarship to play for them as a punt and kick returner. In OSU he became a star sharing time as a running back. He earned the Heisman Trophy and became a first round pick for the Detroit Lions. In 10 years in the NFL he rushed for 15,269 yards and went to the pro bowl 10 times. Also, he became a pro football hall of famer and college hall of famer.

Barry Sanders demonstrated heroism when he took the Lions to a 12-4 season. He worked so hard for that moment. He combined 1,855 rushing/receiving yards. He showed that he was a hero when he gave generously to the community. He showed heroism by never giving up on a play, always kept his feet moving to get extra yards and had respect for the game.

I think Michael Jordan and Barry Sanders have a lot of characteristics because when they felt sick or were sick they always played through it and they never gave up on a play. They both struggled when they were teenagers but they never gave up, they became the most popular players in sports history because of how much they sacrified. They were both honest with their teammates and that’s how they both have something in common.

Barry Sanders got in the Hall of Fame on January 31, 2004. His #20 jersey was retired on November 25, 2004. After football life, Barry Sanders lives in Suburban Detroit with his wife and three children. He is a majority stockholder of a bank in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Barry Sanders is a hero and I mean it because he left an example of never giving up. It doesn’t matter if you’re short, tall, black, white, etc. He never gave up. After taking criticism he moved on and proved to people just because he was short and not as big as other football players, he could still do anything that anybody else could do. He inspires me to play the sport of football better and makes me want to do the things he did when he was in the NFL.