I think Jim did live the code, at least while he was at school. I am not naive either. I ran into him in a grocery store (ugly green Rheams) after interviewing him months earlier, sometime in about late February after his senior season. He had just dropped out needing only seven credits to graduate. Jim was purchasing bread, fruit and a six-pack of long-neck something or other. He smiled at me and said, I've waited a long time for these. I chuckled. McMahon's reputation was created more by the eggheads and myth makers than reality. he was one of the most sound, disciplined and driven players BYU has ever had. He didn't graduate at the time because he didn't care and hadn't counted the cost. He was NFL bound. The fact is, the degree and HOF issues are more because how profoundly he is loved by everyone closely connected to BYU. Nobody cared that he's Catholic. We care about him as a person and those who know him, would tell those who don't that he's a fantastic person. In a way, it feels like Jim did the hard work required to graduate at this stage of his life, for those of us who loved him and wanted everyone to remember his contributions to BYU great legacy. When you look back at storied programs, there are always players whose name is equated to the program's greatness. Notre Dame is remembered for the Gipper in spite of the many other greats that played there. The great Army team is remembered for Doc Blanchard. Illinois for Dick Butkis. Syracuse for Larry Zonka. Navy for Roger Staubach. Merlin Olsen at USU. Jim McMahon is BYU's 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse. He IS the historic face of BYU football. Who cares that he's Catholic. What we care about, is that Jim McMahon did this for all of us, maybe more than just for himself.

Thank you Jim. God Speed! (For mods and those unfamiliar with the phrase, that is a blessing in Catholicism).