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Jun 23, 2018
10:46:54am
eddog All-American
I've been listening to Steve Young's autobiograhy, My Life behind the Spiral.
I'm loving it. Very fascinating and compelling. Steve has led a very interesting life. He had such an unorthodox journey to NFL superstardom and the Hall of Fame.

A few things I find especially interesting that jump out at me:

1. I had no idea that he had such major anxiety issues. Sometimes it was almost crippling for him. It just surprised me because he always seemed like a fairly confident guy to me. It's impressive that he was able to overcome it and have such a successful career.

2. I found it interesting that growing up in an active Mormon family, his family had no problem with him playing and competing on Sunday as a kid. The little leagues in Connecticut where he grew up required Sunday play. I know a lot of members might disagree with his decision, but the fact of the matter is he probably wouldn't have ended up at BYU or in the NFL if he didn't play on Sunday as a kid.

3. It's crazy to me that making millions of dollars to play football bothered him so much. He became an instant millionaire at age 22 when he signed his huge contract with the USFL. Most of us would leap at that opportunity. It would be a dream come true. Yet the money gave him a ton of anxiety and initially he wanted to donate it all to the Church.

I also find it kinda funny that he could have afforded to buy himself a nice house in the Bay area, but he insisted on living out of a duffel bag for his first few years and stayed with friends and teammates in San Francisco and also lived in crappy rundown apartments in Provo while he was attending law school at BYU. He really did not like to spend money.

I also didn't know that Bill Walsh brought him to San Francisco fully expecting him to replace Joe Montana as the full time starter immediately. He even assured him that there would be no quarterback controversy. Joe's career was believed to be over after two back surgeries. He then went on to defy expectations and win 2 more Super Bowls. Steve never would have come to San Francisco if he had known he would be a backup for four years.

It's a compelling listen. I listen to it as I commute to and from work. Can't wait to finish it.
This message has been modified
Originally posted on Jun 23, 2018 at 10:46:54am
Message modified by eddog on Jun 23, 2018 at 10:56:23am
eddog
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eddog
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