Glory came early as did fame. to Gary Speed there on the pitch. Cheers he heard from adoring crowds among the elite he found his niche. With time’s passage he lost a step even if he felt the same but as he ran he thought he saw an old man’s shadow in a young man’s game.
He coached to stay around the game. After the cheers for him had faded A friendly face, a familiar name but as he coached he thought he saw an old man’s shadow in a young man’s game.
For many, Gary was an icon, a living legend of the game. They failed to see the mortal man with silence weighting on his frame As he tied the rope he thought he saw an old man’s shadow in a young man’s game
Gary Speed, Coach of the Welsh national team and soccer legend recently took his own life at age 42. It is after the cheering stops that the aging elite athlete often has trouble readjusting. As Joe DiMaggio, another Sports Icon, told writer Gay Talese; " I'm just a guy trying to find a way to survive."