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The Boston Herald reports that, fan favorite and former eighth round pick out of Marshall, Troy Brown is retiring. Until Tom Brady retires he will be almost universally considered the greatest Patriot ever. Many people outside of New England have no idea who this receiver is that makes Randy Moss say that he himself is only the second best receiver to come out of Marshall. His 557 career receptions for 6,366 yards and 31 touchdowns do very little to show his greatness. Add to those numbers 1,862 kick return yards and 2,625 punt return yards for 3 touchdowns and you start to see that he was a special player. However, even these numbers do little to show the true greatness of Troy Brown as a football player. To learn his true value you also need to understand that he played cornerback when his team needed him to. A great corner he wasn’t but a solid nickel corner who made plays at the right time he was.

What made Troy Brown such a special and unique player was his team first attitude. Troy brown, much like Tim Wakefield of the RedSox, always put the team interests ahead of his own. When the more talented but far less productive Terry Glen was ahead of him in the depth charts he did not whine to the media like most receivers would. Instead he went out game in and game out and made plays. He got huge punt returns. He made key third downs when the offense sputtered. He blocked, recovered fumbles, and won games. The true greatness in Troy Brown was his ability to do whatever it took to win games. Whether it was catching quick 2 and 3 yard outs and turning them into big plays or fearlessly going over the middle and catching the needed 8 yard pass while getting clobbered by some linebacker he excelled. For his whole career he got open on key third downs or provided great punt returns at just the right time. Players like Brown help teams win.

Now, I’m not one to idolize athletes. But in this case, I would gladly tell my sons to do what Troy has done. Follow his example in whatever careers they choose. Brown is the rare athlete who is worthy of our praise and admiration.

Troy Brown enjoy your retirement. Whoever is fortunate to work with you in the future will be blessed to have you. You owe nothing to the game of football or the fans that have followed you. In the end, you had the career that stories are made of.