TOM SORENSEN, Charlotte Observer, August 7, 2007
1:33 p.m. EDITOR'S NOTE ... After opening comments by a tearful team owner, Jerry Richardson, and head coach John Fox, Panther safety Mike Minter confirmed today that he is retiring from NFL football. "This a game I love," Minter said, fighting back tears.
Mike Minter was talking about his ritual before a home game, about waking up excited and getting in the car and putting on the music and pulling up to the stadium and putting on the pads and slamming into teammates. After listening for 10 minutes, I wanted to borrow a helmet and pads and hit the field with him.
There might be people who love football as much as Minter, but nobody loves it more. The idea that he will walk away after 10 seasons in the NFL, all of them with the Carolina Panthers, is staggering.
But that's what Minter, 33, will do because of knee problems. The announcement will come at 1:30 p.m. today in Spartanburg. The news conference will take place in the veranda.
It should take place on a dirt field. And instead of a suit, Minter should wear his jersey, No. 30. And instead of looking pristine and clean, he should be covered with sweat and mud.
One play tells you all you need to know.
It's October 2005, and the Panthers are struggling. They were lucky to beat Arizona the week before and they're losing on the road 17-14 to Detroit.
The Lions have the ball on their 9, and they find tight end Marcus Pollard. Linebacker Will Witherspoon dives and misses, and Pollard is free. Less than four minutes remain, and if Pollard scores, this game ends.
The big man is at the 25, the 35, midfield. He's so open it's as if he's being shunned. Even though Minter admits later that even he doesn't think he has a chance to run down Pollard, he tries. Mike Minter always tries.
It's been a long time since Minter was the fastest guy. At 5-9 and 190 pounds, he was a great hitter, but he could never run like Steve Smith. He couldn't run like former Panther Lamar Smith. But it should be said that he was faster than former Panthers defensive end Chuck Smith.
He's also faster than Pollard. Astute fans run to their kitchens to grab a beer or make a quick sandwich and still get back to their televisions before Pollard gets to the Panthers' 25.
Minter keeps hustling, a dot on a distant horizon. Yet over time the distance is reduced. As Pollard approaches the end zone, Minter goes absolutely Seabiscuit on him. When Pollard reaches the 5-yard line, Minter pounds him out of bounds.
The Lions get a field goal out of the play, which puts them up by only six, and the Panthers score on their final drive and win by a point.
The play attests to an essential quality of sport and life -- no matter how desperate the situation, don't quit.
After the game, Minter attributes the play not to his tremendous will but to his tremendous speed, insisting he runs a 4.46 40-yard dash.
You mean a 4.6?
"A 4.46," Minter says. "Put that in."
Mike Minter tributes will spill out of Spartanburg today, and they should. Minter is one of the finest people I have met in sports, and I can't imagine the team, or the locker room, without him.
Here's my tribute. Minter says he runs a 4.46 40, and I'm going to say I believe him.
IN MY OPINION Tom Sorensen