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“Now, thanks to that pampering, upon his retirement in the winter of 1988 as the NFL’s alltime leading rusher, Walter Payton found himself burdened by a realization that had struck thousands of ex-athletes before him: I am bored out of my mind. When strangers asked, he talked about how thrilled he was to be free of the burdens of football. ‘I’m not going to miss the pounding,’ he told ABC’s Peter Jennings. ‘And the getting up at six and working out until dusk.’ The words were pure fantasy. He would miss it desperately. ‘He went from an abnormal existence as an athlete to a normal one,’ says Brittney, now 26. ‘How does anyone do that?’”

“The Hero No One Knew” — Jeff Pearlman, Sports Illustrated

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