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Saturday, February 9, 2008
Pollack at peace despite uncertain path ahead
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Given the uncertain odds of his future in football, there seemed a certain symmetry to David Pollack’s escape plans this past week. He spent a few days with pals in Las Vegas.
“It was OK, but it’s not really a place I would frequently visit,” he said by phone Saturday, after touching down in Cincinnati. “We just kind of hung out in the casinos and walked down the strip.”
Did he gamble?
“Not much. I’m a firm believer in not paying for the chandeliers in the casino.”
He is 25 now. In many ways, however, he’s the same goofy kid who came out of Shiloh High School in Snellville, went to Georgia and turned into an unexpected icon. He’ll crack on you one minute, and then turn serious when talking about faith or family.
He laughed when I suggested he should just forget about football and come back to run for mayor of Athens, and then said, “It’s amazing. I’ve never watched presidential debates before, but I’m turning into my dad more every day. I’m sitting there, watching debates and CNN steadily, and thinking, ‘What’s happening to me?’ I’m like, ‘Dude, quick, turn on SportsCenter.’ This growing up thing is weird.”
To watch Pollack play football at Georgia was like seeing a kid run into a toy store. To know his situation now is the mother of all reality checks. Life and sport took unexpected turns 17 months ago when, on his second play of the second game in his second NFL season with Cincinnati, he suffered a fractured vertebra in his neck during a tackle. He was taken off the field from a stretcher, and that was his last time between the sidelines.
Surgery and extensive rehabilitation have followed. Pollack is back doing extensive workouts, playing racquetball, running sprints, seven to nine hours a day. “I’m like Rocky in Russia,” he said. “I’m getting Rocky hard. Sometimes I even box a little, and we play the Rocky theme music.”
In the movies, maybe Pollack comes back, goes to Pro Bowls and lead the Bengals to a championship. He knows real life doesn’t always work that way.
Friday was supposed to be decision day. But a meeting with a Los Angeles spine specialist was canceled because of the doctor’s scheduling conflict. Pollack — who went ahead with the Las Vegas portion of his week — hopes to meet with the specialist in the next few weeks.
He needs to know, either way. There can’t be any gray area. He said a doctor must tell him he can play football again “and not be at a greater risk” for a spinal injury. Otherwise, he is done.
“Even if I can’t play football again, I feel blessed that I’ve been able to play a kids’ game this long,” he said. “The experiences along the way have made me a better person, a stronger person. You learn a lot about life and who really cares about you when things like this happen.”
He hears it all. Some want to see him back on the field. Others tell him to walk away. He understands both sides.
Full disclosure: Last year, I wrote a column telling Pollack that resuming his career wasn’t work the risk. I don’t have a medical degree. But I know what this game does to even strong and healthy men who haven’t had a broken neck. I know he can have his pick of next careers: broadcasting, training, coaching. I know he wants to have a family. (“I want a lot of babies with my beautiful wife,” he reiterated Saturday.)
“My wife and mom and dad and brother, they would never give me their opinion,” Pollack said. “They wouldn’t want me to be persuaded by them. I have some friends who talk to me about football and get excited about me playing again. Then I have some who don’t ever want me to step on a football field again. Some fans say they can’t wait for me to come back. Some say, ‘It’s OK, we still love you.’ I take everything as a compliment.”
Deeply spiritual, he says he prays daily, not to play football again, but for direction and strength.
He was pulling into his driveway in Cincinnati as we finished speaking. Earlier, after dialing his cell phone, I was sent to on-hold music: Ray Charles singing, “Georgia on My Mind.”
He had always planned to return here after football. If that comes sooner than expected, so be it.
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