Remembering the "Killer"

You get to a certain age when it is probably a little creepy to have sports heroes. I'd like to think that I am at that point where I don't idolize a sports figure who is half of my age.

That's not to say I didn't grow up with plenty of sports idols along the way.

As a Packers fan, I have to start with Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, Boyd Dowler ... actually just about any Packer from the 1960s.

As a Lakers fan, I often thought I was Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain or Elgin Baylor out on the court.

As a Twins fan, my early idols were Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew and Tony Oliva.

While I now try to stay away from idolizing athletes younger than me, it's not to say that I'm not a fan. Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Reggie White and Brett Favre (as a Packer) come to mind a few years ago. Now there's Aaron Rodgers, Charles Woodson, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Sorry, I can't say that I am a fan of anybody in the NBA, but that's a different story.

With the recent news that Harmon Killebrew was dying of cancer and that he was going into hospice care, my first thought was of sadness. Then I remembered why he was a sports idol of mine when I was a kid.

To me, there was no better player than Harmon Killebrew. It wasn't just because he was my favorite baseball player. To me, there was no better player to idolize. For a man nicknamed "killer," he was the exact opposite. He was the type of player, as a person, that you wanted to idolize. He still is.

I'll never forget my first game at the old Met Stadium, as the Twins played the Yankees and my family and stopped on our way to Wisconsin. Killebrew didn't hit any homers in that game, but I'll never forget it, even though it was a long time ago. In my mind, he was actually 0-for-4, but he backed Yankees outfielder Roy White to the wall each time, and unfortunately, White caught all four near home runs.

What struck me the most was I was just a few rows up in the stands, and I thought I was going to have a shot at all four baseballs.

I'm not sure if that story is actually true, although it is one that I have told for about 40 years. But as far as I am concerned, that's actually what happened.

I've never been one to wear replica jerseys. I do have a Packers' Favre jersey, but I have only worn it twice. I go by the theory that kids and women can wear jerseys, but adult men should not. Don't ask me why, it just doesn't look right, going back to the idolizing an athlete younger than yourself.

I'm going to throw that theory out the door, I think. No, the Favre jersey stays in the closet. I'm getting a Killebrew No. 3 jersey.

Godspeed, Harmon.