I don’t cry often. In fact, I don’t cry, or even get tearful, anywhere near as much as I used to. I even had the odd meltdown, specifically when I was bullied and abused by managers at the British Red Cross, but those days are gone forever, over a long time ago. It could be down to my meds, it could be down to the levels of self-control us depressives develop in order to enable us to function. But yesterday and today, I did shed a tear when hearing about the death of someone I never knew and never met.
Rob Burrow was one of my favourite sportspeople of all time. Coming in at 5’5″ and just over 10 stone, Burrow was an unlikely looking player in the land of giants otherwise known as Rugby League. Yet his speed of legs and mind, set him apart from the rest. In 2015, he broke my heart when he was part of the Leeds Rhinos team that downed my beloved Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford. His fleet of foot, his perfectly timed passes, his eye for the space was all but unrivalled, yet he was, by some distance, the smallest man on the pitch.
in 2019, he announced that he was suffering from Motor Neurone Disease (MND), that most savage of conditions that strangles the life out of everyone who develops it. There was no way out for him, there is no cure. All he could do was to rage against the dying of the light and, along with his best friend, the great Kevin Sinfield, raise awareness and large sums of money to aid the fight against MND.
It was harrowing to watch Burrow, as his condition deteriorated, yet his sheer bloody-mindedness to keep up the good fight against MND never left him. And by a supreme piece of irony, work on the £5.8 million specialist centre for people living with motor neurone disease and their families begins today, the day after his passing. The money was raised, says the Leeds Hospitals Charity, “thanks to Rob’s dedication and support“. It says it all about Burrow and his family that despite his death, they want the building project to continue on schedule. Paul Watkins from the charity said: “The family still want it to go ahead. That just shows how magnanimous and gracious they are. All along they have thought about others.”
My thoughts are obviously with his family and friends. I am a mere long distance Rugby League fan who admired Burrow greatly as a player but even more as a brave man who dedicated his post diagnosis life to the lives of people he might never meet. And that’s probably why I welled-up and shed a tear. Selflessness of the ultimate degree.
Rob Burrow’s life is over now, but what a life. The Leeds Hospitals Charity still needs another £1 million to reach their target for the specialist centre. With friends like Kevin Sinfield, does anyone really believe that that sum won’t be raised and, I’ll wager, exceeded?
Burrow and Sinfield are true British heroes, the very best of us. In a country that often feels broken beyond repair, it’s good to remind ourselves there are still good people doing good things.
RIP Rob Burrow. A sporting great but an even better human being.
