How late Colorado coach Bill McCartney faced his own mortality

On Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017, I made an appointment to meet with former Colorado football coach Bill McCartney at a Starbucks inside a Safeway supermarket near Denver. I was a reporter with USA TODAY, same as now, and wanted to interview him about his life and health after being diagnosed with late-onset dementia/Alzheimer’s disease.

McCartney, then 77 years old, agreed to talk but didn’t show up on time for the 8 a.m. meeting. So I contacted somebody who knew him to remind him. When he finally arrived about 35 minutes later, he apologized profusely. He said he couldn’t believe he forgot about it.

“What’s happened to me today with you is the most glaring thing that’s happened so far,” McCartney said then. “In other words, I don’t miss appointments, you know? … As a coach, you can’t. You just absolutely can’t, because you lose your leverage. You lose your credibility. So this is all happening as we speak. I didn’t expect this, and I have no recollection of saying I was going to meet you.”

McCartney died Friday at age 84. But the reflections and thoughts he shared that day at that Starbucks still stick with me when I think about who he was and how he was dealing with one of the most frightening things anybody can ever face − losing your mind. It’s a truly sad story, though the way he viewed his fate inspires courage. It also serves as a reminder that nearly seven million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s – a disease without a cure and a cause that’s not fully understood.

There was only one thing he could do about it, he said.

“Faith is a choice,” McCartney said. “You can choose to believe or choose not to.”

Bill McCartney led Colorado football to a national championship in 1990.

Facing his own mortality

This was a man who revived one of the worst college football programs in…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/colorado-coach-bill-mccartney-faced-110710828.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2025-01-15 11:07:00

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