“They’re killing me Whitey, they’re killing me.” — Lou Saban.
It’s a short, four-second clip from an NFL Films highlight presentation (I absolutely love NFL Films), but it’s what longtime NFL coach Lou Saban is most remembered for when he refers to his assistant coach, commenting on how what’s transpiring on the field is affecting him.
Just as I write this, editor Adam Trumble has sent me a message to which I replied, “They’re killing me Whitey, they’re killing me.”
There’s also the other great line from the wonderful movie “The Sandlot,” — “You’re Killing me, Smalls.”
But I stick with Saban’s line anytime something happens I have a hard time dealing with. And in today’s society as an old fuddy, duddy with the culture and the technology the way it is, I use Saban’s line often.
I’ve wrote before about how I just wanted “Stuff That Works,” which is one of my favorite songs. All this technology would be great if it, like, actually worked.
Throughout his life, Saban said when people approached him they would constantly quote his most famous line to him. For Saban, it wasn’t 15 minutes of fame. It was four seconds of fame that lasted the rest of his life.
But I’m thankful for Saban. Because when something is really getting to me, I can repeat that line, and it makes me feel a little better.
Because what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
— Charles Whisnand
