Nobody from rugby league has ever united a nation in warmth like Rob Burrow.
The Leeds legend celebrates his 40th birthday today, and even he admits he didn’t think he would be here to see it.
Burrow’s fight to live through the brutality of Motor Neurone Disease, and his bold, selfless decision to do so in the public eye, has touched the hearts of the nation.
But moreover it continues to inspire everyone in an increasingly difficult world, that life is for living. That there is goodness and hope in even the worst case scenarios, that there are glimmers of light in the darkest of moments, and that the power of a positive mindset can see you smile through even the most relentless of storms.
For a sport that does bad news stories better than most, Burrow is a beacon of positive rugby league light. This sport prides itself on being a family, and for all the shortcomings and in-fighting that has stunted its development, this is a sport that undeniably and repeatedly comes together to support its own at times of need.
As Super League’s smallest ever player, Burrow was a breathtakingly brilliant game-breaker. But it says everything about Rob the person, that so many have wanted to help in his hour of need.
From the moment of devastating diagnosis in December 2019, it was a question of what can we do for Rob? His close circle of mates, which this writer feels so fortunate and honoured to be a part of, just wanted to know what can we do?
What can you do for a man who has given so much joy to so many people, not just in entertaining them in his day job, but in the time he has always taken to get to know them in real life?
“Just be there for him, and make him laugh,” was Kevin Sinfield’s advice when we spoke in the days after Rob’s life-changing news.
Sinfield of course has raised the bar in that respect with his superhuman efforts, the latest of which will see the former Rhinos captain attempt seven ultra-marathons in seven days for the sport’s iconic number seven in November.
Sinfield has used his platform, friendship and extraordinary mental strength to remarkable effect in a succession of gruelling fundraising efforts that has pushed his body and brain to its own limit to gain maximum exposure for MND, and help achieve his former team-mate’s wish of a special hospital facility in his name.
This won’t come soon enough for our mate, but it can absolutely help others going through this horrendous illness in future, and that will become another big part of Rob’s already incredible legacy. And as Sinfield says himself, gestures like his also show Rob how much people care about him, and that they are willing to go to dark places too in order to help.
Burrow is humbled by the support he continues to receive and still probably doesn’t realise how much he is driving this himself. Never able to accept praise, he will ask about you rather than answer questions about himself.
After games or training it would be straight home to the family rather than out to bask in the fame with friends. And even after diagnosis it was never ‘why me?’. It was ‘why not me?’ And ‘how can I now help others?’.
The harsh truth is that had Burrow been a leading player in another sport, then he would likely have been a household name much sooner. Not that that was ever what he wanted of course, and it is unfortunate that only through illness have we had the chance to show the world how amazing this guy is. The reaction to Rob has been wonderful, and the impact his cause has had on the MND community has finally given genuine hope to their fight for a cure.
At Saturday’s Grand Final there were club shirts from across Super League - Leeds of course, but also Saints, Wigan, Hull FC, Castleford, where Rob lives - all different allegiances, all printed with Burrow 7. This is a guy who has transcended the sport and brought communities together.
24 hours before the game, which saw Saints finally end their Leeds hoodoo having been tormented by Burrow’s Leeds through the years, Rob was visited by his former team-mates at his parents’ home in Pontefract.
Dad Geoff proudly welcoming Burrow’s old half-back partner Danny McGuire, fellow Grand Finals winners Stevie Ward, Adam Cuthbertson and Kylie Leuluai, plus old team-mates Willie Poching and Francis Cummins.
There was so much love and laughter in that room, and the belly laughs all came from Rob. Giant prop Leuluai has the same knack as another former Rhinos enforcer Barrie McDermott, in making Rob collapse with laughter while recalling untold tales from their glory years together.
Rob’s physical health is of course failing and his voice gone - he now needs wife Lindsey and parents Geoff and Irene to do everything for him and continues to communicate by blinking at his computerised voice bank - but he remains razor sharp, incredibly astute, and mischievously funny.
It said everything about Rob given the effort now required to communicate, that he asked every one of his visiting friends questions about their own life, including winding up Poching and Cummins about their recent sackings by Wakefield.
Rob Burrow is one in a million.
As a player he was a generational talent.
And as a person he is one of those people who just lifts everything around him.
