Who is Fresno’s favorite athlete? Recently retired Derek Carr has a great case | Opinion
Derek Carr announced his retirement following 11 seasons in the NFL, leaving behind a somewhat complicated legacy.
Just not in Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley. Around here, Carr’s legacy is simple: He’s held in the highest regard.
Who is the most popular and admired athlete born and produced in the Valley?
At present, it’s either New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge (born and raised in Linden, schooled at Fresno State), Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen (born and raised in Firebaugh) or two-time U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau (born in Modesto, raised in Clovis). Each has huge fan bases that extend far beyond their home region.
But if you expand the lens to cover the entire first quarter of the 21st century or narrow it to include only Valley residents, the answer might be Carr.
Why? Apart from Carr’s football talents – obvious since he was throwing tight spirals with zip at 10 years old after practice at Fresno State, where older brother David Carr preceded him as star quarterback – his upbeat, confident personality, natural grace and treatment of others always stood out.
Even at the height of Derek Carr’s rock star status in Fresno, during the 2013 season when the Bulldogs started 11-0, the acclaim didn’t go to his head. Despite intense fan and media scrutiny, I never once saw him stiff an autograph- or selfie-seeker or fail to thoughtfully answer a question.
It’s one of Carr’s many gifts. In fact, the only thing he might be better at than playing football is forming connections with people. (I write this despite he and I not having exchanged more than pleasantries in a decade.)
Carr is a good dude, and genuinely so. One of the best examples might be that time in 2017 when he pulled over to the side of a Bay Area freeway after spotting a stranded motorist toting a gas can.
“As soon as I step outta my car a black Denali drives up and the man asked me if everything was OK,” Ron Reeser said in a subsequent interview. “I said, ‘I ran outta gas.’ He said, ‘Hop in. I’ll take you.’ ”
‘He was just driving by and helped’
Reeser grew up a 49ers fan, so he didn’t recognize the SUV driver until Carr sheepishly revealed himself to be the Oakland Raiders “first string” quarterback on their way back from the gas station.
“He couldn’t have been more down to earth,” Reeser said. “He was wearing a hat and basketball shorts. I had no idea. He was just driving by and helped. It really made me feel good that there are good people still out there doing nice things for people.”
Carr’s NFL legacy is complicated because starting quarterbacks are judged on playoff victories and Super Bowl trophies as much as they are on regular-season passing yards and touchdowns. So despite the production and leadership Carr gave to the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders, the team’s lack of postseason success is held against him by a segment of the fanbase.
It didn’t help that the Raiders played lousy defense during the Carr era, never finishing better than 20th in points allowed during his nine years. Nor that ownership went through coaches like tissue. The relationship between team and franchise QB ended awkwardly.
Carr’s tenure with the New Orleans Saints only lasted two seasons. Headlines portrayed the 34-year-old’s retirement announcement as shocking news in that the extent of the injury to his throwing shoulder wasn’t widely known. Furthermore, he agreed to forgo a guaranteed $30 million salary in 2015.
Many veteran quarterbacks in Carr’s position would’ve undergone surgery, spent the year on injured reserve and delayed any decision about their future until next offseason. Not Carr, who exited on his terms while handing the Saints much-needed salary cap relief.
Carr retired with $205 million in career earnings according to Sportrac, so no need to send a sympathy card. But still …
“He walked away from a lot of money,” David Carr said during an NFL Network appearance.
Derek’s busy first day of retirement
Heather Carr, Derek’s wife since college, posted a charming video montage on Instagram depicting her husband’s first day of retirement.
The first clip shows Carr running and working out with the couple’s four children at their Fresno home. Next, Derek and Heather are on a lunch date where Heather pays the bill. Derek is then seen loading golf clubs into his truck – presumably on the way to meet up with David, a Clovis resident, who said via text they play either San Joaquin or Fort Washington “most days.”
During their round together after the retirement news broke, David Carr told NFL Network that Derek’s cell phone rang constantly – a breach of golf course etiquette, but perhaps forgivable in this instance – with calls of congratulations and appreciation from former teammates and coaches.
“It was every other shot his phone was ringing from either an ex-head coach or someone he played against, just nonstop outpour(ing),” said David Carr, whose NFL career also spanned 11 seasons. “He just put them on speaker and had chats with them … .
“It was incredible to see the impact he’s had on his teammates, and it wasn’t just a football thing because you win games, you lose games. But in reality, it’s the impact you make on the guys around you, and I was kind of shocked by the amount of people that called just loving the fact they got to play with him and know him.”
Incredible, but perhaps not surprising. David Carr also shot down suggestions that his younger brother could make an NFL comeback if and when his shoulder heals: “I believe he is done.”
Over the years Derek Carr has consistently stated that after he is done playing football he plans to devote himself full-time to his family and the ministry.
Congrats on reaching that milestone, Derek. In Fresno and the Valley, No. 4 will always be the No. 1 favorite for many.
