ON A BRIGHT FALL Sunday in October, Damar Hamlin took the field for the Buffalo Bills. That he didn't play much-18 snaps, all coming on special teams duty- was beside the point. His being there at all was the stunning thing. Nine months earlier, Hamlin had collapsed on the field, right there on camera, during a Monday Night Football game. The night fell into a strange, echoing pause in the usually seamless operation of America's most inevitable cultural institution. Nearly 24 million people watched as Hamlin was taken off the field in an ambulance. The game was called off with viewers unsure of whether or not they had seen a man die on television. The next day, a sportscaster prayed live on ESPN. For a time, updates on his recovery were headline news. And now, here he was. Hugging teammates. in the tunnel before kickoff. Dapping up the trainer whose quick response had helped save his life. Dancing on the field during warmups, a young man glad to be playing the sport he loves. "To be able to still do what I love at the highest level in the world is amazing," he told reporters after the game.
It was quite possibly the most remarkable comeback in sports history. It was also a more interesting story than that.
I spent time with Hamlin this fall, and I found a warm, kindhearted young man doing his best to make sense of the strange turns his life has taken. He was glad to serve as the smiling face of a cause that, between heartbeats, chose him. But he was also ready to get back to being a football player, despite the obvious challenges, and to do everything within his power to make sure his collapse wasn't the only thing people know him for.
It isn't always easy. Recovery is not a linear process. And if fame comes with unique obligations, fame for this carries an even weirder burden. It can be hard, for instance, to predict how people will react to his presence.
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