The man who made No. 56 famous in New York turned 56 Wednesday.
And that surprised him as much as anyone.
“It’s hard to believe that I GOT to 56, yes,” Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor said, via Steve Serby of the New York Post. “But I’m here. Don’t get me wrong — it hasn’t been an easy road. It’s been a rough road. It’s been a rocky road, it’s been a rough road … and every day I face things that really make you just hesitant about how life is, but one thing I know, I’ll get through it, and I can make it happen.
“Bad things will happen, but I have a lot of good things that happen in my life. I have a lot in my life to be thankful for.”
Taylor’s post-football life has been more chaotic than anything he created on the field during his career.
In recent years, he’s struggled with drugs, and had to register as a sex offender after a plea deal involving an incident with a 16-year-old prostitute. He also lost money in a stock fraud case, and even had to sell his Super Bowl ring.
But he said he’s in a better place now.
“I would like to say my life is perfect, but it’s not, but I have a good life,” Taylor said. “I am actually enjoying being an elder statesman and doing what I do in life, you know?”
He spent the day before his birthday playing golf with a group of friends including Cornelius Bennett, Bruce Smith, Keith Byars, Ray Allen and Penny Hardaway, but spent last night with his wife and family, which includes an adopted 8-year-old son.
“He is the most settled and at peace with being Lawrence Taylor than I’ve ever seen him, and I’ve known him for 25 years,” agent Mark Lepselter said. “I’m just so proud of how far he’s come on so many fronts. He’s as loyal a guy as I’ve ever been around. I think more than anything, age has mellowed him, and made him a better guy to be around.”
Taylor admitted he’s “more mellowed out now than I used to be, but I’m more appreciative of the fans than I used to be.”
But mostly, he should be grateful that mellowing out has allowed him to reach the age of his old jersey number.
