Reporters covering the 49ers during their heyday had firsthand knowledge of Jerry Rice’s quick first step.
After games, there was a 15-minute cooling off period, after which the doors to the locker room were thrown open so the assembled press could ask players and coaches if what they’d all experienced qualified as a big game. And so that players and coaches could advise the assembled press, “That’s a stupid question.”
But we never got that answer from Rice. By the time we got to his locker, 15 minutes and 2 seconds after the end of the game, it was empty.