My story is not unique, because Muhammad Ali touched so many lives.
Like so many others, I grew up in a house with a father who was a huge fan of the man they called “The Greatest.” We’d listen to his fights on the radio or watch on TV.
And we didn’t just watch the fights. We watched the interviews, the press conferences, the appearances on late night TV. My father was fascinated with Ali.
So it was a major deal for a high school kid in Miami when I was lucky enough to get Ali’s autograph.
He was not your average athlete, so obviously, Ali’s was not your average autograph. He wrote, “ To Marc From Muhammad Ali, Service to others is the rent we pay for our room in the hereafter.”
I will always treasure the autograph, but more important the message. And I will always appreciate what Ali meant to my life; an important part of my childhood and an inspiration inside and outside of the ring.
