Swearing In
Posted by SBG on Saturday, October 30th, 2004 at 1:25 pm
Yesterday, I was sworn in as an attorney in the State of Minnesota. It was, simply put, a great day in my life. Lucy and my mother were there and the ceremony was very nice. It is an official session of the Minnesota Supreme Court and all of the justices are there (one actually was unable to attend).
For those of you who aren't from Minnesota, former Viking great Alan Page is a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court. I have seen Jutice Page before, most notably when the supreme court held a session at my law school. Yesterday, he was the featured speaker at the swearing in ceremony. His speech was inspiring and practical. He talked about integrity, the responsibility of lawyers to help make the world a better place, and his own education foundation. He talked about civility and about his first case as a lawyer.
When the Chief Justice introduced Justice Page, she made the obvious remark that he was the only justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court who was also a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, as if she needed to remind us of THAT. Interestingly, that was the only comment made during the introductions that got applause. Hee hee!
Amazingly, Justice Page does not seem to show the effects of a long career of playing in the NFL. He was the first active member of the NFL to run a marathon and has since completed a 100K (62 mile) run. He is trim and appears to be in remarkable shape (and he has an amazingly broad chest). I doubt that he is much over his playing weight (which was amazingly under 230 at the end of his career). Someone told me afterwards that one of his pinkie fingers appeared to be pointed in the wrong direction, but he's almost 60 years old and he seems to be doing fine.
Page 
is someone that I deeply admire. He is one of the best Viking players ever. He also made a seamless transition from the NFL to private (and now public) life. He is soft spoken, and his speech yesterday demonstrated a tremendous depth of thought. He doesn't speak much about professional sports, but he did make one particularly perceptive point. He stated that when lawyers grandstand in the courtroom it is not unlike the tendencies of professional athletes who show up competitors on the field. It was thrilling and inspiring to hear Justice Page speak on this big day. He was a great sports hero when I was a young boy. That same man, old number 88, has shown dignity and professionalism in the game of life.
A couple of years ago, Steve Rushin wrote a tremendous piece in Sports Illustrated about Page. He painted the picture of a man bored with pro football when he played it and destined for much greater things once he retired. He showed that Page was a complex character and not one to bask in the limelight of professional sports. It was one of the best articles I ever read in Sports Illustrated.
It's easy to say that he would never have made the Supreme Court if he hadn't been an NFL player (it is, after all, an elected position). Perhaps (or perhaps not) it causes other justices pause when he alone gets applause and recognition. I don't really care about that. The man has been a success in two completely different careers -- and that is rare enough indeed.
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