Scary good

Sporting News, The, Dec 13, 1999 by Paul Attner

The secret is out even in Philadelphia, where Harrison's mom, Linda, still has difficulty believing her son has grown up to be a star layer. "I thought he would never get beyond little league," she says, laughing. "But if he did anything, it was going to be in basketball." Harrison was a star point guard at Roman Catholic High in Philly, leading his team to championships and dunking the ball as a 5-10 sophomore. But he stood out more as a running back and receiver, good enough to earn city MVP honors three times and a college scholarship.

That was good news for his mother, who raised Marvin on her own after his father died of a genetic disease when their son was 2. Linda worked two jobs, including cutting hair the past 15 years at night. But she also ran a strict house; Marvin stayed off the streets of North Philly, doing his homework and--parents of teen-agers, take note--making his bed without prodding. Always quiet, never flashy, he listened when his mom told him not to follow fads or peer pressure. When he told her he would buy her a house one day, she didn't listen. She should have. She now resides in a Philly suburb, in a home he purchased for her within days of his signing with the Colts.

Harrison flies back to Philly at every opportunity. He has a condo there and 76ers season tickets and all of his friends and an extended family that bought 75 tickets for a home game against the Cowboys earlier this season. Linda arranged for the bus and accommodations; they all showed up in Marvin Harrison T-shirts. She urges him to give back to the community, and he has listened, doing everything from sponsoring scholarships to handing out 88 free turkeys this past Thanksgiving. She still is working, but after her son signs his next contract--he has one more season left on his original agreement--she'll consider Marvin's request that she retire and let him support her.

The Colts know they must re-sign him. You don't lose a receiver who Polian admits has climbed from among the top 10 to one of a handful of the league's best. And the team doesn't quarrel with the assessment of Chiefs coach Gunther Cunningham, who thinks Harrison's best years "are still to come."

A new contract might help Harrison figure out a quandary. "There are no good (Philly) cheesesteaks in Indy," he says. "And next to Tastykakes, I really like them a lot." In another year, he'll have enough money to solve his problem. He could open up his own Philly cheesesteak restaurant in Indy. And for dessert, he can serve his beloved Tastykakes.

RELATED ARTICLE: A crushing loss for Miami

Barring injury, Dan Marino will finish the season as the Dolphins' quarterback. Other than that, the rest of the Miami franchise is in varying states of disarray after its emotionally draining 37-34 home loss to the Colts.

Ironically, Marino entered that contest as the team's big unknown after a horrid, five-interception performance against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. But with his arm visibly stronger and his decision-making much more precise, Marino played himself out of Jimmy Johnson's woofhouse against the Colts. Marino sparked a second-half comeback that erased a 24-10 halftime deficit and should have been good enough to put the Dolphins just where we thought they would be entering this season--in charge of the AFC East.