Whew! Bruce, is it really over?

Introduction time at Adelphia Coliseum: "Bruce Matthews."

Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuce!

"Why are they booing him?" the person seated behind me wanted to know.

"That's what they do when your name is Bruce," I was happy to inform.

I could have added, "...and when they like you."

Who could not like Bruce Matthews? Now, that his long NFL road has winded to an end, we will have plenty to remember, too. His string of 296 games played, 14 Pro Bowls...ah, those are just records, something you would expect from someone who can count 19 seasons in the NFL, the same number as his older brother Clay.

What I remember most is the smiling, serene face, radiating from a genuinely good-natured bear of a man who never complained nor offered excuses. A devoted family man who lived the life and still does, a man no one would have reason to rustle up a bad word for, unless he was just beaten by a better move.

Wee Brucie, the downline general of the Tennessee Titans has called it a career, according to a current dispatch from the Houston Chronicle.

It was expected. Matthews had not set foot on training camp soil, and was thought not to be returning to the fold as early as last year when the final gong rang for the Titans.

I thought he would return this one final time. Twenty is a nice round number, better than 19. He lives in Houston, where he spent his first 14 seasons with the Oilers. There is still a Love Ya Blue contingent there that adores him. He could have walked onto the field Dec. 29 in Houston and received an ovation not normally accorded to opposing players.

Those are just some of my reasons for wanting him to stay on a while longer. I, however, do not have to listen to his family, many of whom have publicly stated that they wanted him to end it. And only he can listen to all the war stories his body has to tell.

Expect a uniform retirement ceremony sometime this season. For that, let me be the first to say: Bruuuuuuuuuuuuce!