By John Crumpacker
OF THE EXAMINER STAFF

SANTA CLARA -- Jerry Rice, poet? It's true.

After fighting off tears during Steve Young's retirement ceremony Monday morning, Rice stepped up to the podium to pay tribute to the man who threw him 85 touchdown passes, an NFL record from one quarterback to one receiver.

"I was basically trying to come up with a concept and I came up with this, so you're going to have to bear with me," Rice said.

He then read from a sheet of paper his feelings for Young. While Robert Frost's place in American literature is safe, what Rice wrote and recited came from the heart:

"Sometimes we dream, dreams come true.

Sometimes we are made to be leaders but we don't know what.

Searching and searching, finally you get that opportunity, but there is a big huge fear.

The guy before him was one of the best, so you do everything possible to win over the non-believers.

But there is still criticism.

The people are saying, he is a good quarterback but he can't win the big ones because the person before him was one of the best.

So you keep pushing, eventually you kick the door in and the monkey is off your back but there is still criticism.

I read this article a couple of weeks ago saying you have to let go of your superstars. That is true, but there is a big difference between being a superstar and being a great superstar.

You have to look at the entire picture, what this guy does off the field, in the community and how he conducts himself. We had the opportunity to do many commercials. I remember Steve saying one day, "You know, I have done everything but I would like to have a family one day.'

Well, Steve, sometimes we dream and dreams come true." "You all didn't know Jerry Rice was a writer, did you?" asked former 49er Brent Jones, taking over the podium from Rice.