2 0 1 9 K I C K O F F S P E C I A L
HEART OF A LION
Faith, determination and good humor help Matt Millen persevere through his toughest battle
or most of his 61 years, Matt Millen
has been blunt and forthright in
what he does and says. Nothing has
changed in his multifaceted personality
since the heart transplant last Christmas
Eve that gave him a renewed outlook on
that life.
The adjectives used by sportswriters to
describe Millen's personality flow like a
waterfall:
affable, unpretentious, garru-
lous, glib, emotional, etc. Millen's self-
deprecating sense of humor is one of his
biggest assets. It also can be a little weird
at times – like when he sent some of his
former Penn State football teammates a
photograph of his dis-
eased heart a few days
after having surgery.
"I said, 'Do you want
to see a three-meat
pan pizza?' " Millen
explained with a laugh
during a recent telephone conversation.
Among those who received the photo
were Mike Guman, Larry Kubin, Mike
Munchak and Bruce Clark, teammates
during Millen's playing days in
the late 1970s. "A couple of
them were like, 'What the hell
is that?' " Millen chuckled. "I
said, 'It's my heart. Doesn't it
look like a pizza?' The amyloid
in [the heart] is yellow and dark
|
THUMBS UP Millen
acknowledges the
crowd's applause
during a break in the
action at the Blue-
White Game this
past April. Photo by
Steve Manuel
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