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WONDERFUL. An inspiration. Sorely missed. An icon. A legend. A decent man and a mate.
From the thousands of tributes to Jim Stynes who died yesterday at
the age of 45, many reiterated those words above yet each carried the
individual impression of a person touched by a true great, not just in
football but in life.Stynes was that kind of person, many said. A
man who made a big impact on individuals in private but also someone
with a vision so grand that mastering a foreign football code became
achievable, as did setting up a youth organisation called the Reach
Foundation to help others fulfil their potential.Kevin Sheedy,
who has often described the Stynes story as the best in the indigenous
code's 153-year history, stressed his admiration for the 1991 Brownlow
medallist who strung together a record 244 consecutive games and later
rescued the Melbourne Football Club from the brink of disaster after he
became president."A superb person who has made an outstanding contribution to Australia and will be sorely missed," Sheedy said.

Yet
Stynes, who was awarded an Order of Australia and thrice named
Victorian of the Year, would be certain to stress his story was no more
extraordinary than the challenges overcome by Liam Jurrah, the young
Demon who now faces his own battle."I saw him first-hand in
Yuendumu when we went up there in the Northern Territory to visit Liam
Jurrah's family," former Essendon star Tim Watson said."I saw him
for a couple of days there and he was struggling with his health and I
was just amazed by the bravery and the courage he displayed up there."Former
teammate David Schwarz said it was Stynes's work with disadvantaged
youth, more than his football ability, that set him apart."It was
something that he was passionate about and it probably sums up the
whole Jim Stynes story in that it was not about him, it was about all
the people he could help," Schwarz said."It was amazing the
effect that he had on lives that were normally just forgotten about or
destroyed. He saved them, he resurrected the lives of many of these
young kids who now, some of them we see as just beautiful people who
have been given a second opportunity, all thanks to Jim Stynes."Those
street kids are not the only ones hurting. Melbourne's joint captains
Jack Grimes and Jack Trengove are barely men and stood shattered
yesterday at the MCG."He saved the Melbourne Football Club. He's
definitely the most inspirational person I have ever met and probably
ever will meet," Trengove said."You just assume (because of) how
much of a fighter he is that he would be around, so you never thought
this day would ever come."He had an impact on so many people and
me personally, being able to speak to him and learn off him and realise
how much of an impact he has had."Julia Gillard expressed her
sadness, as did the man she replaced as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. Don
McLardy, who assumed the Melbourne presidency from Stynes when he
stepped down last month, penned a heartfelt tribute.Robert
DiPierdimenco, another Brownlow medallist, talked of being introduced to
a then 14-year-old Stynes by Ron Barassi on a trip to Ireland and
talked of his distress when he hugged him for the last time a week ago.Sportsmen from around the globe expressed their dismay, Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong and Shane Warne among them.

The
despair was also evident in his homeland. Paul Clarke, who captained
Stynes in Gaelic football, told the Irish Examiner he would be
remembered forever."We had heard he wasn't well in recent months but you just thought . . . that he was bulletproof," Clarke said.

Among
the beautifully written and voiced tributes, it was AFL chief executive
Andrew Demetriou who delivered a line that best assesses the life of
Stynes."It is an incredible story that if you wrote it, you
couldn't believe it was anything other than fiction, yet all of it is
true," he said."We are all the better for knowing Jim Stynes."

Stynes is survived by his wife, Samantha, and children Matisse and Tiernan.



Jim Stynes will be honoured with a state funeral following his death
from cancer at the age of just 45. Stynes died this morning in Australia
after a lengthy battle with cancer and the Dubliner’s family have
accepted the offer of a state funeral in his adopted home of Melbourne.Tributes
have flooded in for the Melbourne Demons legend, the first
non-Australian to be awarded the Australian Football League’s Brownlow
Medal. Stynes passed away at home with his wife, Sam, and two young
children, Matisse and Tiernan, at his bedside.

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