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Dunlap: Cherish Harrison's Final Days

When he goes next time, there's more than likely no coming back from retirement.

When he's gone next time --- gone means gone.

So cherish this.

Cherish every pass rush.

Cherish each quarterback hurry.

Cherish the bone-jarring hits, the braggadocious finger points after a play and the general I'm-the-baddest-dude-on-this-Earth way he goes about his trade.

Cherish the way he has the utmost respect for teammates Ike Taylor, Troy Polamalu and Brett Keisel --- and is, in large part, only here again because he didn't want to let his old roll-dogs down when the defense was decimated by injuries.

Cherish the way he bobs his head when 'Renegade' resonates through the North Shore and the way you probably fear him and cheer him at the same time.

Cherish James Harrison.

Certainly, you couldn't help but do so over that 60-minute span on Sunday night, when the 36-year-old linebacker was the nucleus of seemingly all the good that happened for the Steelers' defense in a pivotal 43-23 victory against the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field.

Harrison was downright dominant as he had seven tackles, two sacks, hit Joe Flacco four times and received the ultimate honor these days for a Steeler --- he was the subject of one of Snoop Dogg's celebratory Instagram videos.

However, as the game ended and reporters descended, the realism of the next seven games set in for a guy who, not long ago, envisioned he had played his final snap after challenging other men in this league since 2002.

What Harrison said in a postgame interview was incredibly eye-opening.

"I can't see another year the way my body feels after games," Harrison said. "Coming in Monday and working out, it's getting too hard. The workouts are harder than the games."

Translation: Cherish deeply what happens between now and the end of this 2014 season as you watch No. 92 and that tinted visor try to turn the lights out on the opposition.

His days playing --- and your days as a fan watching him --- are numbered.

You see, when it's only early-November and a man who has played just six games this season is already talking about (a second) retirement, it would seem as if his career is destined to end for good when this Steelers season wraps up.

When asked, in a postgame press gathering, to assess Harrison's performance, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was his usual matter-of-fact as he referenced one of the finest Steelers linebackers to play for the franchise.

"He is who he is. He's not a regular guy. He's James Harrison," Tomlin said. "He's getting up to speed and getting into shape and doing James Harrison-like things, which quite frankly is what we expect."

And even though we all expect our football heroes to eventually get old, even though we all expect the certainty that their careers will come to close, it's hard to hear Harrison's postgame words after seeing how prodigious he was against Baltimore.

That's why we need to cherish the remaining time one of the all-time greats has in this game --- which, by his admission, doesn't seem to be much.

Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weeknights from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.

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