Athletes come and go, but their legacy never leaves them. Deaths of young athletes have occurred in recent years. Dale Earnhardt, a NASCAR driver, who received a painful death when his car crashed into a wall. Walter Payton, an NFL running back, perhaps the greatest running back of all time because of his ability to change the momentum of the game. Bruce Lee, the greatest martial artist in the history of the sport. It changed everything. It is associated with the poetry of A. E. Housman. The poem “Young Athletes Dying Young” written by AE Housman gives inspiration to those who are athletes but teaches them that anything can happen. According to Mark Ruby, A. E. Housman's “To an Athlete Dying Young” was published in his first collection, A Shropshire Lad, in 1896 and is generally considered one of his best poems. Like much of the poet's work, his themes include the preciousness of youth and the nature of premature death. It is a speaker's tale, or a dramatic monologue, telling the story of an athlete, a runner, who died in the height of his youthful and abundant athleticism. The lyrically presented images contain the irony that the same crowd of citizens who once carried the runner on their shoulders after winning a race now carries him to his final resting place” (Overview). Young athletes out there fear that one thing in their career is to lose their statistics and records. In sports as the years go by, better and stronger athletes are entering these leagues and it is increasingly difficult to even compete. Jun Fan, another known as "Bruce Lee", has made a name for himself in martial arts. According to one biography, “The Japanese occupation was Bruce's first prescient memory, but Hong Kong had been a British Crown colony since... middle of document ......ex.cfm/pid/10585>. 7. Lee, Bruce. "Bruce Lee Biography." All about Bruce Lee. 2001. Network. 09 April 2011. .8. Lee, Bruce. "Bruce Lee - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). 2001. Network. 09 April 2011. .9. "Overview: “To an Athlete Who Dies Young”." Poetry for students. Ed. Mary K. Ruby. Vol.7. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Network. April 5, 2011.10. ROSEN, GIUDITTA. "Bruce Lee gives his all to JUDITH ROSEN." Publishers Weekly 247.45 (2000): 30. Literature Resource Center. Network. March 28, 2011.11. “THE TAO OF BRUCE LEE: Martial Arts Memoirs.” Publishers Weekly 247.27 (2000): 63. Literature Resource Center. Network. March 28, 2011.12. Tuong, Nuoc. "Bruce Lee Biography." All about Bruce Lee. 2001. Network. March 29. 2011. .