Gator Bowl Bound!

In his sophomore year my dad became the starting center for the Maryland Terrapins and by his senior year they had won a Gator Bowl, Orange Bowl and the Sugar Bowl for the National Championship and he talked about it as much as he did his military service, never.

He talked about football a lot and taught me everything he knew about the game he loved and hated, but he never talked about his success. Little things would come up now and then like how mad coach Tatum got when he got married the summer before his Junior year without his permission. He said he was in the dog house for the rest of his career.

He taught me how to long snap for punts and field goals. He said it would make me an invaluable asset to the team and then warned me about there being no glory in it and you would not even be noticed unless you screwed up, so don't screw it up. The best thing he taught me was to listen to your coaches especially when they are screaming in your face, it only means they care about you and the game.

He didn't talk much about himself so I am left to fill in a lot of blanks. Recently, I have uncovered some gems. I knew he was a starting center and the long snapper and he said he really loved playing defense. He said he played "some" linebacker and my mom told me about his interception against Michigan to win the game, but I have found this picture of another interception he had against BU. This means he had at least two interceptions and what did he teach me about; long snapping. About defense he would always just say, "Hit them harder than they hit you!"

I love the "Johnny-on-the-spot" description. It reminds of something else he would say about playing defense, "Just put yourself in front of the play and good things will happen." I think that is a good lesson for life in general. Have the guts to put yourself out in front of what's coming and good things will happen or you will get run over, but at least you'll be in play. This makes me think of another, "It's OK to fail, but never be a failure!" Now, I get it.

This picture blows my mind. His angle is all wrong. It looks to me as though the ball will get past him and the sprinting receiver is home free. Man, I'd love to see footage of this play. Let me see the replay! Looks like the quarterback is getting crushed so the ball might not have much on it, but in the picture it looks like it's a spiral. Either way, somehow my dad comes down with it. Awesome! What a moment. As I write this I am filling with pride for him. By the time I was born he had six fused discs in his back. This guy was kicking butt and taking names and hauling it down. Unbelievable.