My senior year of high school the Washington Touchdown Club had their annual awards dinner and were awarding my teammate Anthony Dilweg the high school offensive player of the year. My Dad bought us tickets at a table close to the front in a huge ballroom downtown. I remember him saying that it was special opportunity for him to show me what really good looked like. We had been to other events, one where I sat with and had pictures taken with Joe Thiesman and Sunny Jerginson. This night was different. The MCs were Johnny Carson and Don Rickles and they would do each other doing each other together and it was hilarious. It was as tho my Dad knew everyone. He was in his element and I wish I remembered more. Once during the night he saw me go into a serious ADHD over stimulated coma and said to me, "Don't worry about it, you don't need to know any of these people, but look into the faces of each of these award winners because this is a special bunch athletes! Your gonna wanna remember this one for ever." Cal Ripken Jr. was awarded Rockie of the Year and I got to shake his hand. Joe Jacoby and Dave Butts won offensive and defensive lineman of the year. Joe Theisman and John Riggins won awards and had just won a super bowl. My friend Anthony called me over to the head table and introduced me to Butts and Jacoby and we snapped some pictures. Anthony had thrown for 3,900 during our high school football season and this night made me realize how special that really was. I was defensive captain and he was offensive captain and we would walk out early for coin tosses and I really wish I remembered more of back then. I had a bunch of concussions and I remember after one half time when we were heading back up to the field and I asked him, "Are we winning? And he looked at me like I was joking so I laughed it off." But I digress. My Dad introduced me to some pretty remarkable individuals and he always pointed out who he taught special. Anthony was one of those people and that is why we were there.
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