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People play football for different reasons and I believe that everyone gains something by playing. Sometimes what we gain from playing is not what we set out to achieve. For many young men football is a way of gaining respect from their coaches and teammates. And the respect of your peers can go along way to building your self image and self confidence. And how do you know for sure you have gained the respect of your teammates?
It was November 12, 1971 and I was standing on the sideline at W.S. Neal during the annual Miller-Neal game. I was a sophomore at about 135 pounds and I was Coach Mack Wood's scout team tailback. This meant that I got to run the opposition's plays every week against the first team defense. And because we had not played great defense that season Coach Wood had extended practice a little more. So I got to carry the ball each Monday thru Wednesday and it was not unusual for me to carry the ball 40 times in an afternoon. Because there were older players to do the playing in the game, my job was to run in practice (an injury to me would not affect the game plan or the outcome to the game). I had done my best each day and I ran hard enough to earn the praise of Coach Wood and I felt good about what I had done. Running on the scout team had toughened me up and I believed that if I could survive that everyday I could do just about anything. To say it had built my self image would be an understatement. But a simple gesture that night by a teammate was about to solidify it for me.
It was just about halftime. We had gotten off to a great start with our QB Marshall Craver hitting some key passes and had taken an early lead. But Neal had a great team that year that was destined to play in the state championship game and by the second quarter their speed and power was becoming a problem for us. We left the field as the half ended and headed for our dressing room (it was the old Neal gym). In those days it was customary for the home team to give the visiting team Cokes to drink at halftime. It was probably not the best thing to drink but it was 1971 and we didn't know any better. As we entered the gym I could see Jerry Brown ahead of me and it looked as though he was handing out drinks. Jerry was a senior who was injured (a concussion I believe) and that was unfortunate. He was a good and tough player and we could have used him. I had known him for a long time and I liked him. He was always friendly to me. His Dad had been one of my Little League coaches and I had known their family for quite a while. As I was standing in line I heard that we were running a little short on Cokes (Neal had not given us enough which was easy for me to believe at the time). So I knew what that meant...sophomores were out of luck. So Jerry was giving out drinks to the seniors and juniors. As I passed him I just walked by and went to find my seat to receive the halftime instructions.
But Jerry got my attention. "Hey," he said, stopping the line. He extended a Coke toward me and I still remember what he said in front of everyone there. "Take this," he said. You've certainly earned it!"
I smiled and took the drink. "Thanks," I said and he nodded to me. As I sat down to listen to Coach Wood's instructions I felt great. I know it was just a Coke but he was a senior and he just let everyone know that he had respect for the job I had done. Sometimes we don't need money or a fancy title or our name in the newspaper. Sometimes we just need a simple gesture from a friend or co worker or a teammate that says, "You've done good."
It was 39 years ago and I can still remember it. I have forgotten most of the game ( we lost 37-14) and a lot of stuff that has happened to me since then. I learned a coupe of things that night. First, that doing your best, doing a quality job at what you do will often be noticed by someone who you never know is watching. And that a simple compliment to someone who respects you can mean much more than you can imagine.
It was the best Coke I ever drank.
