Belated Thank You...

I really feel for the folks in the eastern part of this country. Hurricane Irene raised havoc on many states and left devastation in its path. I sincerely hope these people can pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and carry on.

This has been a very weird year for weather around the nation. I still think the best weather in all of this great country is right here in Adams County. Seriously, if our weather was extreme we would be making the news. I’d rather not make the news for having too much heat, rain, snow, wind, drought or an occasional tornado or hurricane. I appreciate that, don’t you?

I was at the Benton Franklin Fair in Kennewick last week and ran into an old friend, Steve Maier. We visited and started talking about the football team in the fall of 1966. Steve was a senior starting guard on that undefeated team.

Steve talked about the making of that team and how several players were thrown in the fire getting a lot of playing time when they were sophomores and juniors and that experience would pay off in 1966.

I was a freshman that year and I’m not sure when I started to really appreciate the greatness of that team. I was fortunate to get playing time during blowout games and it was fun running the football of making a block. Okay at 120 pounds I threw my underdeveloped body at the first guy wearing a different color jersey. Sometimes I got in somebody’s way just long enough for the running back to gain a couple of yards.

It was fun listening to those stories and they brought back a lot of great memories. We talked about several big games that were momentous. The Broncos of 1966 dominated some very tough competition and superb athletes.

It is amazing to think about how many difficult games were prepared for on a weekly basis. I remember Coach Agee talking about the next team we would be playing and the speed and strength of the opposing running backs. He would break down the offense and it made me nervous as to how we would be able to stop those sneaky plays. It seemed like we were prepared through fear and it always seemed like the practices were more difficult than the game itself.

Steve reminded me of a starting lineman from the junior class, whose name will remain anonymous, that had a routine before we left for the football field. He threw up due to nerves I assume and, of course it was almost like a good luck charm.

The last game of the season was played in Davenport with a Bi-County championship on the line. All we needed to do was win and the championship was ours alone. One problem, the starting left tackle hadn’t thrown up yet and it didn’t appear that he was going to.

Whispers started going around the quiet locker room that he hadn’t up chucked yet. Finally somebody said, “You gotta go back in there and throw up before we leave this room!” What a relief it was to hear those grotesque sounds emanating from the rest room. Oh, yeah, the game wasn’t nearly as difficult as we were led to believe. Final score: Broncos 46 Gorillas 0. Was it the talent, preparation or the last second trek to the rest room to eliminate any bad karma? As funny as it might have been at the time the talent was pretty darn good!

Of all the people who helped me with my football career, Steve may have had the most important influence. You see, Steve would come by to pick me up for two a day practices and bring me home. It was a few miles out of his way but he did it because he was a friend of my bother Larry and really liked my parents.

I often thought that Steve gave me a ride as a favor to my parents but I forgot to see that he wanted me to have the same type of fun playing the game of football that he was having. He also wanted me to enjoy my high school years and I certainly did.

I hope I thanked Steve years ago for all of those rides to practice but it really means a lot more when I look back on it now. So here is a belated thank you Steve those rides were more important than you will ever know.