The Championship Team

The cold front had brought the ducks in and blown the mosquitoes out. It was the best time of year in the small Mississippi town.  The old friends sat on the front porch and watched the sun dip beneath the distant row of trees.

“Sure is pretty.”

The tallest of the group spoke, paused and then took another sip of his drink. This was an annual ritual for he and his friends.  For 25 years they met on this night and remembered the man who had changed all their lives.

“Is that the best you can come up with, Shakespeare?  You can’t describe a sight this beautiful any better than ‘Sure is pretty?'” The slightly overweight balding man poked at his taller friend.

“Well, it is pretty,” said Stan Carmichael (the tall one) as he defended himself.  It was his farm where they were all staying.  He had become one of the South’s richest farmers. The 14 men sitting on the porch now lived all across the United States.

“I’d give anything to do it all again.” Mick Godfrey (the balding man) and an attorney in New York City said abruptly. “To play the game one more time.”

“Where did the time go?” Fred Durham, a red-headed accountant from Tennessee chimed in.

They were the surviving members of their high school football team. Cancer had taken Johnny Friese. A car crash had taken Joey Thomas.  The Gulf War had taken Sgt. Bill Winston.  A deer hunting accident cost Billy Franklin his life. Every year, they came to toast the memory of their fallen friends and their coach who had taught them so much.

“Wish Coach could be here to see this,” Mick said as he took another sip of his drink. “I hate that a man so wise had to die like that.”

“Alzhemier’s a bitch, ” Jerry Blount, a former wide-receiver and now judge chimed in. “I named my first kid after the man.  It’s amazing the difference a small-town football coach can make.”

The group collectively nodded.  As the sun set, lights appeared on the northern horizon.

“Lights are on.  It’s game time,” Fred said.  “Time to go.”

Out front of the huge farmhouse there were three limos waiting.  The Championship team of 1986 piled into their chariots and rode to the arena.

As the limos barreled down the gravel road, they remember the pillars that their Coach had taught them. They were pillars that they had built their lives on. They were the foundations for their success.

1. Have a plan.

2. Make every play your best.

3. Smile when you talk. Attitude is everything.

4. Don’t let your opponent inside your head.

5. Outwork your opponent.

6. Believe in yourself. If you don’t, no one else will.

7. Keep it simple.

8. Laugh at the things that scare you and you’ll be better off.

9. Have faith.

10. Give back to others.

“They seemed so simple when we were 18,” Fred laughed. ” But they got me through cancer.”

“They got me through law school.”

“And basic training.”

All the men told stories how the pillars had changed their lives.

The three limos pulled into the parking lot and then onto the track.  The friends all stepped out onto the field right as the pregame ceremonies began.  The conquering heroes waved to the cheering hometown crowd.

The principal introduced them. “We’d like to welcome the 1986 State Champions.  And with an announcement, here’s former quarterback Mick Godfrey.”  He handed the mic to the balding former player.  He had to wait a minute as the crowd gave them a standing ovation.

“Coach Lee Jones made in an impact on our lives. Sure, he was a simple football coach. But he was also a crafter of men.  Today the 1986 Championship team would like to announce three things.  First, We are paying off the stadium’s debt. It will forever be known as Coach Lee Jones Stadium. Second, we’re making a sizable donation to Alzheimer’s research.  Coach Jones’ memory deserves no less. And third, we have raised $4 million to create a scholarship fund so the students of this town can have the same opportunities we had. Coach Jones may not be with us anymore, but the Coach Jones scholarship will continue his legacy for years to come.”

The crowd in the stadium sat stunned.  These men, these former football players who had been known as football heroes twenty-five years ago, had yet another championship moment on their old playing field. From now on, they’d be known as heroes for a much bigger reason. Because champions don’t just win one game. They change the game for others. Coach Jones’ championship team had just changed the game for that small Mississippi town forever.

“Think Coach would be proud of us? ” Stan Carmichael whispered to Mick Godfrey.

“Yeah, we finally mastered pillar #10.”