When I
first began to write about sports for actual money instead of just for fun,
back in 1994 for the Delta Democrat Times in Greenville, Miss., my dad
was quick to inform me that I would never have any real success as a sports
journalist until I did an interview with him.
As my
newspaper career would later take me to locales such as Pell City and
Andalusia, Alabama, and even gaining me a few awards, my old man would continue
to evaluate my performance and overall career by noting that I was a pretty
good writer, but that I would still never reach a higher plateau until I did an
interview with him.
Of course I
usually rolled my eyes whenever he would say this, knowing that such an
interview would mean yet another rendition of the stories involving various
sports figures and events in his life that he told me over and over.
What I
would give to hear one of those stories now.
But in
retrospect, he was right, as he was in most cases, as some of his stories,
especially involving Alabama football, the main bonding element between the two
of us, probably would have translated into quite an interesting read, and I
regret now that it never actually happened.
But
regrets, I guess, are just a part of the unique and sometimes complicated thing
that is the father-son relationship. It is easy to dismiss a father's words of
wisdom, his stories and his advice, but then when your dad is no longer around,
you realize just how valuable his advice was and how you should have just
listened more instead of arguing and trying to be always right.
I recently
lost my dad, who was also my hero and my very best friend, after he lost his
final battle in what was a series of battles against cancer. I cannot tell you
how much I miss seeing him everyday and talking to him, and especially eating
his grilled hamburgers and watching Alabama football with him and teasing him
about his pants that he held together with safety pins or his collection of
cheap eyeglasses.
He was the
Sheriff Andy Taylor of my life, as he was always there to attempt to educate me
through his own life experiences and share his wisdom, while also being there
to get me out of various situations and jams that I often created for myself
because I didn't heed his words quite well enough or often enough. Dad and I had
our share of disagreements over myriad things, but I was always fully aware of
how much he loved me, especially in his later years, when he mellowed and
became a lot more emotional with age and we did become a lot closer.
But even
when we did not have anything else to talk about, sports, and especially
football, was always the dominant subject that could keep us conversing for
hours, and we have no doubt driven my poor mom crazy millions of times keeping
the television occupied with all-day football marathons. Although my
dad, a pretty good football player and athlete during his high school days as a
Holt Ironman, did not see fit to pass down some of his athletic genes to yours
truly, he apparently still found a way to foretell that I would have some
significant involvement in sports by naming me after one of his all-time
favorite sports heroes.
Many of you
already know this, but he named me after iconic St. Louis Cardinals slugger
Stan "The Man" Musial. Dad explained to me that when he was younger,
the Cardinals were the only team whose games he could pick up on the radio, so
he began to root for the Cards, and especially players such as Musial, a Hall
of Famer known as much for his grace, class and character as his incredible talents.
Of course me being a Cubs fan, he and I would trash talk quite a bit when it
came to our baseball teams, especially when they were playing each other. I
would have given anything, however, if he could have seen his beloved team
capture one more World Series title before he left this earth.
Ironically,
Musial also died this year, passing on Jan. 19 at the age of 92.
And while
dad followed baseball and many other sports quite closely, he is the one most
responsible for my passion for Alabama Crimson Tide football, because he was
equally passionate about all aspects regarding it. We would
spend countless hours talking about various games, players, past games and
championships and of course recruiting. When Nick Saban recently secured the
commitment of the nation's No. 1 prospect for the Class of 2014 in Virginia
defensive end Da'Shawn Hand, my thoughts immediately turned to how proud dad
would be as he would often collect clippings about recruiting and would put a
check mark by the photos of different coveted prep prospects once they
committed or signed with the Crimson Tide.
Like me, he
was reveling in the current reign of success and championship glory for the
Crimson Tide program under the direction of Saban, but his thoughts often still
drifted back to the Crimson Tide football years that he enjoyed under the
direction of coaches such as the legendary Paul W. "Bear" Bryant and
Frank Thomas and some of his favorite former Tide standouts such as Harry
Gilmer (whom he almost named me after, but I am so glad he didn't since I am
already a hairy-enough Griffin), Pat Trammell, Billy Neighbors and Lee Roy
Jordan.
Although he
repeated them NUMEROUS times, I was more than anything fascinated by his
stories regarding Crimson Tide football, especially Bama football under the
direction of Bryant. He and mom and many
of his friends had quite a few adventures during their years of traveling all
over the place to attend Crimson Tide games, whether they were in Baton Rouge,
Knoxville or even in Mobile.
Not only
did dad get to watch his favorite players on the football field during games,
he actually got to know quite a few of them when he worked with them back when
college players were allowed to actually have summer jobs, and there was even
one occasion where he and a buddy wound up bunking with a few of the Tide
players during one of the Crimson Tide's home games away from Tuscaloosa. Dad
also told stories of sneaking into Alabama practices during Bryant's tenure at
the Capstone and witnessing the legendary coach dressing down his players,
nervously hoping that Bryant would not spot him watching and give him the same
treatment.
There were
also some stories about dad that always received a few laughs, even at his
recent funeral, but also emphasized just how important sports were to him. Dad was actually very close to being late for
his own wedding because he and his best man were at Tuscaloosa's famed Foster
Auditorium watching the state high school basketball tournament, a tournament
that also did make him late for his rehearsal dinner.
And then,
where does dad take Mom on their honeymoon? Believe it or not, he took her all
the way to St. Petersburg, Fla. for Major League Baseball spring training
games. Obviously it was not the most romantic honeymoon destination for sure,
but I guess it gave her an early indication that sports would indeed be a major
part of their lives together, and I guess she was OK with it, as they were
happily married for an amazingly loving 56 years.
During the
past few years, although he still followed sports, his love for it faded quite
a bit. Too many
highly-paid athletes, too many scandals and controversies involving athletes
and too many me-first showboat athletes. He was old-school and athletic divas
totally turned him off. I guess I am just like him in that regard.
But one
thing that never changed or faded was his love of the Crimson Tide on the
football field, and I have to say that I am giving him a lot of grief right now
for leaving me before Bama could win this latest national title, and watching
games without him is just not the same. It leaves me with an empty feeling that
I doubt I will ever totally get over.
Hopefully
Bama can survive the rest of this season and capture that third consecutive
title, and just know if that happens, it will totally be for you Dad.....
I miss you
greatly, and I love you more than words can say.
ROLL
TIDE!!!
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