The power of one

Happy days are here again. Football season is here again.

Think about it. The scorching heat of summer has passed, but winter has not set in just yet. The temperature is perfect. Kind of like Baby Bear's porridge: It's not too hot, it's not too cold--it's just right.

When I see the lights at the local football field on Friday nights and hear the sounds of the Eufaula Ironheads fight song, they take me back to that little field in McIntosh County, Okla.

And when the Oklahoma Sooners thump another nonconference opponent, I can sense Billy Sims behind me, trailing me on the option and taking the pitchout for another big score. Wow.

But this year, for some reason, I'm feeling particularly nostalgic about a man for whom I never played--a man I met for the first time only a few years ago.

Legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson--one of the most charismatic figures in college athletics--is living the last years of his life in a world in which no one can enter and he cannot depart. Alzheimer's has stolen the heart and mind--though never the soul--of a legend. Yet nothing ever will detract from the many lives touched by Coach Robinson.

I remember as though it were yesterday. I used to wake up early on Sunday mornings before church and watch Grambling playbacks on television. I don't remember what station carried them in southeastern Oklahoma, but those playbacks were an event for me. Watching the Grambling greats in those unmarked black helmets while Coach Robinson prowled the sideline is an image that is embedded in my mind.

Robinson notched 408 wins in his 56-year coaching career. But the list of players who developed into quality, productive young men under his watch is considerably longer. Coach wasn't content to teach just running, throwing, catching, blocking and tackling. His classroom was the heart. The character he instilled in his players will live far beyond the touchdowns and trophies of his celebrated career.

He encouraged young men to be all they could be. To give of themselves for the team. And just as he encouraged his players to give all they had, Coach was every bit the man he could be.

As I reflect on Coach Robinson's remarkable career, I can't help but wonder: What if he had gotten a chance to coach in the NFL? It seems to me that the NFL missed an opportunity to advance the game and tear down some walls over the years. I certainly don't know if Robinson would have left his beloved Grambling State to coach the Cowboys, Rams or another NFL team. But it's fun to ponder the possibilities, isn't it?

Robinson was content to develop a football dynasty while developing young men in Louisiana. Eddie Robinson was to building character in young men what Ray Kroc was to making hamburgers. He just kept churning them out. Coach Robinson obviously impacted college football, but the NFL benefited from his mentoring as well. Doug Williams, Buck Buchanan, Willie Davis, James Harris and many others were influenced by Robinson.

Time waits for none of us. Just as surely, no amount of time can take away from the legacy of a great man.

As we enter the autumn of this year, and Robinson enters the autumn of his life, I thank him and honor him for his long, productive and very worthy life.

J.C. Watts, a former U.S. representative from Oklahoma and quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners, is chairman of J.C. Watts Companies.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Sporting News Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning