She is elegant with a beautiful smile. She is tall. Her skin tone is darker than mine. She is thoughtful, courteous, and caring. She is athletic, athletic enough to star in college basketball, and play in the Women’s National Basketball Association. She is intelligent, smart enough to get a masters and a doctorate from a prestigious university. And she is dedicated to doing it the right way.
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Yesterday afternoon, about 2500 miles and two time zones from me, i watched a football game. When it concluded, i was a happy but nervous wreck. i was exhausted. i had found myself twitching with a run, yelling at completed pass, cussing when the opponent made a great play, grimacing when the officials made a call against the team, reluctantly admitting the call was correct while watching the replay.
The game took me back to the autumn of 1963. The colors were crisp in Nashville, the temperature at game time was perfect with little wind. Sitting in the student section, which then was situated in the north end of the east side of the stadium…and was always full regardless of how the team fared. The runner sprinted up the west sideline, the defensive back made a classic tackle. The runner’s helmet came loose and rolled on the field.
i thought then, “This is a whole different kind of football.”
Alabama beat Vanderbilt 21-6 that autumn afternoon. The Tide has ruled the roost for the past half-century, losing to the Commodores only twice.
To be honest when the ‘Dores beat Bama yesterday, 40-35, my emotions were pretty much in a vacuum. After all, it is rare when a team that was predicted to be last in the Southeastern Conference to beat the number one team in the nation. i was exuberantly happy for many of my friends and family who had ties to Vanderbilt.
i wanted to, and will later today, let one of my best golfing buddies for the last forty years know about a fact i caught from the commentators yesterday. Tim Beck is the Commodores offensive coordinator. As head coach of the Pittsburgh State (Kansas) Gorillas, Tim won the NCAA Division II title in 2011. Rod Stark; Marty Linville, who left us too early three months ago; and Marty’s father, Big Don Linville all played for the same coach, Carnie Smith who coached there from 1949-1966. It was an unexpected link to me and my pals.
i wished i could just sit down with Clark Lea, the head coach, and talk for a while. As a matter of fact, i would like to talk to all of Vanderbilt’s head coaches. i would like to hear them, individually, articulate their vision of their sport at Vanderbilt and where their sport is headed, hopefully learning how their vision aligned with the school’s vision of athletics.
i learned of that vision when i went back to Homecoming, my class’ 45th reunion, in 2011 (not wishing to pose as an academic wizard, i point out that i didn’t graduate but have been a loyal supporter. i graduated from Middle Tennessee in 1967). Alan Hicks and i went to a presentation by David Williams, the Vice-Chancellor of Athletics.
At the Q&A, some ardent fan asked Williams why didn’t Vandy have separate dorms for football like Florida. Williams replied Vanderbilt didn’t do things the Florida way. Vanderbilt did things the right way, the Vandy way, explaining further that the university wanted their athletes to experience college life and mix with the other students.
Williams comment became a guidepost for athletics. His assistant and the resident writer for the sports department became keepers of his watchword.
Andrew Maraniss remains the resident writer in the athletic department. He and i became friends after he wrote the book Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South. He has helped me in my writing efforts and reflects doing it the right way in all he does.
i thought of David Williams and imagined him smiling beyond that bridge he crossed.
i thought of Andrew and decided i would speak to him later about his impressions of the win yesterday. i suspect he is busy responding to all sorts of reactions to the win.
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i decided the person for whom i was most happy was Candice Lee, that lady i wrote about in the first paragraph above. She has carried David Williams flame high up the mountain. She has done it in the swirl of crazy major college athletics. Vanderbilt continues to improve and be competitive in all of their sports. Yesterday’s victory over Alabama signals they are truly competitive in major college football.
Candice Lee is most deserving of the victory and ensuring it was accomplished the right way, the Vandy way.
