I'm not much of a country fan, but I have to give Kenny props to making this song and video to honor what most people in this country call the greatest game on earth. (Everyone else in the world will differ with us, though.) You can see it in the faces of everyone who plays/played the game from Pop Warner through the NFL. I have the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on ESPN in the background here, and Dick LeBeau is currently talking about his time as a player and coach.
Of course, it's a shame that no one was able to get a film of the late Ed Thomas talking with his A-P Falcons. His family got the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage between Coach's leading Parkersburg back from the rubble of the Memorial Day weekend 2008 tornado and the family forgiving the Becker family for what Mark Becker did last June. Coach also preached the three Fs in life: Faith, Family and Football. I never had a chance to meet the man, but I had the priviledge of being educated under another great high school coach, Pat Mitchell at Cedar Falls High. I never played for the Tigers, as I stopped playing football after ninth grade (never was any good), but I had Coach Mitchell for summer driver's ed and PE a few times when I was going to CF. I think Coach Mitchell is cut from the same cloth as Coach Thomas. I did, though, have the opportunity to work with Thomas' son, Aaron, once or twice when he was still the basketball coach at Union of LaPorte City. I think he has the same dedication for youth sports that his father did, and he took over his father's AD job at A-P last year.
Anyway, enough rambling. Just want to close with I'm looking forward to another exciting football season, between covering the CF Tigers for the Cedar Falls Times, following the Hawkeyes and catching NFL games, especially Da Bears!
