The Big Three and Me

There are three men whom I look up to, not counting my Dad. Dad is in his own league in that regard.

But the others are not men I know, just men I look up to. I guess they’re my heroes. I’ve read about them, watched them in person when I’ve been able to and generally tried to appreciate what has made them stand out in their field. What has made them succeed in situations where others failed.

The three legends of whom I write are John Wayne, Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant and A.J. Foyt Jr. Wayne, aka The Duke, is Hollywood’s greatest actor. Bryant is the greatest football coach of all time. And A.J. is the greatest race driver the world has yet produced.

Not too long ago I was wrestling with an important matter, something of serious concern to me. This deal was of such monstrous import that I still get mad when I think about it. And, as hard as I tried, I failed to find a solution to my problem.

Well, I have a copy of a drawing of The Duke in costume as Rooster Cogburn hanging above my desk and, glancing at it, I asked out loud, “What would The Duke do?” The answer came quickly: The Duke would fire a straight right, drop the guy who was causing me such mental anguish, and continue about his business.

Okay, can’t do that.

The Bear was next, but he was no help either. Coach Bryant simply wasn’t fool enough to get himself into such a box.

That left A.J. Well, A.J. wouldn’t be against dropping the guy with a straight right (see The Duke above), but he’d more likely blow the guy’s doors off going into Turn 1 and flip the guy off while he was doing so. Then Foyt would go on to win the race and cuss the guy out during the winner’s interview.

But the question here is what The Big Three have in common and it’s probably more than you realize.

Two of the three played college football (Bear and The Duke) and I believe A.J. played high school ball. All three had strong family backgrounds and they were born in approximately the same central region of the country (Duke in Iowa, Bear in Arkansas and A.J. in Texas). All three are self-made. All lived with their successes on the national stage (except Duke, who lived with his on the national sound set) and did the same with their failures.

And all three had strong personalities that seemed to say that they knew where they were headed and, “You can walk with me, you can follow behind me or you can get the heck out of my way.”

Now go back to the problem I was wrestling with before I glanced at the framed sketch of The Duke on the wall. With all this iconic imagery for guidance, I made my decision and did what all rugged individualists do in times of stress: I called my sister. She’s a lawyer.

Thanks for reading!!

The Hall of Fame gets a classy guy

Marshall Faulk will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend, a richly deserved honor for one of the chief architects of the legendary Rams offense called The Greatest Show on Turf. It was a great day for all Rams fans when Faulk and his teammates beat the Titans and won the Super Bowl all those years ago.

But there is something else about Faulk that not everyone knows. More important, even, than all his yards, touchdowns and honors: He’s a classy guy.

Faulk is involved in charity work where he grew up in New Orleans, in San Diego where he starred at San Diego State University and in St. Louis, where he played for the Rams. You can read about that in many of the media reports that appear this weekend surrounding the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Canton, Ohio.

You’ll probably read or hear that Faulk was a great teammate. Here’s a story about that.

Faulk was a human highlight reel for San Diego State. A magical player in a program that needed one, Faulk was generating a lot of attention. Rightfully so, he was tremendous. He led the nation in rushing twice.

But Faulk and the other Aztecs were in deep trouble in their September 18, 1993 game against Air Force in Colorado. With 12 minutes, 40 seconds remaining, the Aztecs trailed 31-14 when their starting quarterback went down with a broken leg. The game was broadcast regionally by ABC TV and everyone watching figured the game was over.

Aztecs coach Al Luginbill had no choice but to turn to backup passer Tim Gutierrez. It turned out to be a good choice because the Aztecs won.

Gutierrez connected on 13 of 21 passes, good for 217 yards and two touchdowns. Not bad stats for less than one quarter of play. Gutierrez also led the team to a field goal and handed off to Faulk for another score as the Aztecs stunned Air Force 38-31.

Gutierrez started the next week and threw for 375 yards and four touchdowns as San Diego State hammered Minnesota. The Aztecs finished the season with a 6-6 record, which sounds weird, given all the firepower they had. Gutierrez figured to be the starting quarterback the following season, which he was.

But this is about Marshall Faulk. Faulk was given most of the offensive awards at the Aztecs’ team banquet after the 1993 season, including the Best Offensive Back Trophy. But at the banquet, in front of the coaches and his teammates, Marshall Faulk handed his Best Offensive Back Trophy to Tim Gutierrez and told the quarterback that he, not Faulk, had earned the award.

A classy move by a classy guy.

And now I’ll try to show some class by thanking you for reading.