Saturday, September 5, 2009

Ring of Honor...

In the Stands Report by Bookemdano: One thing that sticks out in my mind when you compare an old time Arizona Wildcats' football fan to say, a young whipper-snapper who is just getting their feet wet at Arizona Stadium, is this. Well, the obvious, or course...forty years or more of life's ups and downs. But what I noticed Saturday night at Arizona Stadium, as I waited patiently for the kickoff to the 2009 season, was a hand full of elderly gentlemen who were sitting back and taking in all the color and pageantry that goes along with what we call "college football on a Saturday night", and I couldn't help but think, just what are they feeling?

And then it hit me. For one thing, they were eye-balling the "Ring of Honor", and the 39 storied names of players-- who had at one time or another-- ran, passed, caught, kicked, blocked and tackled their way to glory as an Arizona Wildcat. You have to be up there in age if you can recall some of the names like Art Luppino, Eddie Wilson and Jackie Wallace. In more recent times, the names on the "Ring" include Ricky Hunley, Tedy Bruschi, Chuck Cecil and the great defensive back Antione Cason, along with the latest addition, speedster Mike Thomas.

The young Arizona football fans will see things a little differently as they cheer on their Wildcats this season...and they have plenty of time to do just that. But on a Saturday night, in the future, say 2050, they'll enter Arizona Stadium with their grandchildren by their side. They'll take their seat and look up at the "Ring of Honor". They'll nudge their grandchild, point to the west end of the stadium, and say, "I remember when...".

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