Sportsman of the eighties reunion - September 2005
Our reunion weekend has come and gone. By all stretch of the imagination, the event was a resounding success. The number of individuals who attended dwindled because of the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Gasoline prices in the southeastern United States created some “cold feet”, however, God had his hand in this as the die-hard faithful attended.
We had to make several adjustments because of the hurricane; however, the events went extremely well with everyone commenting on how wonderful the weekend was. Many of the wives or girlfriends who attended the festivities commented as to the special brotherhood that exists among us.
We started with a night out in downtown Charlotte on Friday where we “caught up” on what’s going on with each other, and also reminiscing on the good old days. On Saturday, a Bar-B-Que at Gerald Hector’s home was the main event. In addition to the Bar-B-Que, was a good old game of scrimmage.
The scrimmage brought out flashes of the past, as the “old foot bwoy dem” still showed their flashiness on the soccer field. It was a joy to see that the level of soccer skills have not diminished despite the obvious weight gain. As many of these players were the last ones to win Manning Cup, maybe the young “Purples” that are playing now should see how the game is really played when winning is the only option. Although the players were out of shape, it clearly showed that this group was coached by the one and only George Thompson, as although twenty years have passed, the movement on and off the ball showed that such teaching still remained.
Saturday night saw us out in the town of Concord, NC where we continued the fellowship with each other. Prior to night out on the town, we sat down for a “business meeting” and out of that meeting we have developed a really exciting agenda, which we will share with this site as soon as things are “nailed down.” Although this was a business meeting, we opened with a heart felt prayer by Mr. Wayne Morris that really set the tone for the discussion. At the end of the meeting, Mr. Mark Williams delivered one of the most passionate prayers that collectively as a group of “College” alumni had ever heard. The power and delivery of the prayer had everyone in the circle thanking God for bringing us thus far. It was an almost surreal moment. Thanks to Mark, things were set in motion for worship services the next day.
Sunday morning we were at worship services at the University Park Baptist Church. The message preached that morning touched a nerve as several members walked the aisle at the time of the altar call to express their need for prayer. At the end of the day, we are our brothers’ keeper, and it is this support mechanism that will see us through when troubling times come.
After Sunday services, the next fellowship experience was at Max and Erma’s restaurant where we had dinner together, and collected profiles of all players in attendance. Many of the wives and girlfriends were thoroughly impressed with the concern we had for each other. Two Alpha girls in attendance intimated that they should be doing the same thing. Sunday evening saw us back at Gerald Hector’s home where the fellowship continued with a “family movie night”.
Everyone who attended made a personal and financial sacrifice to make sure they “were in the house”; however, all of our sacrifices paled compared to that of Michael “Ratimore” Francis, who earlier in the week lost his father. Despite such a heart wrenching loss, he still found his way to Charlotte, as he saw it as an opportunity to meet up with his former teammates. We can only surmise that his trip was therapeutic as he was all smiles over the entire weekend.
Maybe, Michael understood what the theme of the weekend really meant to us as “College” alumni who have watched from the sidelines. Our theme for the weekend was: IF NOT NOW, WHEN? That theme resonated with us throughout the entire weekend, as sixteen former players found it in their hearts to “chump up” almost $1,600 to assist George Thompson.
This was a start for this burgeoning organization. We plan to take this positive energy and transform it into meaningful action to assist with the upkeep and revitalization of the “College”.
If anyone is interested in getting one of the reunion weekend T-shirts, or as many have expressed a copy of the worship services at University Park Baptist Church, simply log on to the website and send that request through the web contact page. An email will come back to you telling you about the cost of the items, and how to take possession of them.