Today I learned of sad news out of Dallas TX. Former Cowboys Ron Springs running back passed away yesterday after a 4-year coma. I'm not much of a football fan, so I'll explain why this news is sad for me.
I grew up in what back then was a small city, Williamsburg VA. One thing Williamsburg did well in those days produced NFL Players. Or maybe I should say my old Alma mater Lafayette High School did it well. There was a point when three young men occupied the gridiron at the same time. Who could have know that all three would end up in the NFL?
Lawrence Taylor of the NY Giants, Mel Grey of the Philadelphia Eagles and Ron Springs of the Dallas Cowboys.
These three men belonged to us. Those of us who walked those halls identified with them. Then were role models to all of us and we sat in classes with siblings or cousins of these NFL Superstars. They were something big from our tiny little town, and we all claimed them with pride. Pride in our city and pride in our school.
I can still remember Ron walking across the stage in the auditorium on the day we had a special assembly to retire his jersey. And when he walked out on that stage it was not so big time celebrity, it was one of us. Ron was a Lafayette Ram, an alumni of our school. And he gave us something that day. Someone we could look up to as an example of success. We felt like we weren't some dinky little school in a backwater town, he gave us pride in who we were.
Today I found out that one of those bright lights, one of those icons of my youth is gone. He will be missed not just by his family but by those of us he belonged to as a fellow Ram. Rest in Peace Ron, you will always be an idol to us.
Regards,
Written By, Cheryl Baumgartner
All the Best,
Joseph F. Botelho One Gram at a Time
