Originally Posted by
RhinoDawg
Scott,
I met you briefly in the DAC as I was leaving. I sit on the left side on the front row more or less in front of where you were sitting.
You may not recall, but there was an honorary captain for the Colorado State game on that beautiful crisp November day in 1990. He was 4 years old, completely bald, staring down death, but full of life.
That day, November 17, was his 4th birthday. We asked him a week or two before what kind of party he wanted and without hesitation he said a tailgate birthday party!
Once that was the plan I went to work to try to make it as special as possible. Between regular visits to St. Jude and the other demands of being parents of 3 kids under 4 my wife and I didn't have a lot of time to make big plans for our little man but we knew one thing for certain; David loved football and especially loved the Dogs! We knew we needed to do everything possible to get him a special birthday gameday tailgate experience, so I contacted then-SID Keith Prince and told him what David had requested and how special it would be if we could just get him down on the sidelines around you and the rest of the players, even if only for a little while.
Well, a day or two later Keith called me back and said they just didn't feel it would be safe for him on the sidelines, and my heart began to sink. BUT, he said they also wanted to make it a special day, and as he laid out his plan tears welled up in my eyes, as they had many many times over the past 3 years since his diagnosis of leukemia. A big difference was these were tears of joy, not sorrow, because I could already see in my minds eye the smile this would put on the face of my first born son, who in 4 years had gone through more pain, suffering and life-threatening situations than some folks face in a lifetime. If Keith had been there with me rather than on the phone I'm sure I would have delivered a rib-crushing hug. He was/is truly a Prince.
With the arrangements made, we had our usual tailgate, which back in that day was not much more than a picnic, a far cry from today's affairs. For this day we DID have a great birthday cake made to look like a football field complete with little players from one of those magnetized vibrating football games. After this repast we made our way to The Joe. Shortly thereafter David walked out onto that field, and though very excited, also very business like, with his game face on, understanding he was really getting to do something special, greeted the opposing captains alongside our own, "helped" with the coin toss and went back to the sidelines and gave Tech (not sure what Roman numeral bulldog he was) a pat on the head before heading back up the stairs to the stadium. We all know the rest of the story. You and your teammates gave us all, but especially David, a day we'll never forget. The Dawgs won, the goalposts came down and history was made.
That was David's last birthday. He passed away the following September, on the 27th. This month will mark 26 years. You and you brethren did a helluva job for all us loyal fans that day, and especially for one little 4 year old fan who was convinced y'all hung the moon and painted the stars. I have one more job for you. When you get to the other side, give him a high five for me (he left us before fist bumps became a thing), tell him Momma and Daddy still love him, still go to the games, tailgate just down the hill from where we had his last birthday party and think about him often.
#HBTD #EVERLOYALBE