OK…football over for the second luckiest man in the world. Or is it? Not so fast….. some really interesting things that are creeping up for the konkretekidinfootball. More about that later.
The most important thing we have to talk about is the tremendous weekend we had here in southeastern Michigan!
And…..what a fantastic weekend we had here. Celebration of Tom Ford’s career as the athletic trainer at Oakland University. What an awesome guy….cannot say how much I admire Tom. We have been friends since he first set foot into Michigan thirty some years ago. (Wasn’t that a show years ago “Thirty something”?? OK that really has no relevance here….but you know me and how I drift off the point).
tfordstrong.org
He has had some bad news in the last several months. But if there is a stronger person out there I challenge you to find him. No doubt ALS is nothing to trifle with….but T Ford will be the guy to push it back. He already has this illness knocked back on it’s heels.
It is impossible to gage the influence he has had on the entire community at Oakland University. Not just in athletics…..but everywhere on campus. He touches everyone. His kindness and willingness to always lend a hand is immeasurable. Just look at how many people were there to watch his celebration at the Oakland University basketball game with Chicago State.
It was inspiring to see the people who came back to campus to spend some time with Tom! This man has done so much for so many….the outpouring of love….unbelievable.
I personally was touched with the women’s basketball teams that were there to spend a minute remembering our great teams of the 80’s. Coach Taylor and his wonderful family there to help Tom celebrate. I may be wrong….but those teams won 100 games over a four year period. Four appearances in the NCAA tournament….final four appearances! What a great time.
Those girls could play some ball! Remember that wonderful win at Central Missouri State in the playoffs. They had not lost a home game in a year or two and the Pioneers took it to them to get to the final four. What a great trip.
Most of those young women were there to celebrate with Tom, his family and friends. Again it was quite an afternoon. So cool that Oakland University gave him the chair he sat in for thirty years serving not only as the best trainer in the world….but Greg Kampe’s rock and also his confidante.
(Oh by the way I have that chair in my truck….I might give it back to Tom in exchange for a case of Coors Light….Oh OK I’ll just give it to him.)
Outstanding get together later with literally hundreds of people celebrating with Tom. We all spent several hours (imagine that) with Tom at RJ’s Pub. A bar that we have been going to before Oakland became a Division I program. Hell I even had dark hair in those days.
We have been going there so long that I can remember both the Fords and the Kampe’s bringing their young children there in bassinets….I probably have spent several hundreds of thousands of dollars there….well you know me!
Smallest chicken wings in the world at RJ’s (Paul Diegel and I call them sparrow wings!). But, they are good!
We really had a wonderful time with our extended family the Fords. So great that their friends and family from New Hampshire were able to come to Michigan and enjoy this celebration with Tom.