Not that it was a rough ride.
If anything like a Horned Frog fan inspired by the journey Max Duggan made from the sideline to the Heisman Trophy room, it was a call. From the moment the text from That Airline Over East canceled our flights, we knew we were going.
Well, I knew. My wife, who kneels at the altar of practicality, and my teenage daughters – for whom instant pudding can’t get here fast enough – would be sold. Luckily, I’m currently in a sales training gig.
But I would go, as would Max. He would always go on the field after getting his heart stitched up and he would always go back to the locker room after Coach Patterson left. He would always come in when his number was called. 15. How could you not go and support that guy?
Especially since we’ve thrown a lot of tickets and more emotional capital into this season. Of course I would go.
Max would go.
Four or five months ago, I spent a week on Oahu with the same woman and daughter. And while they studied Dole Whips, I studied Eddie Aikau. I had heard of the legendary surfer and ranger and his heroic commitment to his crew in that overturned Polynesian canoe.
Similarly, when Max’s season turned upside down in 2021, he remained committed to them. And we. And, frankly, for a commitment to one’s team that is sinking ever faster in this era of collegiate athletics. But Duggan didn’t give up. Like Eddie, when the moment was darkest, Max would go.
Fortunately, the Mourer girls were all inside. If my wife and I have done anything good, it will increase sports fandom. Horned Frog fans in particular, so we set out to tackle the proverbial 1,011 miles of previously uncharted waters.
Arriving about 15 hours after leaving Aledo, we only stopped for gas, lunch, and to wonder what we had done wrong for the Low Tire Pressure light to come on north of Tucson.
