09.25.07

What I Remember

Posted in Memories at 1:32 pm by jeffmc80

Lucas and I were not good friends. We hung out because we had a lot of the same friends, but he wasn’t on my speed dial and I probably wasn’t on his. Don’t get me wrong, I respected Lucas. I thought he was hilarious. I think he intimidated me. I never understood how someone 5 inches shorter than me and 40 pounds lighter than me could intimidate me.

I didn’t come to his funeral. School was about to start, so I was pretty busy, but mostly I was just mad at Lucas. I didn’t understand how someone who I respected so much could do what he did. I decided that was more important than coming home to support my friends and his family, so I stayed in Jackson. It was selfish.

I say all this now because when I think about Lucas, none of the negatives enter my mind…

I think about his passion. I remember after getting beaten by Highland Home, I gave Lucas a kind of “well that sucks” smirk. He responded by yelling in my face, “Why are you smiling? Do you not care?” I thought I cared, but maybe I didn’t care enough. I made a point to care enough from that point forward.

I remember his intensity. I remember how his shoulder would come out of its socket every time he would make a hit. He would stand there, leaning forward, his arm hanging limply and rotating in circles, calling out the defensive formations through his gritted teeth (in between a few “dammits”). Against MA, he played the entire second half with a broken hand. A doctor from MA even tried to examine him at halftime. The other team prayed he would come out. They would rather play against a fresh running back or linebacker than Lucas with one arm.

I think about his selflessness. I remember after we won Players of the Year, I asked him how he felt. I wanted us to gloat together for just a minute, to take just a second and pat ourselves on the back. Instead, he just answered, “We are lucky Jason (Smith) broke his leg. If he hadn’t, we wouldn’t be getting these.” The proudest moment of our lives up until that point, and Lucas would only complement one of his rivals.

I think about how he loved to laugh. He loved to laugh almost as much as we loved to hear him laugh. I remember (back when we sucked) standing through one of the worst renditions of the national anthem I have ever heard before one game (yes, it was an away game…no, there weren’t any white kids in the band…) Anyway, every player and coach had his head down, biting his lip, trying their hardest not to snicker…everyone except Lucas… he starts in with that goofy laugh “he he, he, ahh ha, AAHHH, HA HA HA!” None of the coaches could get on to him because they were too busy trying not to laugh themselves… The funny thing is, whenever he comes up around the coaches now, including Bowman and Smeltzer, the first thing that comes up isn’t his football play. Someone always tries to imitate his laugh…I wish someone had a tape recording of nothing but his laugh…

I hope people learn two things from Lucas. I hope they learn the dangers of getting caught up in the bad stuff. Just as importantly, I hope they learn what it means to care about something.

Lucas, I love you and I respect you. We may not have been best friends, but you impacted my life for the better. Thank you for teaching me how to care about something.

-Jeff McIntyre
9/25/07

Permalink