Celebrating football, Commons style

University of Oklahoma senior quarterback Josh Heupel made an entrance into Commons that most Yalies wouldn't dare to dream of. His name called over the loud speaker, he sauntered into the hall to thunderous applause; he smiled left, waved right, and looked up at the two video screens showing him running in a touchdown for a win over Big 12 rival Kansas State. He smiled again, posed for cameras left, then right, and gracefully strutted down the aisle to take his seat at the podium.

The scene was the 34th annual Walter Camp National Awards Dinner, held on Sat., Feb. 10, to celebrate the best college football players and to raise money for charity. After a $200-a-head steak dinner, followed by a presentation of the 23 other First Team Div. I-A All-Americans and more Heupel highlight footage, Heupel received his trophy as the Walter Camp College Football Player of the Year.

In comparison to the ramblings of Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, the evening's emcee, Heupel's remarks were short, personal, and sincere. "Some people think I take my sister [Andrea, a freshman at Oklahoma] to dinner every Sunday night so that she'll do my laundry for me in the middle of the week," he said. As the crowd laughed, Josh blushed and pointed at his family seated at the table in front of him. "That's just not true. She knows it's not true."

Heroes in all areas of life

Before Heupel's acknowledgement of his family, the dinner, held every year at Commons, had been a fairly standard major sports banquet—the players talked about futures in the NFL, Mad Dog joked about dropped passes losing bowl games, and Budweiser made its presence known with logos everywhere. There were even 40s of Bud alongside the bottles of wine at every table, a compromise between the tuxed gloss of the evening and the All-American spirit of football that we had come to celebrate. After Heupel, however, the evening turned philosophical.

CARL BIALIK A dressed-up Commons played host to the 34th annual Walter Camp Awards ceremony.

Don McPherson, the 1987 Walter Camp All-American quarterback from Syracuse, took the stage first. After Syracuse, McPherson played in the NFL and then in the Canadian Football League. But now he was being honored with the Alumni Award for dedicating his life after football to fighting domestic abuse and developing student-athlete leadership training programs.

McPherson delivered a powerful speech to the future millionaires and heroes assembled around him. His message, exemplified by his own life, was two-fold. First, football is a glorious game that builds character, loyalty, a teamwork ethic, and pride in its disciples. Second, there is more to life than football, and those who excel at the game must use the personal virtues, the money, and the influence they gain from football to help others.

Howie Long was named Man of the Year, largely for his charity work and his dedication to his family. He echoed McPherson's call to the players to serve. "To my 15-year-old son Christopher, and millions of others like him, these guys are demigods," Long said. The televisions showed clips from Long's playing days and then flashed to him standing with his little son. "What's the biggest compliment you've ever received," the reporter asked. Unflinchingly, Long responded, "That I'm a good dad."

The Distinguished American Award went to Gene Upshaw, who followed a 16-year, Hall of Fame NFL career with 17 years of service as executive director of the NFL Players Association. He fought to protect the rights of pro football players, as well as those of union workers as an AFL-CIO vice president. Palpable respect for his football and post-football career filled Commons just as he himself spoke respectfully of football. "We have the best product in sports," Upshaw said. "Leave the game better than you found it. Leave the world better than you found it."

Upshaw's accolades were clearly directed at college football and the NFL—areas that perpetuate the brand of football refined by Camp, Class of 1880, the namesake of the event—and not the cheap-thrill XFL. "Walter Camp is probably flipping in his grave right now if he saw the XFL last week, because that's not what he intended." Russo joked at the start of the night's speeches that things had to be wrapped up by 8 p.m. so the crowd could be in front of their TVs in time to catch the kickoff of the Chicago-L.A. game.

One of the evening's themes was clear: this is our sport, and we do not approve of rule changes, on-field cameras, and scantily-clad cheerleaders. Less explicitly stated at the banquet, but clearly implied, was that football was made up of men like Long, McPherson, and Upshaw, and will in the future consist of men like Heupel. The point was clear: convicted killer Rae Carruth, accused rapist Mark Chmura, and accused killer Ray Lewis are aberrations, overemphasized by the media and the exceptions among the fine upstanding men of football.

Yale captain honored

Yale Captain Pete Mazza, JE '01, was the Connecticut Player of the Year, an award which honors the best Connecticut-born college football player. The Cheshire-born linebacker was the first Yale player to receive the award since running back Rich Diana, TD '82.

While Mazza was impressed with the powerful messages about football and life, he said these players had learned those lessons long ago. "I would imagine it probably didn't have too much of an effect because most of the players already knew these things," he said. "They were already anxious to get really involved in the community-service programs throughout the weekend."

Just like bottles of wine juxtaposed with 40s of Bud on the banquet tables, the activities ranged from the classy—living up to the ideals of the speakers—to the trashy and fun. On Thurs., Feb. 8, players spoke to students at the Milford Jai Alai about the importance of staying in school.  The next morning, a luncheon for the players, press, and members of the Walter Camp Foundation preceded visits to six hospitals and a Fan Fest at the Lanman Center where young and old could mingle with and get autographs from the All-Americans. That night, the players partied at Club Risk at an event called "2001: A Dance Odyssey." Most importantly, the weekend's events raised thousands of dollars for various area charities.

Mazza stayed with the Div. I-A All Americans at the Omni Hotel, where he roomed with Northwestern running back Damian Anderson, who jokingly gave Mazza some grief for going to Yale.

"It was a pretty interesting dynamic," Mazza said. "It was like they saw me as a novelty from Yale, but at the same time, they all respected me coming from Yale more than I expected, athletically and academically."

Mazza drew a hushed surprise when, following a litany of future NFL players, he announced that he was going to teach English in China for two years. But it made perfect sense—Mazza was using the virtues he has gained from his football career to serve others.

An All-American appeal to help others

At the outset, a young priest with a thick Irish brogue officially kicked the evening off with an invocation. The All-Americans, every one of them, clasped their hands, bowed their heads, and paid diligent attention to Father Eamon Kelly. "Thanks for the genius who invented this egg-shaped projectile," Kelly said, "and for Walter Camp, who transmitted the high ideals which have inspired many and brought so much hope to so many needy kids."

The dinner showcased the hope that an egg-shaped projectile can provide, and the power it can give players to ask questions about themselves and their actions. In his closing benediction, Kelly reiterated the themes of the speakers, emphasizing that football can be a source of all that is good in life. "So many look to you," he said passionately. "Maybe this is not fair, but it is a reality. Your God-given talent and hard work have put you there. You are a city on hill. You are the light of the world. Let your light shine!" Then Kelly turned back to the audience and said, "Let us Pray for them and all the people they will influence by their lives."

After he concluded, Kelly stood off to the side, speaking with Cindy Heupel, Josh's mother. It was clear from their conversation that Kelly thought highly of Cindy's son, the leader of the national championship team who eats dinner with his sister each Sunday and attends Bible study with her each Tuesday. Heupel also distributed food baskets to needy families two days before Thanksgiving 1999 and spearheaded a food drive this past season. After saying goodbye to Kelly, Cindy turned and called for Josh to come with her—she was ready to leave Commons. Josh followed dutifully and with a beaming smile. The quintessential Walter Camp All-American had already learned that night's lessons years before.

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