By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist
Coaches and players from the 1987 National Championship football team returned to ULM's campus this weekend for their 30-year huddle.
"It's a beautiful thing," former offensive lineman Mike Traxler said. "We get to come together and relive memories from a great past. It was 30 years ago, but it doesn't seem like it. It seems like it was just a few years back."
The former Northeast Louisiana University squad finished 13-2, including a wild 43-42 victory over Marshall in the NCAA I-AA title bout in Pocatello, Idaho. Their season featured a staggering series of amazing, high-scoring games that earned them the nickname "Team of Destiny."
"When you come here as a young man, you have no idea what life has in store for you," defensive back Jerry Melton said. "Then when you come back 30 years later, you see the same men you stepped on the football field with, and you see how successful each of them has become in his own way. It's a great thing."
The current edition football team wore special tribute jerseys honoring the championship season for the home game against Coastal Carolina. The 1987 players were also recognized on the field at halftime.
"It really touched my heart," said Pat Collins, the former ULM head coach. "It let me know they were thinking about it. I just hope I can make the next one."
About 30 players gathered at the L Club's newly renovated house on Friday night to enjoy Johnny's Pizza and spent several hours reminiscing. The echoes of their laughter carried across the Grove and toward Malone Stadium where they enjoyed so many good times together.
"It's like a brotherhood," defensive back Spencer Ellison said. "We've known each other since the age of 17 and 18 years old. Over time, we've kept in contact and supported each other when times were good and times were bad."
A number of them arrived wearing their personal championship trophies for the occasion -- 10-karat gold ring crested by a garnet stone and big "1" in synthetic diamonds.
"I think about that summer before our National Championship year," defensive lineman Curtis Richardson said. "I think all the key players stayed in Monroe that year and we all worked out together. We worked together, threw up together. We went out and did a little bit of partying together; I have to admit it.
"It was special, about being a band of brothers. I think we were on to something. Back then, it worked for us. We pulled out something magical and it's lasted."
Survey the group today and you'll find they never stopped winning. They're now fathers and spouses – and in some case grandparents.
"The discipline made a difference in our lives," Ellison said. "We wanted to carry that same mindset when we became young adults. Getting an education was the most important thing for us. A lot of us were first-generation college students, like myself. We took that to another level and made an impact with our own kids, to show them how they could make a difference in their life as well."
The team had stars who became professional football players in quarterback Stan Humphries and tight end Jackie Harris, and another in Doug Pederson, who is now a head coach in the NFL. But they also became educators and coaches, bankers, law enforcement officers, pastors, health care professionals and businessmen. They were successes on the football field, but more importantly, successful in life.
"I always remember Coach Collins and Coach (Willie) Ragan talking about working hard and persevering," Richardson said. "They taught us that there's only one way and it's the hard way. As you get older, it rings so true. Anything worth having, you've got to work hard for it. Those coaches, all of them, instilled that in us."
Ellison, who originally came to Monroe with Greg Lewis, Kevin Wright and Eric Smith from Little Rock (Ark.) Central High School, said just recently he was on a conference call that included 10 former teammates. These guys don't wait on milestone reunions to reconnect.
"From time to time, we check in on each other," Ellison said. "We always end the conversation with 'I love you man.'"
They lived together, ate together, and worked together in those days. Ellison said it was common for teammates to loan their cars out to other players for dates or grocery runs.
"We brought the vehicle back and made sure it had gas in it," Ellison said. "We respected each other."
Returning on Saturday, their numbers grew for a special ULM L Club Hall of Fame reunion prior to the game. Players had the chance to see ULM's upgraded football facilities and receive a full day of hospitality.
"You've got so many different walks of life here," Traxler said. "We all come together and it's almost like we never left. We all fall back in and we all love one another. It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from. We come back and we get together and we're in our own little space."
