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12/29/03 About this time of year highlight shows and talk formats abound with recollections of the “best sports stories of the year.” And although there were many stories in our community worthy of distinction in 2003, there is at least one that will be talked about for many years to come. Just inches from the Silverdome, the 12-1 Football Wildcats became an event that may well live in our hearts forever. As another year comes to a close in the world of Novi athletics, we are once again reminded about the significance sports play in our lives, and in the lives of our youth. The tangible, visceral feel of being involved in something greater than you, the galvanizing effect it can have on a community, and the reminder that we are always on teams our entire lives, work in concert to teach us lessons learned that can make us better the next time around. There are those that will look at the glass half-full, while there are others that may play Monday morning QB ad-infinitum. But regardless of your position… realize that you are not alone. Kerry Kreutzberg’s hope was that this year’s football team be talked about 10 years from now…He will most likely get his wish. At the most recent Democratic National Debate, Tom Brokaw was on hand to mediate and unexpectedly, he ran into an old friend. Not just any old friend, but in fact it was a teammate on his memorable HS basketball team! Their time together was short, perhaps only an hour, so what do you suppose they talked about? The debate itself? The potential candidates? The issues?… Guess again. They spent the entire time talking about their basketball team, their senior season, and that fateful last game in which they were eliminated so abruptly. They both admitted rarely a week went by that they didn’t dwell on the team, that season, and that fateful last game. They even amazed themselves with their total recall of the emotional impact it had on them, especially when you consider the year in question…was 1958! Tom Brokaw’s athletic career didn’t end there, and neither did his life. He went on to play QB in college, and when he steps down from his post at NBC in 2004, no one can argue that his 40-year career as a broadcast journalist was of Hall-of-Fame caliber. The moral?…In spite of a huge disappointment, Tom Brokaw went on to do just fine for himself…And so will our boys… Good Night 2003, I can’t wait to see what the future holds. It might make for a pretty good story.
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