About this time every year when I was a kid I’d drum up what money I had and head over to the Kresges.
Kresges had a long aisle of magazines filled on both sides. Every August they carried at least a half a dozen preseason football periodicals.
Roger Staubach on the cover of one of them. Mean Joe Green on another, but the one I grabbed in 1978 had Walter Payton and a rookie named Earl Campbell on the cover.
Pages of stats from 1977, predictions for 1978 and the schedule for every team. It was the Bible for every sixth grade kid.
I would still have that magazine today tucked away in my foot locker. My foot locker holds all the treasures from my lifetime. My Pinewood Derby car, pictures, ticket stubs from concerts and baseball games. I even have the Trojan wrapper from the night my voice changed.
Someday my kids will open that locker and find “The Spirit of ‘76,” a ZZ Top ticket stub from 1981, A Sox/Brewers ticket from 1985 and a red condom wrapper from 1984.
What they won’t find is a football magazine with the best running back in 1977 on the cover. Their dad brought that to school and Sister Mary Francis took it from him.
Instead of opening his science book to page 13… dad was peaking at the probable starting lineup for the 1978 Bears.
The 1978 Chicago Bears ended up 7-9 and my magazine ended up on a coffee table at the convent.
After school I went back to Kresges to buy a replacement. They were all gone. In 1978 I was left with a magazine with Kenny Stabler on the front.
Kresges are long gone. Magazines aisles are long gone and all the football annuals are on the internet.
I never caught up from chapter one in science and some great niece of Sister Mary Francis has my magazine and Sister’s rosary.
If I would have put the effort in science that I did in knowing Walter Payton rushed for over 1800 yards I’d probably would have been more successful in life.
It’s National Waffle Day. I love waffles…. I have two waffle presses in the cupboard, but my favorite Waffle plays football at DePauw.
Good luck to the Freshman receiver, #80…. “Waffles” Grace.
Put in the effort down there in Greencastle and success will follow.
Take home the bell every year!
