To those who were there this should bring back a big laugh....to those who weren't there: you should have been.
I have had the pleasure of knowing Mike for the better part of 12 years. As an assistant coach at Kirkwood with Bill Cragg for three years we always would get fired up for desmet games only to be pulverized once again. It was during that time when i became equainted with Mike and over the years I was blessed to sit on the same or opposing sidelines teaching young men this wonderful game. In that capacity he has no equal and the dedication he gave and demanded from his teams rivals no other. After a couple of years at K-wood i moved over to CBC where i have been the last 8 years.
this is a location story:
About 3 years ago the desmet and cbc teams went to the N.D. team camp. Both teams had justr graduated everyone and tough times were a brewing on the Lax field. Desmet was struggling and CBC.....well we just sucked! after a long grueling bus/car ride to Southbend with no A/C and then to have two days of brutal lacrosse, it was just about all any coach could take....finally the ride home....all of the coaches were riding in cars coming back from south bend and we decided to stop for burgers and fries along the way and to take a break. From CBC we had Rico, Jimmy Mac, myself and i think that was it. From DJ we had steele, Goudy, and i am having a hard time remembering who else but lets just say it doesn't matter. In the middle of eating lunch/dinner Jimmy Mac begins to describe a time when he was a Freshman at the Air Force Academy and they were playing Notre Dame in Football on National t.v. both teams were pretty good and it was quite the college sporting spectacle. Anyhow, Mac as a Freshman was on the "spirit committee" and his job this particular game day was to drive up and down the AFA sidelines in a converted golf cart which was pimped out to look like an F18 fighter....so, you can imagine how we see Mac all dressed up in his fighter Jock uniform tooling up and down the sidelines....we are all starting to laugh. It gets better: late in the fourth quarter and Mac is giving us a play by play description of how the game was going...in his best "Howard Coselle" voice....Big play of the game Notre Dame kicks to AFA and there is a big runback....Mac, paying no attention to anything else but the play is following the runback down the sidelines in his "F18 golf cart" keeping close contact with the ball carrier however paying no attention tohis surroundings and just as the AFA returner is going for the goal line.....Mac runs his "F18" into the Notre Dame cheerleaders who were in the process of building a pyramid. Mac comes to his senses with the butt of a ND cheerleader shoved in his face...she is extracated by fellow teammates and the Notre Dame "fighting Irish" mascot is throwing Heymakers at Mac and a brawl developes on the sidelines......You can imagine the Horror on Mikes face as this story is unfolding however, when Mac got to the end of the story we were all laughing so hard that fries, sodas and burgers were being spit everywhere....It was a good 20 minute belly laugh and just what the Dr. ordered at that point in time after a tough Lax weekend.... It was at that point in time when i started to know Steele as a just a guy and not the Desmet Lax coach...what a blast and what a lifetime memory.
To everyone who knew Mike better than i did....my prayers go out to all effected by this tragedy. I will never forget Mike and what he did for young men all over this country and what he did for me as a friend....he gave friendship back!
God Bless to all ,
Greg Bryan
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