It's That Time of Year Again!
by: Gary Kline

The morning air takes on a distinctly different feel this time of year. The warmer days are ushering in the renewal of life itself as evident in the wakening buds of the dormant landscape. Spring! A time of rebirth and hope. March Madness is in full flurry and the "Boys of  Summer" are shaking off the cobwebs of their wintry hibernation. Yet this reawakening means little to this soul other then the harbinger of hope that brings us Thundering Herd Football. Outside of family and God nothing else seems to matter. Sages will say that these misplaced priorities are indication of a lack of balance or void in my life but they just don't understand. Marshall football is more then a game. It is rather a living testament to the spirit of humankind. Sometimes the stark realities of life will extinguish the flame of youth and hope like it did on a cold rainy night on a dark Wayne county hillside not so long ago. What is unknown by nature is that the spirit, seemingly extinguished in a blazing mass of  twisted metal and dreams interrupted,is now glowing like a beacon to those who lost hope. A beacon to guide them through the difficulties of life giving course and direction. From those smoldering embers burn the hope of the next generation.

Yes, as a new season begins, the Northern winds will blow it's predictable pattern of dissent through Our Town. The masses who pass beneath the memorial bronze just outside the field of dreams will feel the cold breeze on their face. With a sad smile they push on knowing that outside the circle of Herd Nation they just don't understand. It's more then a game to us. It is the conquering of fear and doubt. It is overcoming overwhelming odds. It's rekindling an extinguished spirit. It is hope itself. But most of all, it's Marshall football.

The stadium will soon be filled with anticipation. The old timers, still amazed at the lofty climb, look around at the young becoming part of the indoctrination. And high atop a nearby hill stands the marker above the grave of a spirit that just wouldn't die. And through the quiet of this peaceful setting resonates the sound of, "We are.. Marshall! "