Andy

Saturday, the record was broken. It was held by three of the leagues best, and against Vanderbilt last Saturday, he broke it. The old mark of 13 was held by James Bond (Mississippi State, 1983), Derrick Ramsey (Kentucky, 1977), and Andy Johnson (Georgia, 1971). They were all quarterbacks who scored 13 touchdowns in a single season, and were tied for that record until Tim Tebow broke it on Saturday with 14.

Now, I have to tell you. I am not much of a Tebow fan. My wife likes him because he was homeschooled. I saw him play in the Swamp against Auburn, and though I thought he was pretty good, I didn’t think he was the next best thing to sliced Sunbeam White Bread.

But this blog is not about Tebow.

Rather, it is about my friend. He had cancer this past year. The cancer caused him to have two different surgeries on his throat. He is very lucky, because throat cancer can be extremely dangerous. Just ask Pat Sullivan.

I got to know him about 17 years ago. He and his partner Dan were brokers for our life and disability insurances for the company I worked at. Because these were areas that fell under my responsibility, I got to know both of them pretty well.

We did a lot of work…played a lot of golf…went on several quail hunts together…and went to some ballgames together. Over the years, I got to know his wife and some of his children. I heard the pride in his voice when he talked about his daughter playing soccer for the University of Mississippi. I heard all about his other daughter running a bar in Boston.

To many people he was a legend. I guess because I was never a Bulldog fan, to me he was just my friend. I have been out with him on many occasions when people would walk up and ask for his autograph. One time, I asked a person, “would you like mine, too?” He looked at me and said, “I don’t know…who are you?” I looked at my friend and said, “the guy who knows all of his dark secrets!”

On Saturday, my cousin, his son, my son and I will be tailgating with him. I look forward to seeing him again, and although he will clearly be in his element, and many people will see him as a celebrity, to me he will just be a friend I get to introduce to members of my family.

Oh, his name is Andy Johnson. The quarterback from Georgia who held, and then was tied, for the most touchdowns in one season by any quarterback in the SEC for 36 years. That record was broken on Saturday.

And for those of you who don’t keep up with Georgia Bulldog football, Andy was chosen as the nations top college sophomore quarterback by Football News in 1971, and after graduation was drafted to play for the New England Patriots where he spent 8 years as a running back. He was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.
To me, however, he is just a friend. And as one friend to another, I will look at him and say, “War Eagle….I hope ya’ll lose”.

But personally, to me, he will always be a winner.

War Eagle,

WJLaneSr