Eaglets Tim & Linda

From 8-18-14

Several years ago, one of our great players called me to come to Atlanta & give his committee some help with a project they had been working on. This was one of our players who not only had outstanding success in high school, but had gone on to a very successful playing & coaching career in college.

The variety of experiences he had, helped him to become the president of one of the largest construction companies in Atlanta. There was no way I could say "no" (even tho' I couldn't imagine what help I could give Tim--with the type of "project" on which he was working!). I traveled to downtown Atlanta, and we met on 28th floor in the luxurious suite of offices in a beautiful skyscraper! As the meeting began, they introduced me to the committee of 10, & I recognized Linda, another one of our outstanding students who had reached lofty heights in her career. As I thought of these two students, I couldn't help but remember the roles that their parents had played in their lives---and in my adult life! As the meeting began, I could look out see all over the city, the small cars on the expressway, & the Georgia Tech campus. As the discussion progressed, they were talking about a project which would require the help of thousands of people & millions of dollars! When they talked about putting a fence around the Georgia Tech campus, I thought, "These people are out of their minds!--They can't possibly do what they think they can do!" I had known Tim & Linda most of their lives, and I couldn't believe they were a part of such an improbable project! I told Tim that I didn't have much experience with international basketball, and I didn't see how I could be of any help to them---it was beyond my scope of imagination (as I snickered to myself in disbelief). I went home & told my wife how ridiculous they were. Four of the original 10 members of the committee must have felt the same as I did, as they dropped out of the project. ("Roosters", again?). The other 6 labored on---, Tim & Linda making up 1/3 of the committee, under the direction of some former UGA athlete, Billy Payne. As I look back on those years, I'm sure most everyone agreed with me that those people's dream were "folly". They actually thought they could "bring the world" to Atlanta, Georgia, for the 1996 Olympic Games!! Silly dreams or--"Eagles"??