Round Two: Early lessons in college football writing

So I’m right in the middle of reading Gerry Faust’s 1997 book “The Golden Dream,” detailing his tumultuous time as head coach at Notre Dame and the University of Akron, and it’s turning out to be quite the nostalgic experience for me — as well as a lesson in human nature.

I was a sports writer at Akron’s campus newspaper, “The Buchtelite,” in the fall of 1988, writing weekly player features in what was Faust’s third season coaching the Zips. I also wrote the occasional column — one of which stands out in my memory to this day. Not because it reminded anyone of Hemingway, Twain or Poe, but because it illustrated the class and dignity with which Faust always carried himself — and, more importantly, extended to others.