I am both sad and glad. Tracy Scroggins retired after ten
years with the Detroit Lions. For me, it has been an exciting time.
When I went to visit him as a rookie in Michigan, one day Tracy was
taking a nap and there was a knock on the door. I opened it and Barry
Sanders came in. He began to go through the kitchen cabinets. He was
looking for cookies. Ha! We chatted a while then Tracy awoke and we
all talked and laughed for a while before Barry had to go home.
I always had a tunnel pass to the games and met many stars on the Lions
and other teams. Robert Porcher is a close friend with Tracy and I got
to know him well. He is a fine man and I regarded this as a privilege.
Larry Tharpe, offensive lineman, liked to hang out with them and every
time I saw him when I was in Detroit, I would get a big bear hug from
this giant of a man who was in many ways like a huge fun loving boy. He
was always kidding around and fun to be with. He is now retired too.
I came to appreciate how hard these men worked. Even the off season
was filled with work outs and efforts to improve. In professional
football, all the players are highly talented and very competitive.
During the season, Tracy's mind was totally on how to get that little
edge that would allow him to succeed. He took yoga classes and martial
arts classes to improve his concentration. He had daily massages to
help eleminate the soreness in his abused body. The work outs with
extremely heavy weights took their toll on his joints and bones.
Visitors at Tracy's home during the season had difficulty understanding
this extreme concentration and felt hurt with the idea that Tracy was
ignoring them. His days during season were filled from daylight until
late in the evening with activities to help him gain that edge. When
you would talk with him he would often lapse off into his own world,
thinking of the moves and strategies he would employ against his
opponent who would be blocking him in the coming game. Then, he would
come back to the moment and ask, "What were you just saying?"
I was happy to see him retire while he still had his health and not
too much pain from the old injuries. There are too many who are
cripples who are living in pain with every movement. I am sad because
I will miss those happy moments together with him and his teammates.
Meanwhile, keeping his home in Michigan, he has purchased a posh condo
on the beach several miles North of Miami, Florida. I stayed with him
a while in August and we had some great times in that beautiful
tropical area.
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Tracy Scroggins' own personal web page
Oklahoma State University official football site