Yep... That's My Dad!

Several years ago at Chapman's Mortuary in Huntington, WV, my father was paying his respects to the family of a departed friend. The room was packed with family and friends of the deceased, and as those things go, lots of milling around and conversing takes place. In our part of the country, funeral visitations are a time to show respect to the deceased (of course) but also to renew old aquaintances and generally meet new people as well. As Dad (who was dressed as seen below at the left) was introduced to another member of the family, the guy said, "It seems like I know you from somewhere." Dad replied that he had been preaching in the area for over 50 years and that he had probably seen him around some church, or even at one of the funeral homes. "No." the fellow mused. "That's not it." Dad sort of passed it off and went on talking to some of the other mourners. A few minutes later, the other fellow approached him again and said, "Do you go to Marshall football games?" When Dad replied in the affirmative, the guy said, "That's it! You're that guy!"

A strange transformation takes place around the end of August each year.

About the time College Football Season rolls around my father, Rev. Caudle Adkins, Jr. morphs from his role as "semi retired pastor and evangelist" to "That Guy" in Section 102, Row 9 at Joan C. Edwards Stadium on the campus of Marshall University.

Now if you want the serious story about Dad, go back to my inaugural post on this blog site, dated June 20, 2007, in an article entitled, "The Giant" http://cjablog.blogspot.com/2007/06/giant.html

But for our purposes today, we're going to look at the "other side" of the old preacher. The one that comes out when the footballs begin flying around in the fall. The one who is known by the group of "Philosophers" who gather in "Frosty's Corner" at McDonald's for breakfast each day, and most certainly to the folks on the West Side of the stadium (Third Avenue end). That's The Guy who dons the funny hats and glasses and walks up and down the aisle yelling, "Looking Good!" to celebrate each time the Thundering Herd scores a TD or a field goal.

It hasn't always been this way. Time was when Dad didn't have time to attend many football games. He was busy serving as an evangelist, preaching in as many as 17 - 19 revival meetings per year (and back then, revival meetings were secheduled for two weeks at a time!). He'd catch a game on TV every now and then, and do his best to attend some of our Little League games, if nothing more than just for a few innings before he had to go preach somewhere. It was always a special time when (usually on a vacation) he would take my brothers and I to a major league baseball game in Cincinnati, Atlanta, or St. Louis. But I never knew of Dad to attend any college football games until a dozen years or so ago.

My brother, Bruce, regularly attended Marshall games at old Fairfield Stadium through the lean years, long before the Herd became the winningest college team in the nation during the 90's. As Dad began to have a little more spare time in retirement, he began to go along from time to time. When the new stadium opened in 1991, he and Bruce began to purchase season tickets with a block of four "family" seats - and Dad's "new personna" began to emerge.

It started innocently enough. Somewhere Dad came across a red baseball cap with two bills. Not front and back, but the two bills angled from both sides of the front of the cap. It looked pretty goofy. He wore it as a gag. Somebody laughed, so he took it with him again to the next game. About that time, local TV station WOWK (Channel 13) had begun publicizing their newly acquired News Helicopter "Chopper 13". Dad picked up a dozen or so "Chopper 13" lapel pins and stuck them all over the red two billed cap. (This, I think, was done to impress the lovely Sandra Cole, a Channel 13 News Anchor, who sat across the aisle in the next section.)

Dad began to gain a reputation for the unexpected from the fans in his section. One season, Stewart's Hot Dogs ran a promotion to sell more weenies. Stewarts Hot Dogs are a local favorite in the east end of Huntington. They had the hot dog concession at the stadium and they wrapped their dogs in aluminum foil and then with a napkin imprinted with Stewart's logo. The PA announcer would remind fans Stewarts had wrapped a $20 bill inside the napkin of one of their hot dogs which would make some lucky fan very happy. Dad bought his usual hot dog, but alas, no money inside. However, the wheels started turning.

Dad took a twenty out of his wallet, wrapped it up inside the Stewart's napkin and made his way back to his seat. When he unwrapped the hot dog in the presence of his fellow fans, he jumped to his feet waving the twenty and yelled, "Look what I found!" Everyone was amazed at his luck. The next game he pulled the same stunt and folks began to catch on. The third week when he found another "lucky twenty" in his hot dog, a guy two rows back yelled, "Hey Preacher, look what I got!" as he pulled a fifty out of his hot dog.

Dad has always had the gift of motivating others!

Well, as his notoriety grew, Dad began to find new ways to stand out in the crowd. He found a huge pair of green glasses that he would don (along with the "Chopper 13" hat) every time the Herd would score. "Looking good!" he would cry out as he paraded down the aisle in his celebratory get up. Soon he had fashioned two huge thumbs, painted green, (Marshall's color) for a Thumbs Up gesture which he added to the celebration routine.

One thing led to another. New and even stranger glasses were added to the get up. Soon he had a whole bag full of nose glasses; mirrored glasses; "oriental eyes" glasses; glasses with eyeballs that light up inside the lenses; glasses with eyeballs on springs (see above); and even a pair with windshield wipers for those rainy games. Along with the glasses came new and unique hats. One of my favorites is the "Skunk Hat" that he quickly dons after a bad call by the officials. As late season arrives, he brings out the green baseball hat with the "Bah, Humbug" logo that lights up and flashes in red.

A new wrinkle has developed over the past few years. His great grandsons from New Orleans brought a big bag of Mardi Gras beads home one summer for Grumpa, and, you guessed it, Dad now hands out Mardi Gras beads as part of the celebration routine. (No flashing required).

Dad was always a hard guy to buy Christmas presents for. No more. If you can find an unusual hat, fuzzy green wig, or a strange pair of glasses, he'll be happy to add them to the two bags of stuff he regularly carries into each home game. Several years ago I came across a gift that I thought would be perfect for Dad's bathroom. It's a white toilet seat with the green Marshall logo on the top of the seat. When you open the lid the bottom side says "Hear the Thunder!" The perfect lowbrow addition to any Herd Fan's powder room. To my wife's dismay, Dad never did install it on his commode. HE TAKES IT TO THE GAMES WITH HIM! Not every game, mind you, but at least once a year the toilet seat makes its appearance at the stadium.

The home crowd loves it. Visiting fans just don't understand. Some folks from Temple had their pictures made with him and the toilet seat several years ago. I'll bet that created some interesting conversation back in Philadelphia, don't you?

Some of Dad's seat mates have asked me if Bruce or I are going to continue the tradition. My standard reply is that, "It skips a generation". Bruce has an explanation for Dad's unusual behavior at the Marshall games when he deadpans, "He didn't get enough dress up as a kid!" Dad has become a fixture at the stadium, one of the characters that make up the great atmosphere at "The Joan". Even folks in the area where I sit (about 20 rows up from Dad's seats) always start rubbernecking when the Herd scores - looking to see what get up "That Guy" has on this time.

The last couple of seasons, Dad has slowed down a little. Those really cold games are a little tougher on him than they used to be. He's even left a little early a time or two. But still, at 80 years of age, he has a great time at the ball games.

He deserves it!