Lansing State Journal

SPORTS OPINIONS

Published in the Lansing State Journal

Everybody's hero

To George Webster, the former Michigan State star who is suffering from cancer:

It seems I should call you George because you were such a part of my life. You did not know me but, like most of the people in East Lansing, we knew you. Going to watch you

play at Michigan State on Saturdays was a part of our lives. I was in the fifth grade when I first saw you play. Watching the team come through the tunnel was a thrill that even today I tell my husband and kids about.

I did not miss a home game from fifth through seventh grade. I often tell my husband about your team mates: Clinton Jones, Bubba Smith and Gene Washington. But to speak about the great number 90 is special. I wouldn't want Nick Saban to read this, but those were the days when football was great at MSU. You mesmerized us, you awed us, you entertained us. Most of us are hoping for teams like that again.

As we followed you in the pros we felt a part of what you were going through because you were one of us. You were a Spartan and always will be a Spartan. My kids did not know Lady Di or Mother Teresa, but I tell them about the heroes I knew. People like you. Anyone can look around now at MSU's facilities and know what an impact your era had.

Duffy Daugherty was a great coach, but he would be the first to say he was great because of players like you. We have the Duffy Daugherty building, but it should also be called the George Webster building. I am sad to hear you are ill. I wish you the best. Hang in there. You were so important to a lot of people. I hope you hear from many of them and they tell you what I know. George Webster, the big giant, is still a giant in East Lansing.

Jeanne (Rutledge) Williams

MSU Class of 1976

Grand Ledge, MI