... at last Saturday's Demon Football Centennial Celebration came for, as NBC news anchor and author Tom Brokaw called them, "The Greatest Generation."
You bet it was wonderful to see all the reunions of players and coaches. It was exciting to hear the Top 100 players of all-time introduced.
But the biggest roar -- even topping the one when Joe Delaney's name was announced among the Top 100 -- came before the individual introductions.
The players and coaches were recognized by decades, going backwards. For example, players whose careers ended in the 1990s stood together, and in each decade, special mention was made of the teams that won conference championships and went on to the national playoffs.
The roars were fun to hear as time drifted backwards. The smiles on the faces of players, coaches and fans were equally broad. Applause was generous.
But it reached a crescendo for the final group introduced, the Demons of the 1940s and 1930s. Not because the 1939 team was unbeaten. That was certainly appreciated.
But the 1942 Demons took the biggest cheer. That's because, as the 1944 Alumni Columns noted, each player on the 1942 team enlisted and served the United States in World War II.
Every one of them.
That's what Brokaw meant by "The Greatest Generation."
Doug Ireland, SID
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