Football: Long Time Coming
9/13/2000 12:00:00 PM | Football
Sept. 13, 2000
Toledo, OH - When Mel Long Jr. was growing up in Toledo, he liked to come to the Glass Bowl to watch Rocket football. He liked the action and excitement of the games. He liked the players, and the Rockets' winning tradition. He liked being with his friends and the passion for football that they all shared.
But most of all, Mel Long came to the Glass Bowl to be a receiver.
"I came with my friends and we would always sit in the end zone and try to catch the ball after a field goal or extra point," said Long. "It was a fun atmosphere to come and cheer the team on. It was an exciting time."
A few years later, Long began catching footballs on the field of the Glass Bowl as a member of the Toledo football team. He has caught so many balls, in fact, that going into Saturday's game at Eastern Illinois he is just nine receptions away from the all-time Toledo record. Long, who has snagged a team-high 10 balls this season, has 135 catches in his four-year career, just eight shy of Don Fair's record of 143 set from 1969-71.
Ever the student of Toledo football history, Long is aware of the magnitude of his feat. "To be in the company of such players as Don Fair is quite an accomplishment," said Long.
Part of the reason Long is familiar with Fair is because the former Rocket receiver was a teammate of his father, Mel Long Sr. The elder Long was one of the greatest players in Toledo football history, a consensus All-American on the defensive line who later became the only Rocket ever to be voted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Mel Long Jr. knew if he came to play football at Toledo he would be playing under the considerable shadow of his father. He came anyway, and for one reason.
"I didn't come to Toledo because my dad played here," he said. "I just wanted to come here and win games. In high school, I played on a team that didn't win all the time. Coming here and winning on a consistent basis is very special to me. That means more than anything to me."
Father and son do not talk much about football these days, neither the glory days of Mel Long Sr.'s 35-0 teams, nor the recent success of Mel Long Jr.'s high-flying Rockets. They do, however, compare some notes. It seems that while the winning tradition has stayed the same, some things have changed. A lot.
"My dad tells me about all the fun times he had when he was here," said Mel Long Jr. "They used to sneak out the night before games. Someone would leave a car at the hotel where they were staying and they would go out and have a good time. After they played BG one time, they went down into Bowling Green to one of the bars wearing their letterman jackets and had a good time.
"The rules are a lot stricter now, but we still have a lot of fun just being with the team at the hotel the night before the game. It's a rewarding experience to be a part of this. It's something special. You can't take it for granted."
It seems Long takes very little for granted in his life. He shows unusual maturity for a college student, happily accepting the fact that he and the rest of the team are role models for the young fans who come to the Glass Bowl every week.
"Being a role model is not something you choose to do. Young people choose you as a role model," said Long, who seems to have that equation figured out better than some professional athletes like Charles "I am not a role model" Barkley. "They choose to emulate you, not only on the field but sometimes off the field. So I know I have to watch what I do, especially around kids. I have to show some responsibility as a person. Having young kids look up to me is very special. I just hope I can affect kids to be what they want to be, either athletically or academically."
Perhaps there is some young future Rocket out in the Glass Bowl today who will be able to say, "I remember when I saw Mel Long Jr. play on that great Rocket team in 2000. And I wanted to be just like him."
Look for him in the end zone, trying to catch an extra point. He may even have a No. 80 Rocket jersey on his back.
