Michael Lynch - The Golden Gladiator: The True Story of the Oldest American Football Players Return to the Gridiron... and Glory

Theres a lot of blood, sweat, and guts between dreams and success.

Paul Bear Bryant

PREFACE

I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees,

I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees,

Asked the Lord above, Have mercy, now, save poor Bob if you please....

Robert Johnson, Cross Road Blues

O ne night in 2016, during pregame warm-ups at an away game in Miami, with the risin sun goin down, an opposing coach approached me to say hello. As we shook hands he asked me a question. I smiled at him and replied:

No sir! I promise, with my hand over my heart, I have never met the devil at any crossroads.

Michael Lynch, the GoldenGladiator

Let me start off by assuring anyone who opens up this book that I have never been to Clarksdale, Mississippi. However, one of these days I would love to go, and I will, because I have always been enchanted by the stories and the unique heritage of the South, and have been since I was a little boy. So, needless to say, I have never been to a particular crossroads in that town at the intersection of Highway 61 and 49 in the dead of night to rendezvous or consort with any infernal beings of dubious character pertaining to my blissful journey back to the gridiron.

In fact, in my case there were no deals cut at any crossroads anywhere with anyone. I will leave that alluring Southern myth of meeting up with a deal-making devil at a crossroads to one of the great Delta bluesmen and one of the legends of the Deep South and our past, Robert Johnson.

Also, contrary to an article written about me in the Daytona Beach News-Journal, 68-Year-Old Michael Lynch Playing Semi-Pro, Championship Football, I have not found Ponce de Leons fountain of youth. The real fountain of youth can be summed up in one phrase: Its all in the mind. Always remember, you never have to be the strongest, the fastest, or the biggest. However, you have to believe in yourself and you can never let fear enter your heart in your relentless pursuit of fulfilling your dreams. Live your life and live each precious day as if it was your last. And live it like a hero.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

N ow, with all of that being said, I wrote this book about mylet me, with all due respect to Homer and his epics, call it my Iliad and Odyssey of a football journey. However, there are so many individuals that had so much to do with this story that without them... there never would have been even a whisper of a narrative. To name them all will be impossible, because each and every teammate, opponent, and coach over that half a century of time is part of all this.

First, I want to mention my girlfriend Nancie Kalin during that wonderful time. All she ever told me to do was follow my heart and she was my greatest source of support and love throughout the four years I played. My fond memories of her during that time, and now, will never dull nor fade away.

If it wasnt for Calvin Williams and his dear wife Betsy none of this would have been possible. As the owner of the Sarasota Millionaires, Calvin was kind enough to treat me like a dear friend from the first day we met. Then he took a leap of faith in allowing a sixty-four-year-old man to try out for his beloved Millionaires... and the rest is history.

The support, encouragement, and love that I received from Coach Ernest Givins, Coach Thad Starling, Coach Ricky James, and Coach James Felton was immeasurable. I will never forget Miss Shirley, Coach Thads wife, who always greeted me with a big smile. Coach Givins and Coach Thad deserve special recognition, because they were always there for me and encouraged me unceasingly. I will never forget their unyielding support.

Special thanks are due to the owners of the Southwest Florida Gladiators, Derek and Rose Greenwood. They took over the Bradenton Gladiators in 2015 and changed the name to the Southwest Florida Gladiators. They are kind, generous, efficient, and also relentless in their pursuit of putting the best football team they can on the field. My relationship started with them in 2015 after Calvin Williams became commissioner of the Florida Football Alliance and shut down the Millionaires. After that a group of Millionaires headed twelve miles up Highway 41 to join the Southwest Florida Gladiators.

I contacted the Greenwoods to ask them if I could come up to play for them and they greeted me and the rest of my teammates from the Millionaires with open arms. No one would ever have thought that we would have the success on the gridiron the Gladiators have had since 2015. However, so many stars aligned, on the field and in the skies above, that now the Southwest Florida Gladiators are considered one of the best semipro teams in Americaif not the best. Coaches Hill, Benton, Hinz, Killins, Pinckney, Lee, Brown, Kirby, Mehr, and Estremera will always be remembered by me for kindness and support.

Last but not least is Head Coach Gerald Perry. I played against him in 2014, with him in 2015, and was coached by him in 2018. When he played he anchored our ferocious line on the Gladiators. When he was named the head coach of the Gladiators in 2017 that was the catalyst for me returning in 2018. We have formed a special bond over those years and I am so grateful for the honor of being able to call him a friend.

My teammates, now my friends, on both the Millionaires and Gladiators will always have a special place in my heart. During a time when it seems as if the world is spinning off its axis with nonstop bitterness and acrimony, the kindness, support, friendship, fellowship, and love that I found on those practice fields and gridirons with my teammates was nothing short of magical. I cannot express eloquently enough what they all mean to me, though in this book I try to. I hope that they will always know I owe them all a debt of gratitude that I will never be able to repay.