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Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate
Notebook No. 160
Tuesday, December 2, 2003
By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist |
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Troth deserved much better
©2003 Bonesville.net
Hopefully last Saturday won't be the last we hear from Paul
Troth. Maybe one day next season we'll read a heartwarming story about the
affable quarterback who led his team to victory.
My scenario has him down ten, with five minutes to play and the ball deep in
his own territory. It's Senior Day, and in a huddle filled with butterflies,
none is more calm or stands taller than Troth.
With each tic of the clock, he shifts into higher gear. Like a school of
hungry piranhas, Troth picks apart the opposing defense in that All-American
form that prematurely earned him the label the next Pirate great.
At the end of the day -- after that final touchdown bullet has been fired --
the grinning gunslinger rides into the sunset of a career that fittingly
ends in a glorious blaze.
Only it won't be at East Carolina. That much was settled when
Troth requested his release from
Pirates coach John Thompson Monday.
"I went in and asked for my release and coach (Thompson) granted it," Troth
said. "I thanked him for everything, but it is apparent that my role is
limited here. I love East Carolina, but I need to explore other avenues."
That his career won't end in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is borderline tragic.
Since the day he first gripped a pigskin, Troth had dreams of engineering
game-winning drives for the school he deeply loved.
He had his pick from a handful of BCS suitors, but loyalty conquered glamour
and glitz. Troth was ECU's Eli Manning, a second generation Pirate taking
his rite of passage.
"I wanted to be in an atmosphere that was a football town," Troth said in
the spring of 2002. "I didn't want to go to some place that had other sports
as the focal point."
"I wanted to go to a football school. I really liked the campus, too, and
the eastern North Carolina attitude that we have a chip on our shoulder."
From the moment he said "I do", the program's needs preceded personal
interests. Spring break, senior proms, and graduation took a back seat to
spring practice and time-intensive film sessions.
Instead of a redshirt season to fill out his slender physique, Troth
sacrificed a year of eligibility to be a seldom-used insurance policy.
"I could always say 'Well, I wanted to redshirt' or 'I didn't want to
redshirt,'" he said. "It would have been an advantage either way, I think,
and it worked out fine."
"I got the opportunity to learn and travel with David every game. I got to
room with him before every game and see how he prepares. It was a really
good learning experience, because you're going to have your good days and
your bad days. Overall, the way he carried himself on the field and off is
something that I really picked up on."
And applied it 100 times over.
Things didn't go as planned for Troth. Not even close. Before he ever
enrolled, we had his name atop the record books and in full pursuit of the
Heisman.
When reality didn't meet fantasy, a small minority showered him with boos
and cruel criticism on Internet forums. Hardly the reception you would
expect for a lifelong Pirate.
The thing is, we'll never know how successful Troth could have been in
purple and gold. He truly never received the opportunity to spread his wings
during the season in which quarterbacks traditionally turn the corner.
For reasons still unexplained, Troth was shoved aside in favor of someone
unproven and noticeably less talented. Even when it became apparent that the
decision backfired, he never was given adequate time to find a rhythm --
just token cameo appearances.
Yet he isn't bitter.
"I learned so much as a person," Troth said. "As a person, I feel like I've
grown so much over this past six months in my personal life."
"I know that football is just a game. Wherever I go, whatever I do, what's
important first is what God is doing in my life. That's really important.
That's where I take my learning experience from this year."
Only a true Pirate could put that type of spin on a mishandled career. Had
he been critical about the past 12 months -- about the mysterious decision
to exile him to the end of the bench while the offense was stuck in
purgatory -- he would have been well within his grounds.
Rest assured, though, Troth will land on someone's football field next
season wearing a badge of royal purple.
"If I could take the time to thank the university and the fans, I would like
to do that," Troth said. "They've been so important in my life. I just want
to thank them."
"As tough as it has been on us, I can't imagine how tough it is on the fans.
...Things work out. Everything happens for a reason. Whatever it is, I'll
learn."
Perhaps we all can learn a little something from Paul Troth — both in
football and life.
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02/23/2007 01:51:44 AM |
