I'm A, "Murray Guy".

I was sitting around the wood stove in the garage this afternoon, smoking cigars and drinking some whiskey with some, "Murray Guys". Jim, EJ, Phil.

The memories we have of growing up in Murray, of being at Murray High, seem to be so much the same even though we are all not in the same class. Phil was two years older than me. Jim a year younger, EJ, ten years younger.

At one point in my life I played football for Ron Haun at Murray High, and later worked for his older brother, Pete Haun when he was the Director of the Department of Corrections. Spent a couple of nights in a car outside, Pete's house guarding it from a guy who had made some death threats.

Worked for, Joe Borich at Corrections. He played football at Murray High with Ron and Pete. Can't remember how many Sundquist brothers I worked with, played ball with or knew over the years. If it weren't for, Jeff Sundquist talking me into it, I might have never gone to work for Corrections and I'd still be a, "wage slave" for the Juvenile Court.

So, I'm a, "Murray Guy". I was born in a little town in West Virginia, but Murray is my home. My daughter was born in Murray. My son has grown up here. We moved back here when he was starting kindergarten, and this is the only place he's gone to school.

In the winter of 2001, before the Olympics started, my son was playing rec league basketball here in Murray. At the, "NEW" high school gym. The one built a few years after I graduated from Murray High. There is a trophy case outside the door of the gym and my daughter was looking at it and said to her brother, "Hey, Danny! Come and look at this trophy, it's got dad's name on it!"

It was the 1976 State AAA Football Championship Trophy. Just happened to be turned the right way that the panel with my name on it was showing.

I never started a Varsity game at Murray High. I played sophomore, and JV, and was on the team as a senior. But I was slow, and when I got in as a senior, the game was already more than decided. But that was OK, because I played on the scout team, and I showed up for practice everyday, so I got to play football everyday. And I loved it. I did my part. And for that, I was rewarded with my name on that trophy, and a varsity letter for having played all three years I was there.

My daughter showing my son that trophy might be the proudest moment of my life. I still tear up when I think of it.

I'm a, "Murray Guy". And we were talking about what that meant this afternoon around the wood stove.

My son has had three of his friends leave his Murray Max Soccer Team over the years to go play for teams that had a better shot at playing in a Premier League. He gets a ton of mail every spring asking him to try out for them, but I won't let him.

The purpose of the Murray Max program is to get these kids to play together all the way to high school, so they are good at that level. Not to win national competitions.

His buddies are now back trying out for the Murray High team. What, you couldn't make the, "Impact High" team, or the, "Sparta High" team? Oh, they don't exist? No kidding. Well, then you're not a, "Murray Guy" so maybe you shouldn't get the privilege of playing for Murray.

EJ's son is a good hockey player. He could go play somewhere else with more prestige, but no, he's going to stay here and be a, "Murray Guy".

Phil's son, Alex is the reason I sold my home in West Jordan and moved back. Watching Alex pitch for the home side his last summer in Legion ball just made it too hard to stay in West Jordan. I didn't like it there anyway, even though we built the house the way we wanted it. I just never felt comfortable there. Too Mormon, to Republican. Just not my kind of place.

Alex just bought his first house. In Murray. He's a, "Murray Guy".

My friend, Alphonso and I bought, unknown to each other, new Camaro's within 3 days of each other last spring. What color did we both buy? Orange and black for hell sake! What would you think?

Al's a, "Murray Guy" too. He lives just up the hill from me, and not far from, Phil. In Murray.

When we got to move back here, ten years ago, my daughter was in 8Th grade. At the first parent teacher conference at Riverview Jr. High in September it seemed to my wife, who grew up in California, that I knew everyone else's parents from high school. At the end of the evening, as we were walking out, she said, "My God, this place is, Brigadoon! You people never leave!"

Guilty as charged. Even when my son was playing baseball at Grant Park, where I played Little League baseball, he was on a team with a Rompus. When over the speakers we heard, "On deck, Rompus, in the hole, Stickley" I turned to, Dino and said, "Just like 40 years ago, huh?" And it was.

We are all, "Murray Guys". We don't leave, and if we have to? We come home to make it better than we left it. We hope.

Flip Nielson, Phil Markham, Greg Hill, Kevin and Lynn Potter, are all, "Murray Guys" who stayed here to make Murray a better place to live. I'm sure there are a lot more I don't know about.

I noticed a few years ago when my son started to play baseball and soccer I had come full circle in my clothing colors. When I started school at the, "U" most of the shirts and jackets I had were orange and black and said, "Murray Football" on them. Now, 40 years later, I have an inordinate amount of clothing that's orange and black, and says, "Murray" on it somewhere.

I don't think there is any place quite like this. Not in Utah, not anywhere. And that's OK. I hope it never changes. The Greeks, the Italians and everyone else who came here in the 1800's made it a great town. And it's awesome that most of them stayed. I'm glad we're diverse, and accepting, such a great place to live.

My State Legislator, State Senator, and Congressman are all Democrats. Anyone else in Utah who doesn't live in Salt Lake City who can say that might live in a city as cool as mine.

Danny thinks I bought the Camaro in orange and black so he could drive it to high school. Fat chance. That's 406 bhp he's NEVER going to get to drive. But I'm proud to drop him off at soccer practice in it.

Last spring, the boys played, and beat, a team from Park City down here by my house at the Willow Pond Soccer Complex. And as we were loading the chairs and stuff into the back of the big orange and black beast, one of the Park City moms walked buy and took a good, long look at the car, and said to my wife, "Boy. You must REALLY love your team."

Lady, you have NO idea how much.

If you're not a, "Murray Guy", you will never know how cool it is to be one. We might not always win, but even when we don't, we get to come home to Murray. And that's better than any place YOU get to go home to.