The Dick Tomey vibes are strong again around Arizona Wildcats football.
With Tomey being one of new head coach Brent Brennan’s mentors, with Duane Akina energizing the defense in his new role as coordinator, with Dino Babers leading the offense … it all feels very 1990s all over again.
Which is a very good thing.
Tomey passed away on May 10, 2019, and, I’ll tell you, I probably still think about him, or something he said, or how much I would like to ask him a question about something, just about every dang day.
On occasion, I’ll even watch the video embedded below that, until now, I have never shared (beyond private social media).
This phone video was shot at an October 26, 2018, gathering at Frog & Firkin to celebrate the 20-year reunion of the 1998 team that went 12-1 and finished No. 4 in the nation. This was the last time I saw Tomey and possibly his last major public appearance; he was diagnosed with lung cancer a couple of months later. I still cherish his greeting that night – the kind where he grabs you with both hands behind the neck, pulls you in and tells you how happy he is to see you.
Near the end of the happy gathering, Tomey took the mic to address his guys to tell them why he thought that 1998 team was so special. Before he did, when he barked at everyone to shut up and sit down, players quickly did so with a chorus of “Yes, sirs!”
The video quality isn’t great and it’s kind of long by today’s internet standards, but here he is talking to and about his 1998 team, and his messages are timeless: “To me, as a coach, the most wonderful thing is to see how happy you guys are to see each other. That’s it to me.”
Tomey goes on to talk about that team’s unselfishness – the rare and unique QB time share of Keith Smith and Ortege Jenkins; the backfield tandem of big-play Trung Canidate and touchdown-maker Kelvin Eafon; and superstar cornerback Chris McAlister, who met the team plane at the airport in the rain when it returned from the Leap by the Lake victory in Washington, when Chris was ineligible for a game and wasn’t able to travel with his teammates.
Tomey always called that “the best play Chris ever made in his life.” Why? Because McAlister wasn’t pouting. He made his actions all about the team. Just as Tomey always preached: “The team, the team, the team.”
On the video, Tomey then bestows one of his life lessons: “Sometimes in life, all you need to do is show up.” That’s a good one to live by. That’s a really good one to live by. When you are wondering about how to help a friend or colleague or family member, think of that: Sometimes in life, all you need to do is show up.
And this still resonates, too, heading into a 2024 Arizona Wildcats football season of high expectations: Tomey told his 1998 team at the reunion, “Unselfishness was the key to this team’s success.”
Some things will never change.
If you have a spare five minutes, check out the video above.
Top photo: Image from the unveiling of Dick Tomey Practice Fields in 2019. (Photo by Anthony Gimino)
