John's Journal: ‘The Most Important Part Of This Experience Isn’t Winning’

The email arrived on November 3, which was the Sunday before state quarterfinal football games would be played in Minnesota. It contained a request from Dwight Lundeen, who has been the head coach at Becker High School for 55 years. Dwight and I have known each other for many years, I have the utmost respect for him, and I would honor any request that he would make.

Here's what his email said…

John - I am putting a team meal together for our coaches and players to celebrate going to state and being 10-0 - Monday Nov. 4 5:30 at our Pebble Creek golf course - wondering if you could come and give a short talk - no one has been at more playoff contests then you - 10-15 min of congratulating team and coaches on their season so far - remind them also of the importance of team and always being a class program - representing your school, community and family - sorry for short notice - hope it can work for you.

Coach Lundeen

My reply was sent as soon as I saw the email…

Hi Dwight. That would be great. I'm honored that you would ask, and I'm more than happy to spend some time with your team tomorrow.

See you there,

John

The next day I drove to Becker, which is about an hour and 15 minutes on the road. I drove to the high school first, where practice had just ended and the players and coaches were walking to the school and their vehicles. The golf course is a short hike down the road, and as I pulled in the players and coaches were starting to arrive.

Dwight was already there, making sure everything was in order. It was nothing fancy; a buffet was set up with burgers, buns, chips, soft drinks. The players were dressed very informally, basically in sweats having just left the practice field. Dwight saw me walk in, greeted me with a handshake and hug, and said, “It’s a lot of fun to still be practicing when you need the lights in the afternoon.”

Everyone enjoyed the meal, the coach spoke to the team and introduced me. I had written down a few notes, hoping to give an appropriate message at this point in time, leaning on my experience watching Becker football for many years as well as my own postseason experiences. Here’s what I said …

I appreciate Coach Lundeen asking me to be here today. This is a great honor and I am grateful that he would ask me to do this. If he asked me to be here at 4 o’clock in the morning and didn’t give me much notice, I would absolutely be here. That’s how much respect I have for Coach Lundeen.

I’ve been a sportswriter for 50 years, since I was a sophomore in high school, and I have been really lucky to have the experiences I have had. I’ve been with the Minnesota State High School League for 15 years, and before that I was newspaper reporter in Iowa, Arizona and then the Star Tribune for almost 20 years. I covered the Vikings, Twins, Timberwolves and Wild, but believe me when I say that writing about high school sports in Minnesota is the best job in journalism.

When I think of Becker football, this is what comes to mind:

I think of pork chops … Whenever I come to a game here, I eat pork chops and bring some home. I don’t eat them anywhere else.

I think of your touchdown song, Black Betty (by a group called Ram Jam). That song was released in 1977, the year I graduated from high school.

I think about the respect Becker football always shows toward opposing teams, officials and the game.

Coach Lundeen started the program when he was 21 in 1970. He came to Becker in 1969, the same year man first walked on the moon. I’m a grandpa who will be 66 years old on Thanksgiving, and I was an 11-year-old snot-nosed kid when Becker played its first football game.

There are 335 high school football teams in Minnesota. 56 of them are still playing and seven will be state champs. I have been to 14 or 15 high school football games this season, and every one of them was special. High school football is the best thing going. I usually make it to one of your games every season, and I regret that I haven’t seen you play this year. You can save me by winning this week, because I will be at U.S. Bank Stadium for the state semifinals and Prep Bowl games.

Two brief stories…

--In 1976 I was a senior at a very small school in Iowa. My football team played in the Class A state championship game, the first time any team from my hometown had gone that far. We came up short but now, 48 years later, the memories are strong. I remember the bus ride to the championship game at the University of Northern Iowa (the first time we ever rode a charter bus), warming up on the field (the first time we ever saw artificial turf other than on TV), I remember the silence in the locker room after we lost for the only time that year, I remember the fun we had in our hotel that night, I remember how everyone in our little town celebrated when we got home.

--While U.S. Bank Stadium was being built, the Prep Bowl games were played at the Gophers stadium. Becker won back-to-back state championships there, one memory stands out to me, and it has nothing to do with the games. Standing outside the locker room after one of those games, I was talking with Coach Lundeen. All of a sudden this gang of screaming little kids came running up to him. They were his grandkids. The first thing he said as he hugged them was, “Hey you guys, did you have fun? Did you get some popcorn?” Then there were hugs from Coach’s kids and their spouses. The game and the score didn’t really matter in that moment. Coach was with his family, and it was very special.

Believe it or not, the most important part of this experience isn’t winning, it’s being a member of this team. You’ll forget scores and opponents and lots of details. You’ll never forget the feeling of being together in the locker room and on the bus, the celebrations after big wins, looking into each other’s eyes in the huddle or on the sideline and knowing you can depend on each other. Remember these little moments because they are special.

You will learn in the years ahead that many lessons from high school sports will be part of you forever. Hard work, supporting each other, never giving up, respecting the game, respecting officials, respecting your opponents. When I think of Becker football, that’s the word that comes to mind: Respect. For all these years, Bulldog football has been about all those positive things. This team represents class, you represent your school, your community, your families, and all the players who have worn this uniform for all these years.

Congratulations on the season so far, good luck this week and I’m hoping to see you at U.S. Bank Stadium for a couple of games before we’re done. Thank you Coach and good luck Bulldogs. 

The Bulldogs went on to win three more games and finish the season as unbeaten Class 4A state champions.

--MSHSL senior content creator John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Threads at johnmilleamn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at [email protected] or [email protected]