Steve Mariucci - Remembering the Day I Met 'The Coach'

I will never forget the warm Saturday afternoon in Saratoga, California that I, along with about a hundred other middle school parents, were sandwiched into a school gym watching kids play in a district basketball tournament. I was cheering for my friend's son who was doing a heck of a job on the court. I then noticed the man next to me cheering for his son who was on the rival team. I had to do a double take to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me...as it turned out; I was standing shoulder to shoulder with the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Steve Mariucci.

My first thought was to ask 'Aren't you supposed to be at practice? The Vikings are in town this weekend!' but I bit my tongue... that probably wasn't a good conversation starter. I then thought about introducing myself and asking him if he thought a super bowl trophy was a possibility this year. After all, the Niners were Gods in the south Bay Area, and this man was their keeper! I wondered how I could tastefully ask for an autograph, but I had nothing for him to sign. Then there was a foul on the court and he began protesting loudly. That's when I realized that he was not there as the coach of the Niners, but as a dad.

I couldn't bring myself to ask for his autograph or ask about the team as I felt that I would be stealing the thunder from those that were the star athletes of the day...our kids. Instead, when he turned my way, I commented on the officiating and he agreed with my comments. We then chatted about kids in sports and I asked him which one was his. He proudly pointed out his son and I pointed out my friend's son. We spent the rest of the game watching the boys play and chatting about kids, schools, sports and other typical parent-type subjects.

The game ended soon thereafter and he bid me a good afternoon, and I did likewise. We'd had a wonderful chat and I realized there was so much more to him than just being an NFL head coach. I saw him try and make his way through the crowd only to be stopped repeatedly by other folks asking about the 49ers and this week's game. He answered politely, but I could tell that he just wanted to find his son and give him a hug. I felt good that I enjoyed the game with him just as two proud parents.

Steve Mariucci played quarterback in college at Northern Michigan University and in 1975 led his team to a National Championship. He coached the San Francisco 49ers from 1997 thru 2002 with a winning record of 60-43 and two NFC West titles. He still resides in the south bay area and currently works as a television broadcaster.

Sources:
Personal Experience
Sports Stats- Wikipedia.com