---FUTURE ~~

--IN AN essay entitled "Good Guys Finish First (Sometimes), Andrew Bagnato told the following story ==

Following a rags-to-riches season that led them to the Rose Bowl--their first in decades--Northwestern University's Wildcats met with coach Gary Barnett for the opening of Spring training.

As players found their seats, Barnett announced that he was going to hand out the award that many Wildcats had earned in 1995. Some players exchanged glances. Garnett does not normally dwell on the past. But as the coach continued to call players forward and handed them placards proclaiming their achievements, they were cheered on by their teammates .

One of the other coaches gave Barnet a placard representing his seventeen national coach-of-the-year awards. Then, as the applause subsided, Barnett walked to the trash can marked "1995". He took an admiring glance at his placard, then dumped it in the can.

In the silence that followed, one by one, the team's stars dumped their placards on top of Barnett's. Barnett had shouted a message without uttering a word: "What you did in 1995 was terrific, lads,. But look at the calendar "It's 1996."

It's great to celebrate the accomplishments of the past. But with God, our best days are always ahead. ~~

--Chicago Tribune Magazine (9/1/96)
--Nostalgia