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Show A el OnussT mm im l1) Tom Haraldsen . In choosing Robison, NFL proves nice guys don't always finish last John Robison is proof that nice guys don't always finish last. As one of the National Football League's newest officials, the Davis High teacher and coach becomes a "favorite son" local connection to professional football. The league made an excellent excel-lent choice. In the weeks ahead, we'll see John's name and occasionally see his face as he works the gridirons from Seattle to Chicago. . As a field judge, John will become a critical part of veteran 1 official Pat Haggerty's team. During last night's Davis School Board meeting, the popular Robison was honored by board members for his efforts. He was praised for his accomplishments as a teacher and coach, as well as a husband and family man. But my favorite memories of John don't concern professional I football officiating. Actually, I recall two experiences that have caused my respect for John to grow during the past three seasons sea-sons that I've covered high school sports in this area. Two years ago, John had an opportunity to be quite angry with me. You may recall that that was the year when Davis and Bountiful, both 8-1 in league play, were slated to meet in the final Region Four basketball game of the season at Bountiful . As a tongue-in-cheek preview, sportswriter Keith Duncan and myself my-self each wrote a story attacking one of the schools and defending defend-ing the other. My comments about Davis were sharp and strong. I remember walking into the Davis High gym the afternoon our paper came out. John spotted me while running a practice, and when I had finally walked to his side, he looked at me and said, "You're not too popular here right now." Later, after his players had finished practice, he pulled me ' aside and told me that he personally appreciated the comments, because he felt it could fire up his team. There was no grudge held between us, and that hasn't always been the case with other high school coaches in this area who've objected to the stories written about them in the Clipper. But my most recent memory came last spring, when Davis hosted talented Highland and fell behind 16-1 after one quarter. When the Darts came over to the bench at quarter's end, I expected John to give them an earful. Instead, the gentleman and mentor in him remained. He calmly gave his players encour- ' agement. There was no yelling, no angry redness of face. He never lost sight of who he was, or what he wanted to accomplish. accom-plish. Davis responded that night, rallying from its incredible deficit to beat the Rams and knock them from a number-one ranking. Fans leaving the Davis Fieldhouse that evening spoke of the game, labeling it the most fantastic comeback in school history. Most of them saw the spirited Davis effort, the fired-up determination determi-nation that motivated those Dart players. But very few were sitting behind the bench where I was, listening to Robison give his team members a lesson that was more far-reaching than simply diagramming a basketball play. Like any coach, John has angered some people through the years. He would be the first to admit making mistakes along the way, whether as a coach, official or educator. But in selecting John as a new official, the NFL is making it clear that what a man's made of internally, his integrity and concern for doing right, is the attribute they seek most in one of their referees. And the league also proved one other thing through its selection nice guys don't always finish last. |