I thought I wouldn't miss it. I thought I would graduate and never think
about NSU football again.

But I was mistaken, I was sorely mistaken.

I do
miss it. I miss it so much that it hurts sometimes.

I miss the way I felt
when I walked into the locker room full of men that I had grown to love. I
miss the guys that were with me at 5 a.m. "county fairs." (If you know what
I am talking about, you know that there is nothing fun about county fairs.)

I
miss the smell of the field during the hot summer workouts. I miss being
able to go kick on the game field anytime that I wanted without having to
worry about the gate being locked. I miss the Ready Room, the weight
room,and the training room.

I especially miss the way I felt on Saturday
mornings. I miss the feeling in the air that something big was going to
happen that night. I miss hearing the fight song on campus before the big
game. I miss that feeling you get in your stomach before a big game against
McNeese.

I miss the fans, coaches and staff. I miss the men I got to share five
years of my life with, day in and day out, six days a week, 52 weeks a year.
That is what I miss the most.

I would be mistaken if I did mention the things I don't miss. I could
mention the negative things, but sitting at my computer trying hard not to
cry, the negative things don't matter.

It's the good stuff. It's the people,
players, coaches that make NSU and everything about it special and I will
always miss it.

I would not trade it for anything, the good and the bad. I
will go on in life. I will have kids someday, but I will never forget my
times at NSU.

If there are any present players that are reading this, I want you to do
something for me. Do not pass up this moment in your life. Take time to
savor each feeling. Stay on the field long after all the fans have left and
it is just you and the moment and remember it.

You will miss NSU and Demon football no matter how
much you might try not to.

When the moment is gone, it is gone. And all you
will have left are the memories.

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(Editor's Note: Clint Sanford holds the NSU Demon school record for field goals in a season (14 in 2000), including the kick shown above, a 37-yarder with four seconds left to beat McNeese. His 19-yarder in overtime was the winning margin in NSU's 27-24 win at TCU in his senior year, 2001. Three times, Sanford tied the single-game NSU record by kicking 3 field goals in a game. He ranks sixth overall in school history in scoring with 160 career points. Sanford is now a fifth-grade teacher and has played for the Lake Charles indoor professional football team.)