And he has an approval rating of 99.99 percent. If you want to hear something remotely
negative about Maddox, you’ll have to drive at least as far as Concord, the home of
his arch-rivals. ‘‘You
are in the hearts of so many,’’ Moss told Maddox. ‘‘You will always be
part of our community.’’
Moss then informed the crowd that
he had given Maddox a symbolic key to the city after the Wonders won the state 3A
championshp in 1997.
‘‘What else can I give
him?’’ Moss queried the crowd. ‘‘The city of Kannapolis?’’
The crowd roared its approval.
Maddox Maniacs all over the stadium thought that was a fine idea indeed.
But it was Carty who offered the
best Maddox nugget.
She related that she came across
the running back one Football Friday sitting dejectedly in the hall. He was worried about
some record or other that he was supposed to break that night. Exactly which record it was
– he holds a few dozen state and national ones – really doesn’t matter. The
point is he was down because he was afraid he might disappoint some of his fans if he
didn’t do what was expected.
‘‘I wish that for one
day, I could be just a regular kid,’’ Maddox moped to Carty.
Carty, who once was his middle
school principal, started talking to Maddox – trying hard to perk him up. Several
minutes later, they were still locked in deep conversation.
After several more minutes, Carty
and Maddox were the only two left in the hall.
‘‘Now you’re a
regular kid,’’ Carty finally told him with a straight face. ‘‘Because
now, you’re tardy.’’
Stunned, Maddox pleaded with Carty
for a pass to class.
And naturally, she smiled and gave
it to him.
‘‘He’s never been a
regular kid,’’ Carty told the crowd. ‘‘He’s always been a special
kid. And now, the rest of the world is about to know him as we do.’’
That was the theme of last
night’s proceedings. There were solemn goodbyes to the legacy of Maddox and the
multitude of magic memories he leaves with the ctizens of Kannapolis. There was also some
joyous saying hello to the things that one of the nation’s most highly-sought after
prep stars ever, hopes to accomplish at Florida State.
To that end, A.L. Brown’s
traditional walking horse and the music from 2001 that began the festivities on Wonder
Friday nights opened the show. The spear-carrying Seminole mascot and the accompanying
chants and chops that will spur on Maddox on future Saturday afternoons closed the
program.
It was anything but an ordinary
night at the Weevils.
The huge sandwich board in front
of Fieldcrest Cannon proclaimed ‘‘Welcome to Nick Maddox Night.’’ You
had to read the fine print to find out that the Weevils, usually the main attraction, were
going for their sixth straight South Atlantic League win.
It wasn’t business as usual
inside the gates either.
A Maddox autograph line (football
cards of Maddox were given to the first 1,000 through the gates) still snaked around the
concourse midway through the game – over an hour after he started signing.
And there were lots of kids in
that line. Perhaps some of them will remember Maddox’s brief remarks to the crowd
after he received the Franklin Watkins Award as the state’s top African-American
scholar-athlete. Maddox was one of four national finalists from a field of 1,000 nominees.
‘‘Not in 1,000 years
did I ever imagine someone would have a day for me, but now it’s
happened,’’ Maddox told the youths in the audience. ‘‘Your dreams
start now. Don’t ever give up on them.’’
- NOTES: N.C. State and
ABA/NBA great David Thompson was on hand to see Maddox. Both are from the Shelby area and
are related. Thompson’s mother and Pat Maddox’s grandfather were brother and
sister. Mrs. Maddox also related that she and Nick are cousins of NBA coach Alvin Gentry.
... Maddox threw out the ceremonial first pitch and showed why he abandoned baseball early
in life. His changeup sailed over his catcher’s head by at least 10 feet.
‘‘He may never live that down. We’ll let him know about it,’’
said former Wonder teammate Phillip Johnson.
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