I have a good friend who is a proud graduate of Massillon High School and an ardent fan of the football team there.

So, it’s not surprising, then, that when the Tigers won the school’s first state championship of the playoff era by turning back Akron Hoban 7-2 in the Division II final on Thursday night, she immediately called me and spent a half-hour on the phone excitedly going over every aspect of it. I could hardly get a word in edgewise, but I did manage to say, though I don’t think she even heard it because she likely used the time merely to catch her breath, gather her thoughts and plan the next part of her oratory, “They are going to be partying the night away on Lincoln Way (the main drag through town). I bet you that even the Paul Brown statue (located at the entrance to Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, where the team has played seemingly forever) is smiling.”

Yes, Paul Brown. Everything that happened Thursday night emanates from him. Indeed, everything that has happened with the program since he coached there from 1932-40, building the Tigers into not just a state power but also a national power and even going so far as to make sure that the school’s traditional marching band was transformed into the Tiger Swing Band so it would be as exciting, fast-paced and eye-catching as his team, emanates from him. Both were one of a kind, providing must-see performances. And that continues even today.

It was the beginning of his journey to induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and his reputation as one of the greatest football coaches ever.

Brown took what he did at Massillon and parlayed it into the head coaching job at Ohio State, where, in just his second year, he guided the Buckeyes to their first national championship. From there, he went to Cleveland and got the Browns to a league championship game in each of their first 10 seasons of existence, with seven titles. Finally, he went to Cincinnati and took another start-up team, the Bengals, to a division title in just their third season.

Also, he added so many innovations to the game that he is called “The Father of Modern Football.”

By no matter where he was at or what he did, his heart always remained in Massillon, where it all started. That was his sweet spot. That was his home.

With that, Brown would certainly be smiling about the fact that, as evidenced by the unbridled joy of my friend and so many others on Thursday night and then into the wee hours of Friday morning and beyond,  the momentum he began building so long ago has not waned a bit but rather has gathered steam, and lots of it.

Paul Brown would absolutely be thrilled to talk to my friend, even though she would no doubt do all the talking.

Steve King