Sacred Acre: The Ed Thomas Story

hawkeyeh8r

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has any one else read this book (its more than i read during my 4 years at ISU). but in all seriousness its a fantastic book and a great look into Ed's, his families, and the communities lives from shortly before the EF5 tornado to his funeral. I remember hearing about it but didnt read much into it at that point. the book is a quality read and i definitely recommend it to anyone
 

BigSkyCy2

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I've heard nothing but great things about the book. I bought it yesterday. I'm flying to Texas for a football game this weekend, so I plan to read it then.
 

ianoconnor

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I have not read it yet, but one of my best friends said he fought tears the whole 2nd half of the book. I plan on reading it soon.
 

RING4CY

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I finally just received my copy of the book today.

I could see myself reading this book in one sitting, but I could also see myself having to put the book down and have to walk away for a time as some parts may hit too close to home.

I played high school football a Dike-New Hartford, Aplington-Parkersburg's main rival. The EF5 tornado missed hitting my house by less than 2 miles.
 

geburgess

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I'm definitely gonna read it. My hs (West Marshall) played against A-P on ESPN for the first game after the EF5. Coach Ed was probably the coolest man I've ever had the chance to meet, what I would have given to play for him.

Miss you everyday Ed, the world ain't the same without ya.
 

RING4CY

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I'm definitely gonna read it. My hs (West Marshall) played against A-P on ESPN for the first game after the EF5. Coach Ed was probably the coolest man I've ever had the chance to meet, what I would have given to play for him.

Miss you everyday Ed, the world ain't the same without ya.
That was on ESPN? I remember that game just being on KWWL Channel 7.
 

hawkeyeh8r

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Yeah, I believe it was on ESPN2 or something. Parents have a copy somewhere.

ya it was, it had huge coverage since they had managed to get everything back together in less than 4 months. and the 2nd part of the book can bring tears in spots, it was definitely hard not too at some points. sad story but it also shows you how much affect you can have on people by doing even the smallest things
 

RING4CY

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I really don't remember the West Marshall game after the tornado being on any of the ESPN networks.

I remember A-P's opening game of the 2009 season after the murder against Dike-New Hartford was on ESPN.
 

HawkSpeng17

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I'm definitely gonna read it. My hs (West Marshall) played against A-P on ESPN for the first game after the EF5. Coach Ed was probably the coolest man I've ever had the chance to meet, what I would have given to play for him.

Miss you everyday Ed, the world ain't the same without ya.

My parents are from State Center but I ended up going to East Marshall though :smile: My roommate here at ISU is from A-P and he went back that weekend to the autograph signing and I've heard nothing but good things from him about Ed and the book and I intend on buying a copy soon.
 

Cybyassociation

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I picked it up for reading at school during our reading period of the day. Its been pretty good thus far. Coach Thomas came and spoke to one of my coaching classes at UNI, pretty awesome man.
 

cyfanatic13

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Ring4cy is right. The game after the tornado was not on espn at all but the game after the murder was. And this book is amazing. I go to AP now and I have to tell you, the program that they had the night of the Gatorade game was one of the coolest things I've ever been to. His legacy definitely lives on
 

cy4prez7

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Just got his book yesterday! Seems like it will be a great book. I will never forget the 08 quarterfinal game. I feel privileged to have shook his hand. Great man!
 

wartknight

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I grabbed a copy from my brother this weekend and sat down to read it in a couple hours. Being from A-P and being college roommates with Ed's son Todd, I knew pretty much everything in the book. The auther did an excellent job telling the story, and I know for a fact that many more books' worth of material could have been written on the impact coach T had on so many.
One I always share is that I got called out of the blue 7 years ago by a pretty successful football coach of a pretty successfull hs football program, and asked if I would be willing to be part of the coaching staff. I had never coached before except for being on staff of Coach T's OL camps during the summer. This coach called Coach T and asked if he knew anyone in the DSM area that could coach his OL and with Coach T's recommendation, I was told as I walked into the interview that the job was mine because of it.
He had the respect of a ton of people throughout the state.
 

wartknight

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I can also attest to the A-P/West Marshall game (they play again tomorrow coincidentally) being broadcast on KWWL, the local NBC affiliate in Waterloo. It was a pretty big deal at the time, until the following year, when the A-P/Dike New Hartford game was broadcast on ESPN, a couple months after the murder.
 

dmclone

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I graduated before Dike-New Hartford combined and I can tell you that P-Burg pummeled us every year. It was not fun and I had no love for Pburg. I remember as a freshman going against a 270lb center with a full grown beard. I nearly wet myself.