Saturday, October 25, 2003

TUFTS FOOTBALL IS FAMILY TO FATHER AND SON CASABIAN

By Paul Sweeney

Most members of the Tufts University Football team share a bond with their parents through sports. Whether they also played sports or supported their children at games, parents are in most cases the main influence behind the players becoming college athletes. In appreciation of that, the seniors on the 2003 team and their parents gathered after the Amherst game on October 25 to celebrate Parents' Weekend at Tufts.

For Ed Casabian III, a senior wide receiver and special teams ace for the Jumbos, the bond is particularly close because his father, Ed Casabian Jr., played football at Tufts for Harry Arlanson in the early 1960s. With 40 years between them, the Casabian's share the positive experiences of playing football for the Jumbos and how it has helped shape their lives.

"Looking back on it, I think he's really excited that I decided to come here, but he kind of kept that to himself," Ed III said. "It's nice to have the connection between us."

Football has brought the two together for as long as young Ed can remember. After graduating from Tufts in 1964, his father became a high school English teacher and a football coach. Among the several coaching positions he held was one with the semi-pro Randolph Oilers of the Eastern Football League. Little Ed was often on the sidelines working as a ball boy at the team's games. Mr. Casabian has also owned Patriots season tickets for 34 years, and Ed has been going to games with him since he was a young boy. His father also coached Ed's youth baseball, basketball and football teams.

"More than anything, I learned to love the game from him," Ed III said.

The Casabian's of Bridgewater, Massachusetts are an athletically oriented family. In addition to Ed and his father, his mother, Joan, is the longtime field hockey coach at Bridgewater-Raynham High School. Mary, his older sister, played field hockey at B-R for her mother and went on to play in college at Division I University of Iowa.

By growing up with football, Ed III developed a strong mental approach to playing the sport. Moved back and forth from safety to wide receiver while excelling on special teams during his Tufts career, he's handled any role asked of him. He was the Jumbos' Special Teams Player of the Week in the Homecoming win over Bowdoin on October 4 this season. He blocked a punt in last year's season opener at home against Hamilton.

"He's a smart kid and he uses his intelligence in relation to football very well," Mr. Casabian said. "He can break down the process and understand a sport, not just football, and use his athletic sense to help him succeed."

Ed also inherited toughness from his father, who played offensive guard despite standing 5'6" and weighing 175 pounds. Listed at 5'8", 160 pounds, Ed III also plays bigger than his size and spends a lot of time in the training room as a result.

"I like to tell him on his best day I'm tougher than he'll ever be," Mr. Casabian said with a laugh.

Their Tufts connection is mostly a coincidence. The first player from Stoneham (Mass.) High School to play in college in 20 years, Mr. Casabian had already made a deposit to attend Hamilton College in 1964. His father, his high school principal and a Tufts admissions representative convinced him that he would be happier at Tufts. He changed his mind and was a member of some successful Jumbo teams coached by the local legend Arlanson. He received the game ball on Homecoming Day when Tufts beat Williams, 8-0, in 1963.

Mr. Casabian tried to stay uninvolved when it came time for his son to choose a college. Ed III hadn't really considered Tufts, but applied because it was his dad's alma mater. Ed agonized between Tufts or Bates before making his choice. The members of the Tufts team and the university's location near Boston won him over.

Seeing his son come out of the locker room in a Tufts uniform for the first time on September 23, 2000 stands as one of Mr. Casabian's proudest moments. In return, the support of his family at games is a motivational tool for young Ed.

"I can't remember the last time he missed a game," he said. "It doesn't feel right if I don't see him in the stands before the game. It's comforting more than anything else."

The Casabian's will share another special moment on May 23, 2004. Ed III will graduate from Tufts on that date, and it is also Mr. Casabian's birthday and his 40^th reunion celebration at the university. Mr. Casabian has remained involved with the university as student recruiter and as a member of the Jumbo Club. Ed III will likely be an involved alumnus as well.

"We're both blessed to have our Tufts experiences," Mr. Casabian said.

Expressing a sentiment that surely many parents of senior players in Saturday's game feel as their son's athletic careers come to a close, Mr. Casabian said, "Sports have been a big part of our lives for a very long time. Joan and I have been watching the kids play sports for 22 years. There's only three games left. What are we going to do after that? It's not going to be easy to give up."

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