Lobel has words of wisdom for Saugus, Peabody players

SAUGUS – Thanksgiving is just around the corner. But before we get there, the town fathers (and, in some cases, mothers) go all out to recognize the combatants in next week’s Turkey Day rivalries.Saugus hosts the first of these, the dinner for coaches and seniors for the Sachems and whoever they play on Thanksgiving, and it was held Wednesday night at Kowloon Restaurant.For most of the last 50-plus years, the opponent has been Peabody and will be this year too. The Tanners and Sachems are due to meet next Thursday (10) at Coley Lee Field in Peabody and in anticipation, the Lions Club of Saugus and the Peabody YMCA joined to sponsor the dinner, and former WBZ-TV sports anchor Bob Lobel was the principal speaker.Lobel spoke even though he is still recovering from a debilitating back injury – exacerbated by a fall he took at his home – that has left him wheelchair-bound (though not permanently).”Bad stuff happens,” Lobel shrugged.Lobel told the coaches, players and guests that his No. 1 ambition in life, prior to his landing in sports broadcasting, was to be a football coach.”I just wanted to be like my high school coach,” he said. “He was my inspiration.”Lobel said he marched in the band during his first year of high school, playing trombone.”And I liked playing trombone,” he said. “I just didn’t want to be playing it on the football field.”So he ultimately tried out for, and made, his football team in Ohio – where he grew up – and thus began a love-hate relationship with the sport.”You really have to love football if you want to play it,” he said. “I didn’t love it as much. I thought it was a pain in the butt.”His move to broadcasting, as opposed to coaching, happened “by accident,” he said. “A lot of life happens by accident. We got Tom Brady by accident.”He didn’t offer much in the way of advice to the players there, except to say “don’t be a punk. I’ve known lots of punks in this business. This new guy the Patriots just got (Aqib Talib) is a punk. I think (Celtics guard) Rajon Rondo is a punk. Paul Pierce was a punk, but he grew out of it. Josh Beckett is a punk. So is Alex Rodriguez. These guys just don’t get it.”Lobel said his most memorable moment as a broadcaster was watching the Patriots win their first Super Bowl, and also counted his famous sit-downs with Bobby Orr, Larry Bird and Ted Williams as being significant as well.Both coaches also spoke ? and both spoke of overcoming adversity.Matt O’Brien, who took over on an interim basis in Peabody after Scott Wlasuk stepped down as head coach, spoke of the difficulties the players have encountered this season (the Tanners are 0-9 coming into the game).”I know it’s been difficult,” he said, speaking directly to his players, “but please know that the coaches have all the respect in the world for you for sticking this out.”O’Brien also told the players that the 2012 season should not define them as people.”It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person,” he said. “It doesn’t mean you won’t be a good husband, or a good father. You will grow from this.”Saugus’ Mike Broderick, whose team is 5-5 coming into Thanksgiving, spoke of adversity as well.”Our seniors all came in as freshmen and sophomores, they all played right away, and they all took their lumps,” he said. “But they worked hard every season to get bigger, stronger, and faster, and here we are today ? it hasn’t been perfect. We’ve had some heartbreaking losses. But (we) stand at a .500 season heading into Thanksgiving.”Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].