December 26, 2020 : By Ted Allen - Office of Communications & Public Engagement
A few hours before kickoff of Saturday’s Cure Bowl showdown between Liberty University and Coastal Carolina at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla., Liberty alumni across the United States and Canada, including some former Flames Football players, connected in a virtual pre-game video call.
The Zoom session allowed former Head Coach John Cartwright and Flames Football Director of Spiritual Development Ed Gomes to pray for the players and coaches as they approached the biggest contest in the 47-year history of the program and for former players to reminisce about their own experiences.
The call was moderated by Brad Butler, a lineman for the Flames from 1979-81 and one of hundreds of Flames Football alumni who can testify to the program’s rapid rise over the years from a small Baptist college to one of the largest evangelical universities in the world.
“We all agree that we bought into Jerry (Falwell) Sr.’s vision for Liberty and the football program,” he said. “Hardly any of us actually thought it would happen in our lifetimes. Most of us thought it would be something that our grandchildren would see.”
Ed Vickers, a 2016 Athletics Hall of Fame inductee who played forward on Liberty’s men’s basketball team from 1978-80, tuned in from his home in Oregon.
“It’s good to be a part of this because I feel very close to the football program,” he said. “We were definitely a family, and we looked out for each other. We cheered each other on, and with Dr. Falwell’s vision and his heart, I believe and trust that we can continue to pray and love on and keep encouraging each other.”
Butler said the Zoom meeting was an example of the unique combination of faith and fellowship Liberty alumni share.
“Jesus said, ‘This is how you know that you are my disciples, by the way you love one another,” Butler said. “It’s a God thing in the way He allowed Jerry Falwell Sr. to be used by the Lord to start this.”
Prior to kickoff, more than 100 Liberty fans gathered at Harry Buffalo restaurant in downtown Orlando, for a pre-game party hosted by the Flames Club that gave an opportunity for alumni, including a few former players, to connect in person and to get fired up for the showdown between the former Big South Conference rivals clashing for the first time since 2016.
Liberty director of Alumni Relations Giuseppe Cucci (’12, ’17) said he is excited to see Flames alumni from all generations and walks of life rally together around such a monumental event to culminate 2020 and ring in the New Year.
“It’s a great way to connect, to see the history of the university on a national scale,” Cucci said. “To be on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. the day after Christmas … God has blessed us and it is a wonderful opportunity to see how the Lord is going to continue to use the university on a national scale to impact those for Christ. We are fulfilling that vision, but we also have a lot of opportunity to continue that in the future. It doesn’t end here. This is the beginning.”
Gomes expressed appreciation to those former players on the Zoom call for laying the foundation for the Flames Football team’s rise to national prominence.
“Thank you for the sacrifice and the commitment that you made when you were a part of this program at Liberty University, to all of you who paved the way to where we are at today,” he said.
Butler, who now serves as a development and alumni affairs officer at Liberty, also interviewed interim Liberty President Jerry Prevo on the Liberty Flames Sports Network (LFSN) radio pregame show.
“Few people knew big Jerry (Falwell) better than President Prevo and when I asked him what he thought Jerry would be like if he were alive to experience this moment, he said Jerry would say, ‘Told you so.’”
>> Read complete Flames Football and Cure Bowl coverage on the Liberty Athletics website. Watch Saturday night’s showdown on ESPN or listen to the LFSN radio broadcast on The Journey 88.3-FM.
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