CHARLOTTE, Mich. — The man behind Tony Rodriguez has been every Friday night for more than five decades. I got a chance to talk to Rodriguez this week about his time with the team.
"God has been good to me so far,"
Tony's journey with Charlotte football started as a player. He was a quarterback for the team all the way back in the 1950's. After graduating from the air force. He returned home and returned to the team.
"I'm really proud of these kids, and they respect me with a lot of love you know,"
"I was one of the co founders of the Charlotte pony league football program and i coached that for 40 years,"
Fast forward to 2023, and Tony still on the sidelines.
Current head coach Mike Sparks remembers the first conversation he had with tony that still makes him laugh till this day.
"one of the first things that we talked about, he would say, if you would have me, and we honestly wouldn't know to do too without him,"
Charlotte football team off to a great start this year and the players say he is a big part of success.
"Making my day, talking to me all the time, always trying make me feel better everyday telling me I'm his favorite player,"
Tony is not thinking about retiring anytime soon and feels blessed to not have any setbacks
"I take care of myself, and knock on wood but I haven't been ill,"
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