Matt Robinson and Dan Lester Interview
Matt Robinson was one of the players leading Saturday night’s celebration, during which he was eager to make up for lost time.
“Last year I didn’t have the chance to experience that feeling and that moment of beating Wheaton,” said Robinson, who was ruled out of the 2021 clash due to COVID-19 contact tracing. “So this year it was really important to me to soak that all in and be in the moment. I even told Terrence Hill and Dan Gilroy (his roommates) that ‘just know, tomorrow after we win, I’m gonna grab that bell.’ So to hold it and then go over to those guys who played last year and experience it with them too, that was really special.”
Robinson also had the honor of handing the Brass Bell to head coach Brad Spencer after his first win in the rivalry as head coach.
“Coming in and being able to beat Wheaton as a first year time head coach and also two years in a row is huge,” Robinson said. “Stepping up an filling that role as a head coach and doing it as well as he has is really special to see.”
Dan Lester not only had a good game vs Wheaton, with six tackles and a sack, but he’s had a great season so far ranking fourth on the team with 14 total tackles. But in search of an explanation for the success, he’s looking beyond himself.
“I would honestly say it’s credit to everybody, all eleven of us,” Lester said of his strong numbers to start this season. “Everyone does their job and some plays just fall right into my lap.”
Lester added that his coaches have helped him “slow down football” this season, and he feels he’s at the best he’s ever been as a result.
If the game wasn’t special enough, the moments that followed with a fireworks show and friends and family on the field made this truly a night the players won’t soon forget.
“Football doesn’t last forever, especially moments like that,” Robinson said. “So I just want to do my best to be present in that moment with my guys and my family.”
“It was an emotional weekend to say the least,” said Lester. “It was cool to see the hard work every single person puts in and we came together to win The Bell. The fireworks were awesome, they caught me off guard.”
Quick Hits
The guys were first asked where their favorite vacation spot was, or a place they’ve always wanted to go? Matt Robinson said Bora Bora due to the crystal clear water (he said he doesn’t like not being able to see the bottom), while Lester said his favorite getaway his a family lake house in Michigan.
Next, with the leaves changing, they were asked what they most like about fall? Robinson said he’s a huge fan of Sundays and getting to lay low and watch football after team meetings, everything about the “fall vibe” and being “inside and cozy.” Lester said he’s “a very big fan of the fall.” “Big boy fall is what I like to call it.”
Finally, in honor of Alex tearing a tendon in his pinkie finger playing kickball (yes, really), Matt and Dan were asked what their silliest ever injury was? Matt said his most embarrassing story is behind a scar he has between his eyes, which resulted from a fall down the stairs when he was four or five years old. As for Dan, he once needed four different casts over the period of letting a broken arm heal because he kept re-breaking the cast.
The original injury resulted from falling off a RipStik skateboard, with a trampoline, playing football with his brother, and shoving a pencil into the cast and it getting stuck responsible for the subsequent do-overs.
