Wife's Illness Gives Michigan State's Smith Fresh Perspective
10/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 26, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan State coach John L. Smith sat in his office last week contemplating football. And contemplating life.
He has had plenty of occasion for deep thinking this season.
Smith's wife, Diana, was diagnosed with cancer after a large tumor was removed from her colon during emergency surgery this summer. The first diagnosis was that her case was terminal. But better news has followed, giving the Smiths hope for the future -- and giving the typically upbeat, high-energy Spartans coach a renewed perspective on life.
"Di has kept us positive," the 55-year-old Smith said of his wife's resilience and attitude in the face of illness. "And I guess I just refused to believe what we were being told. You go from terminal to a feeling that we can handle this -- so you go from a dark day to a sunny day."
Smith, preparing his Spartans (4-3, 3-1 Big Ten) for Saturday's game against No. 12 Michigan (7-1, 5-0), has mixed feelings about his archrival these days. It was a University of Michigan medical team that gave the Smiths their best news in four months.
Diana Smith's cancer first was diagnosed as a stromal tumor -- a rare but typically fatal type. That bleak diagnosis was confirmed by the Mayo Clinic.
Unwilling to accept that determination, the Smiths turned elsewhere.
A University of Michigan Medical Center team determined the tumor could be of the desmoid variety, which is far less threatening than the stromal type. About two weeks ago, a team at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute agreed with the University of Michigan diagnosis.
A desmoid tumor likely would reappear at the same spot and grow more slowly. It also would be more treatable with drugs.
A colon exam earlier this month "looked good," Smith said. The worst consequence for Diana Smith has been some anemia, but she hasn't missed a Spartans road trip this season.
"She wouldn't miss her shopping," said Smith, surrounded by the game films, scouting reports and other tools of his trade in the Duffy Daugherty Football Building last week. "She's just gone on with life. She's out every day, taking care of everything."
She even made the family's July trip to Africa, where John L. Smith climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.
 Diana Smith attended the Dec. 19, 2002, press conference when her husband John L. Smith was introduced as Michigan State's 23rd head football coach.  | |
Diana Smith, 55, protects her privacy and typically does not do media interviews. But her husband says her positive attitude has been contagious, helping him stay upbeat in the public spotlight that goes hand-in-hand with his job.
The illness has sparked some deep personal reflection for Smith, well-known for his humor and affection for his players.
The Smiths, married 34 years with three adult children, are both from Idaho Falls, Idaho. But they haven't had a well-defined home since Smith began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at Weber State in 1971.
Assistant coaching jobs followed at Montana, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming and Washington State. Smith became Idaho's head coach in 1989, and led programs at Utah State and Louisville before moving to Michigan State after the 2002 season.
Roots became a troubling issue as Diana Smith, when her case was considered terminal, began asking him the tough questions.
Where should she be buried?
Who should be her pallbearers?
What about her will?
The Smiths sent one of their sons to Idaho to look for burial plots.
"She's asked me so many questions. I don't have the answers," Smith said. "And that's hard to deal with."
Also hard to deal with are the consequences of coaching life on family life. It's not uncommon for a Division I-A head football coach to spend 18 hours or more a day on the job during the season, and the offseason has busy stretches as well, including out-of-town recruiting trips.
Smith has been successful. His 122 career wins rank 14th among active NCAA Division I-A coaches -- just ahead of Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer and just behind Kansas State's Bill Snyder. But he worries his career has taken a toll on Diana and his children.
"You can't neglect any part of your family," Smith said. "These people here (in the Michigan State football program) are part of your family, too. I probably have neglected my own personal family more so than my other family, and I feel bad about that.
"It's put a new perspective on my thinking there. I spend more time and when I get the chance, I'm gonna be with my wife, I'm gonna be with my kids."
Michigan State players say Smith is doing that without shortchanging them.
"With all he is going through, he has stayed really focused," quarterback Drew Stanton said. "He's been great."
Outside Smith's office, defensive linemen Clifford Dukes and Kevin Vickerson sort though hard candy on a secretary's desk and wait for a chance to visit with their coach. Running back DeAndra Cobb stops by to say hello.
Smith says not a day goes by without a player asking him how his wife is doing and offering his support.
"It seems like every day I get up is a good day and a positive day and a sunny day," Smith said. "And I have 120 kids here. ... If you're not positive around them, then doggone it, it's gonna make their day miserable. You better try and make their day as positive as you can."
By TIM MARTIN, The Associated Press
