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Catching Up with ... Bobby McAllister
Rose Bowl QB Makes Lansing Home
Sure, there was the Rose Bowl jump pass, and Bobby McAllister call talk you through it step-by-step even now, as Michigan States 1987 team celebrates the 10th anniversary of its trip to Pasadena. But McAllisters fondest memory of that season was the celebration in East Lansing when the Spartans clinched the Big Ten title and the trip to the Rose Bowl.The biggest game that sticks out to me is beating Indiana in Spartan Stadium to end the regular season, McAllister says. When we won, all the fans rushed the field and made me feel like everyone was a part of the victory. That was the biggest thrill, the feeling that the whole university and the whole community was a part of the win. That community feeling has drawn McAllister back to the Lansing area. The Pompano Beach, Fla., native -- who had never heard of Michigan State before he was recruited by current MSU assistant head coach Charlie Baggett -- has settled in Lansing and is working as a financial consultant for The Equitable in Okemos.
After graduation, McAllister played for Toronto in the Canadian Football League and Raleigh-Durham and San Antonio in the World League of American Football, so he had exposure to cities throughout North America and Europe. But when the time came to settle down after football was over, all signs pointed back to mid-Michigan.
I started looking at different cities and realized that this is where I built most of my relationships, McAllister says. Lansing was a community where I really wanted to settle down and raise a family. The Equitable seems an ideal place for McAllister to work as well, where he provides insurance and financial planning for his clients. I knew I wanted to get into a profession where I could help people, he says. In that sense, it is a very fulfilling job. Among those he helps are former Spartan football players currently in the pro ranks. Players like Harlon Barnett and Derrick Mason, both of whom are among McAllisters clients, can get advice about handling their newfound wealth from someone who has shared experiences similar to theirs. Spartan football helped give McAllister those experiences, as well as many friendships he cherishes to this day. He will have a chance to reunite with old friends -- including some he hasnt seen in 10 years -- when the 10th anniversary of the Rose Bowl championship team is celebrated the weekend of the Michigan game, Oct. 25.
The jump pass will surely come up over and over during the weekend as well, and McAllister will once again tell the story. He saw the sideline approaching and had no turf to turn to. What he saw he had was air, and he jumped, bought time, and fired a pass to Andre Rison to keep the drive for the game-winning field goal alive.
I knew I couldnt run out of bounds, McAllister says. I couldnt give up. But I didnt think at the time it would be considered such a big play. I was just doing what I was supposed to do, making something happen. That story will be retold, for certain. But when McAllister, a season ticket holder, moves from the stands to the field with the rest of the 1987 team to be honored at halftime, he will probably be reminded most of the Indiana game, when the community -- now his community -- joined in the celebration of MSUs most recent trip to the Rose Bowl. -- Nate Ewell