Anthony Thompson tries to rally Panthers

By Rex Kirts

Anthony Thompson, a college Hall of Famer for his career at Indiana, tried to rally the Panthers in a recent talk to the team.
Thompson, who works at IU and is the paster of Lighthouse Church, is familiar with the Panther football team from his playing days at Terre Haute North. The teams met in a driving rain in the tournament, and the Panthers rallied from a 21-0 halftime deficit to win. They didn't quite hold Thompson down that night, however, as he rushed for over 190 yards.
"You at Bloomington South have a rich tradition," Thompson told the Panthers.
Thompson had many big games for Indiana and finished his career as the then all-time leading NCAA career touchdown scorer. But he still has fond memories of his high school career.
"My most memorable games were in high school - the Friday night lights," Thompson said. "There's nothing like it.
"I CHALLENGE THE SENIORS on this team to have no regrets. Are you seniors making the underclassmen better?"
He said he never wanted to be out-worked and challenged the Panthers to work hard. "If you seniors do that you will bring everybody to the top. Everybody in this room believes that you can turn this thing around. You need to get better every day. Hard work always pays off."
And, he added, "The more success I had the harder I worked. When I read about Walter Payton's (his idol) work ethic that's when it started to turn around for me."
Thompson was famous for the work he did outside of team requirements.
"When you demand more of yourself than what the coaches do, that's when you get better," he said. "You guys have to dig deeper."