The excitement never faded. Even after seeing her dad on the field several times, daughter Lily, a freshman at the University of Tennessee, said, “I’m so excited, I don’t know what to do with myself.”

Flynt was quite a player back in the day, helping Odessa Permian (of “Friday Night Lights” fame) win its first state title in 1965. He wound up at Sul Ross in 1969 and in ’70 he led the team in tackles.

Getting one of those is the next step on his comeback trail.

“I want to see him play linebacker,” said Stan Williamson, the former teammate who suggested Flynt’s return. “I want to see him hit somebody. I know he does, too.”

The stands at Jackson Field were more packed than usual, with many there to see Flynt.

An old classmate who now teaches business at Sul Ross wore a shirt that read, “Playing fine at 59.” A former cheerleader held up a sign with the SR logo and “He’s back. No fear.” The defensive coordinator’s wife wore an actual Sul Ross jersey with Flynt’s No. 49.

There were former teammates like Dana Beck and Doug Connor, who hadn’t been to a game since their last game — and Flynt’s — in 1970.

“I came to see if Mike can still play,” said Beck, who played linebacker alongside Flynt.

“I bet he can,” said Connor, a former center.

A group of 10 in their mid-50s who grew up in Midland but now live as far away as Mountain Home, Ark., came to their first Sul Ross game. They printed up shirts in the team’s red bearing the phrase, “Put Me In Coach! I’ve Got Eligibility!”

“We don’t know Mike Flynt from Adam,” said Brenda Parker of Baton Rouge, La. “We just like his story.”

Sharon and Walter Holcombe also have no connection to Flynt or Sul Ross, but drove two hours from Pecos for Flynt’s first home game. Disappointed he didn’t play, they were excited to bump into him and his wife at a restaurant afterward. They ended up eating together, and getting Flynt to call their pal Norman Hill. The Holcombes, Hill and his wife all sat in a front row Saturday.

“The guy is an inspiration,” said Hill, 72.

Parker and Flynt chatted briefly before kickoff. They share a mutual friend, so Parker has been following along.

“I could get out there for maybe one play,” Parker said. “But I wouldn’t.”

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