Hitting home
Dr. Hull, Burrow, and covid-19
Last year, when LSU quarterback Joe Burrow waved goodbye to Texas fans after beating the Longhorns 45-38, I found the move a little petty. I was not a big Burrow fan after that game.
A few days later, I had an appointment with my family physician, Dr. Robert Hull. We would always talk about football during a visit. He usually wanted to talk about LSU or the Chiefs. During that exam last fall, Dr. Hull brought up how exceptionally Burrow had played against Texas.
He asked, “Did you see that kid, Burrow?”
“Yes,” I answered sheepishly. “That kid’s going to be great.” He could tell that I felt differently. I brought up how the wave to Texas fans didn’t sit well with me.
Dr. Hull chuckled, “When you have that kind of performance, you can be confident after a win like that.”
He saw it as confidence; not something harsher, like cockiness.
As I was leaving his office, Dr. Hull clutched my arm, and said, “Watch that Burrow. He’s something special.” Then, he handed me a lollipop, which he had always done since I started visiting him as a kid.
I looked up Burrow’s stats against Texas after I left Dr. Hull’s office. He threw for 471 yards on 31 of 39 passes, with four touchdowns and an interception. The senior also added nine carries for eight yards. Not too shabby, I thought.
I watched Burrow and the Tigers’ memorable championship season with an appreciation because of Dr. Hull. I would remember Dr. Hull’s line about Burrow’s confidence when I watched the Heisman Trophy winner defeat Georgia 37-10 to win the SEC Championship.
When I went back to Dr. Hull’s office in February, he entered his exam room with a sly grin, and said, “We’ll never see the likes of something like that again. Burrow and Big Ed won it.” It was about a month after LSU had won the national championship.
He told me that he hoped Burrow went to a good professional team. He was excited about watching him in the NFL. I never got the chance to speak to Dr. Hull after Burrow was picked first in the NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
On May 29, Dr. Hull was admitted to the hospital after testing positive for covid-19. He celebrated his 56th wedding anniversary with his wife Kathryn while on a ventilator. Dr. Hull died on June 7.
If NFL games are played this fall, I’ll watch Burrow start for Cincinnati with a heavy heart. It’ll be intriguing to see if Burrow can be half as good as he was at LSU. Like with most rookies, his adjustment to the pros will be fascinating to watch. I think Dr. Hull was right: Burrow will be successful in the NFL, but even Hall of Fame quarterbacks can struggle in their first year. There’ll be pressure from Bengals fans on Burrow to produce wins early
Dr. Robert Hull wasn’t just my doctor, he was a friend. Nine years ago, when my father died due to a heart attack, he always asked me how my mother and family were doing. I liked his upbeat approach to medicine. It’s rare. He would always greet me in an exam room with a firm handshake, and say, “There’s a good man.” I’ll miss his humorous stories and his friendly, intelligent demeanor. He was my family doctor for 35 years.
Dr. Hull was close to retiring. I’ll always wonder, if he had decided to retire last year, would he still be here?
I think he loved being a familypractice physician. It wasn’t just a job to him. I’ll miss our talks about football and life.