What will the Rio Americano Mom do to honor the fallen basketball player in Sacramento, California?
His parents rarely missed a game. Lorie and Dave Ford couldn’t bear to miss their son, Mike, muscle in his 6-foot-4 frame for rebounds, run the break, fire up three-pointers and exhort his teammates – all while wearing his Jesuit High School red and gold colors with pride. The one contest Mike’s parents couldn’t attend was two seasons ago against neighborhood rival Rio Americano, when their son was a senior. They’ll see him in his Jesuit uniform playing against Rio Americano one final time tonight, in a video tribute and jersey retirement ceremony before the tipoff of the Rio-Jesuit varsity game at Jesuit. Days removed from his freshman season at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Ford died – without warning – at 19 from an undetected heart condition. It’s a void that still impacts his parents, four siblings and scores of classmates and teammates who will attend the ceremony. In an act of sportsmanship that underscores what has been a fierce and longstanding rivalry with Rio Americano, th
Before Jesuit and Rio Americano tip off a nonleague boys basketball showdown, there will be a video tribute and jersey retirement for former Jesuit standout Mike Ford. He died in June at 19 of a heart condition, similar to that of what felled Hank Gathers and so many athletes. So sudden and never any closure. The sportsmanship comes in the form of Jodi Nathanson, a Rio Americano parent whose son Zach is the Raiders leading scorer who admired how Ford competed. Zach reminded his mom that Ford had a game to remember against Rio two seasons ago. So Nathanson compiled a highlight tape of Ford from that game – the decent thing to do, she said today – and it will be part of Friday’s ceremony.
