Living out a dream

• By CARL DUBOIS
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Dec 16, 2007 - Page: 1C

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What Al Jones Sr. and his sons envisioned months and even years ago has come to pass: The young men are teammates at LSU, preparing to play for a football national championship.

“Is that awesome, or what?” Jones said, recalling the many conversations that pointed longingly toward some vague moment in time.

Now he and his sons know the specifics. Sophomore defensive end Rahim Alem and freshman defensive back Chad Jones will play Jan. 7 for No. 2-ranked LSU against No. 1-ranked Ohio State for the BCS national title.

That the game will be played in New Orleans, where they were born, adds a layer to the story and brings it full circle.

Four months ago, Chad Jones walked away from the chance to play baseball for the Houston Astros after they failed to offer him a signing bonus anywhere near his asking price.

On the August evening when Al Jones Sr. made it clear his son would play both sports at LSU, father took the family out for Sunday dinner and talked about the possibility of his sons playing for a national championship.

“That doesn’t come around often,” he said inside the restaurant.

Chad Jones and Alem (named Al Jones Jr. at birth) are one victory away from wrapping up their dream season. Jones is a Sporting News Freshman All-America selection.

The Astros failed to make the playoffs, finishing fourth in the National League Central Division. Owner Drayton McLane fired General Manager Tim Purpura and revamped Houston’s scouting department.

Al Jones Sr., now assistant principal at Cohen High School in New Orleans after relocating that city’s Desire Street Academy to Baton Rouge following Hurricane Katrina, said he hasn’t spent much time thinking about the Astros and what might have been.

“The Astros are so far behind us now,” he said. “All I can tell you is Chad wanted to always be with his brother, and it all worked out for the best. I think deep down in Chad’s heart, he wanted to play with his older brother.

“They were so used to it. They’ve been playing together since Chad was 5 and Al — I still call him Al — was 7, and they weren’t willing to separate that. They weren’t ready to give that up.”

He said both sons went to LSU to play in the SEC and to play for a national championship, fulfilling what seemed like their destiny when the family talked about the future while they were young boys.