Football

If baseball is “America’s Pastime” football is “America’s Passion”

Every pre-autumn a portion of America comes alive- reawakens after an end of winter, spring and summer sports slumber.

Bands practice struttin their stuff, acrobatic pom-pom shaken cheerleaders perfect their impossible flips and skips, and the players grind it out in the hot sun.

Another football season:

I confess to my family having a strong football connection. My father played, his father before him played, my sons played and grandchildren play (albeit flag football for the grandchildren).

I had a modest career consisting of grade school, high school, up through college. Although my comparative ability seemed to diminish the higher up the academic and football chain I got, I stuck it out and finished playing as a senior in college.

My last game in college is memorable, not for any particular athletic feat performed on the field but for an odd life lesson that happened after the game.

The University of Delaware invited all the pee wee league kids playing in leagues that year to come to Delaware Stadium to watch the final game. Free tickets!

We won the game (Bucknell).

After the final seconds wore down and the game was over, as well as my career as a football player, hoards of pee wee freebie fans poured out on the field.

I can remember feeling like a big star having all these adoring young kids wanting to have some type of connection with a college player. Kids running back and forth not really knowing how to achieve it.

I noticed some of my teammates unsnapping the chin straps on their helmets and giving them to the kids. The receiving kids just lit up with smiles. A souvenir from a Delaware game from the big guys!

A pee wee ran up to me and asked me for my chin strap. Imagine that!

I ripped it off my helmet and handed it to him. The grin I received in return almost made all those preseason practices in the hot sun almost worth it.

Thanks sir!

Perfect ending for the story and a modest football career huh?

Stories and careers usually don’t end perfectly, do they now?

Standing out on the field, surrounded by fans, parents and pee wee players was the ultimate. I felt like ah, ah a celebrity! This must be like the pros feel.

Just then a pee wee came running up to me, probably one of the lesser aggressive ones who hadn’t yet scored a chin strap. Apparently he didn’t notice that I had already given mine away.

“Hope against hope.”

What could I do for this little guy?

Always the resourceful one. I reached in my mouth and removed my mouthguard and ceremoniously handed it to him.

After all, what could be more intimate than a mouth guard?

Much better than a chin strap, I reasoned.

The pee wee, horrified, briefly examined the, admittedly slimy, mouthguard.

YUCKY!

And winged it far up in the stands to no one in particular.

He then ran away.

My life returned to normal.