My boys play football. Love football. Live for football.
I love the crisp fall afternoons. Watching them warm up. The red and white of their uniforms against the green of the grass and the blue of the sky. The camaraderie of kids who have played together for five years or more.
I love watching my younger son, the quarterback as he stands next to the coach, then trots into the game. To direct the offense. Not quite a man, but almost.
I love watching my older son, star running back, as he bursts through the defense, and flies down the field. His sweet spirit, so painfully confined in a classroom, is so free on the football field.
I don't love the heart stopping minutes when one of my guys is knocked down and lays too still for too long. Those times when the trainer is summoned onto the field. And I imagine ambulance rides and wheelchairs and traumatic brain injuries. I wish my boys were golfers or swimmers or tiddlywinks players.
But my boys love football. Live for football. So that is what we do.
This afternoon is the first game of the season. Good luck guys!
And in honor of my sweet babies, a couple of football poems…
October Saturday: 1949
H.R. Coursen
When I was seventeen,
the quarterback gave me the ball, and
the hole opened
up, right where it said it would be
on the blackboard.
And I kept on going…
********
Going Back-
H.R. Coursen
Strange. I would not have predicted it,
but as I return for my reunion—
50th—in New Jersey—the one
thing I think about is football…
Read the rest of these poems here.
Susan Writes is hosting Poetry Friday today.
3 comments:
My oldest son is playing football this year. I love to see the excitement in his face when he talks about plays he practiced or the happiness in his voice when he talks about his upcoming game. When he practiced putting on his helmet 5 times after receiving it, I knew he was on his way to" living for football." Good luck to your boys and enjoy.
First game update! We crushed the suburban high school that was picked to beat us by two touchdowns, 48-7! Go Angels!
When I adopted my boys, one of the first questions Son #1 asked, "Do you think I could play on a football team?" When they got uniforms- he actually slept in the helmet and pads for several nights. And now, as a junior, he is a captain and one of the running backs recognized by ESPN Rise magazine in our state. My younger son is the varsity starting quarterback. Football has given them so, so, so much-- friendships, work ethic, confidence, mentors. The hitting and injury part terrifies me, but the benefits far outweigh the risks, I think.
Congrats to your guys and their team on the win!!! LOVE IT when the underdogs CRUSH the opponent!!
2 great poems, too!
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