When my younger sister told me that my nephew was asking to play football, I had very strong mixed feelings about it. His dad played football (his grandfather did too, he actually went all the way to the CFL!). It was a pretty common thing for the high schools back in my day, so much so that both of mine had strong football programs at varying times in their histories.
But football is a risky sport, and I was worried first and foremost about head injuries.
A lot has changed in the 21 years since I was in high school. Football programs don’t exist in most of them. But community programs do. And now that we know more about head injuries and the impact they have on our youth and their futures, we run these programs smarter, too.
So, my nephew was signed up. His team was undefeated pretty much any time I asked how his games went. Talk about a confidence booster for this kid who was brand new to football! He was happy, he was thriving. That’s something that this auntie can get behind.
He loved playing with his original spring house league team, but they wrapped up for the season in June (y’know, when spring ends). It’s local to where they live (and outside the city), so we weren’t able to make it to any of his games this year.
But he joined another league to play over the summer and into the fall, and it just so happened to be the league that covers the city! While his home team’s community and field aren’t local to us, any of the away games in the city are pretty accessible.
So, we went to my nephew’s football game yesterday. It rained around the start of the second quarter, and while I had brought blankets to keep me warm (and drier than if I had not), I wondered if it would continue until the end of the game.
It didn’t.
The kids didn’t let a bit of rain stop them, though!
There was a moment toward the end of the third quarter when my younger nephew asked me if there was a chance that the other team could win the game. We were up by a good amount of points, so my sister chimed in about how it was unlikely. And then the other team scored some points. And then they scored some more.
That led to a conversation about why we don’t say such things at such moments in a game. I will admit, I had actually wondered in that moment, too, what the likelihood was. I figured it wasn’t very likely, but I also didn’t know the strength of that team.
By the second half of the fourth quarter, it was clear the other team wasn’t going to close the gap. Our kids held their lead and finished strong, winning 40–16.
But the score wasn’t even the highlight for me. It was the look on my nephew’s face when he realized I was standing there with his parents and brother – and with his uncle too, after the game. Disbelief in his voice, pure surprise in his eyes: what are we doing there?
Totally worth the drive, the rain, and the blankets.