Ain't That Some Shit!

Back in the day, football meant everything to me. It was the shit! I attended Junior High and High School during the 70’s, playing football as much as I could and dreamed about being an American League football star. Before band practice, there was football. Before girls, there was football. Before being called in for dinner, there was, football. I dreamed of playing along side Darryl Lamonica and George Blanda of the Oakland Raiders. Beating the shit out of Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris. Delusions of grandeur swirled in my head. When my friends from the neighborhood and I took to the streets, we were the embodiments of our favorite professional football stars. On most days we played touch football in the street, and if some kid was bold enough to allow us to play on their front lawn, we played tackle and usually, tore the lawn to shit. But more often than not, the street was our stadium. Sure, we got the shit knocked out of us on occasion from running into stationary cars, being hit by moving cars or fighting over some stupid shit, but by and large, we had a great time playing for hours after school until dust and on the weekends. However, like I said, even though I loved football, I was not a warrior. So, for me, being a part of the high school football team helped me stay safe in what I viewed as a hostile learning environment. Being a part of a team also helped me grow up.
I remember that I got hit relatively hard the first day we ran through some drills. I laid down on the field and cried. A team mate saw me and said “Hey. Coach, he’s hurt.” He said exactly what I wanted him to say. I could see the coach looking back at me as I laid their crying on the grass. Seconds later. ...“He’ll be OK.” the Coach said and then walked away to begin some more drills. The Coach made this assessment of my situation from ten yards away! He didn’t come over to me and ask what was wrong. Didn't tell me everything was going to be alright. Nothing. I was still crying but remember thinking to myself. “Shit! What’s his problem?”...