Football -Who Would Have Thought?

      In the fall of my freshman year, I joined the football team. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would play football. I never watched it. I never played it. The few times I saw it on TV I found it to be incomprehensible and boring. In my earlier years, the father son throwing the ball back and forth proved to be disappointing to both of us.

      But now my body was craving for more physical activity, and I wanted to be in with the cheerleaders. My father always expressed his desire for his sons to become football stars. Despite my father’s aspirations for his sons, the main reason I joined was for me. Although I did hope one of the side benefits would be that my dad would be proud and come to watch me play.

      Upper Merion had a top-notch football program. Physically the average team member was smaller than the members on the other teams in our league. Despite this, our team had been undefeated for several years.

       I did well considering my many shortcomings. The biggest downside from joining the team was that Mr. Dano was an assistant coach and he dogged me unmercifully. I know he never forgave me for dethroning his golden boy. Regardless of Mr. Dano being the assistant coach or not, I realized after a few weeks that I really did not like football at all. In fact I hated it.

      However, I vowed to perform to the best of my ability, and besides, I had been taught to see what ever I started through, or at least give it a healthy effort.

I have not always done this when I should have, but I usually give it my best. Secondly, I was short and small compared to the majority of my teammates, and I had absolutely almost no knowledge of football.

      It took me till half way through the season to figure out what the hell a scrimmage line was. I was too embarrassed to ask questions because I knew it would show my ignorance and the ribbing I would be given by my teammates was unacceptable to me.

      I could never understand what the football plays were. A split T or wishbone was beyond my comprehension, for me it would have been easier to understand the theory of relativity. We were told to go through this hole or that hole. I had no idea what they meant. I took things too literal, -- I was always looking for holes and failing the task. It would have been easier for me if they said, “Look for an opening on the opposing line.

      Nevertheless I did very well. For my size, I was very strong, very fast and very motivated. I vowed that I would not be the last guy picked for the team. This attitude and my growing physical attributes served me well. I made first-string varsity for both offensive tackle and defensive guard.

      Since I did not know anything about football, I followed one simple strategy. When I was playing offense, I did everything in my power to get through their defense to tackle the person carrying the ball. When I was playing defense, I did everything in my power to keep the opposite line from getting through. I never read the paper, but I was told that I was mentioned favorably more than a few occasions. I cannot confirm that, I have to take the word of other people. My father never came to any of the games to watch me play; despite my Uncle Sly trying to encourage my father to do so; which is kind of funny since he was always so hot on my brother and me becoming football stars.