Football has been in my life for as long as I can remember. As soon as I was born, I am sure there was a football in my crib. My dad played college football at the University of Connecticut and he wanted me to follow in his footsteps. As soon as I put the pads on in the fourth grade, I wanted the same thing my dad had for myself: to be a college football player. I gave it my all on the field and I wanted to be the best no matter what. I always wanted to win. Football became my life and I am forever grateful I got the opportunity to play the game I love.

I fell in love with football for many reasons, and I still remember the day it all happened. I was a young boy playing a game of touch football with my best friends. I was playing quarterback and leading my team to a victory, completing every pass I threw. I felt unstoppable and on top of the world. These games were super competitive for one reason: all my friends wanted to be the best, and on that day, I was. Besides my family, football was my first true love, and it has given me so much since my elementary days in the schoolyard.

Life lessons can be learned in many arenas. Sports is definitely one area that teaches tons of things. The main thing football has given me is these life lessons that I now use everyday, and I am a better person because of it. The first thing football taught me may be a little surprising to a lot of people. It showed me love. Everything in the world stems from love. To play football, one must love the game, because if they do not, they will never be all in and succeed. This is true in more than just football. In life, if someone does not love what they do, they will not have the passion to be great.

Now, life is the toughest thing in the world. Everyday a new wrinkle is thrown at someone along with twists and turns that make it overbearing at some points. Toughness is necessary for these situations, and that is definitely is a necessary skill that football taught me. Football players are supposed to be the modern day gladiators of sport by running full speed into another person with no fear. If that is not tough, I do not know what is. In life, a person cannot have fear of being hit full speed. As Lewis Grizzard said, “The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your problems, block your fears and score your points when you get the opportunity.”

The last thing football taught me goes along with being tough — this was perseverance. Since life is so tough, everyone needs perseverance to fight through the tough times. In football, this is learned in many ways, especially when the game is on the line. At the end of the contest, when everyone is tired and a team has to drive down the field and score a game-winning touchdown when nothing has been going their way, is the definition of toughness. That is one of the hardest things to do in the whole sport, and the only way to be successful is to persevere. This mindset translates over into anything a football player does besides the game they play. When being mobbed with homework, players can just think back to that game-winning drive and say, I can do this! Or when challenges occur in someone's life, football players can acquaint it with football and never give up, because that is what persevering is.

Without football, I do not know where I would be. It has taught me so much, and I will always be forever grateful for what it has given me. That young boy accomplished his dream of playing college football, and all the hard work I put in since I was that young boy paid off. I am the person I am today because of football, and it all started in the schoolyard 12 years ago.

Thank you for everything, football.