Eight years and any given Sunday later, it all came down to this. This moment. This game. This triple overtime. That is when it all started to hit me. My little brother and his football team are no ordinary group of boys. They are not just boys who play football together. They are brothers and have become a family and part of my family, because of a sport and a journey that shaped their lives as well as mine.
The nostalgia came over me in waves. The late night games, the wins, the losses, the blood, sweat and tears. The countless different football fields and the hours upon hours of traveling. The Sunday morning nerves and the Sunday night celebrations. The six year old boys who once ran aimlessly up and down that field are now young men who stand on that same field with poise and purpose way beyond their years. That's only the very beginning.
From the age of six to the age of 14, whether they realize it or not, these boys changed in more ways than just becoming a better athlete. They also may not realize the important lessons they have learned and portrayed to me as well as many other people around them.
One of the most simple concepts was respect. These boys were taught at such a young age to respect their peers, their elders and most importantly themselves. Along with respect they were taught to be humble. From week to week and year to year, it was clear to see how they held their team, their coaches, and themselves to higher and higher standards as the weeks and years progressed. In a game as intense as football, it is easy to lose respect for the players and coaches around you when you play as a selfish player. It is easy to want and to take all of the glory, but these boys always managed to share it. Whether a touchdown was scored on a perfect play or a ball was dropped on a bad play, they always worked as a team and relied on one another to make every moment of every game, good or bad, count.
The loyalty that these boys possessed at such a young age was admirable to the highest extent. Loyalty like this rarely exists in this day and age. Their loyalty has made such an impact on their lives that they will bleed blue and white forever even when these games are just memories and their legacy is all that is left. Every Sunday, seeing their pride of wearing navy blue made every other color seem like it was the enemy.
Along with one-of-a-kind loyalty came trust. The trust they built was a key component to their success on and off the field. Not only did they have to trust themselves to execute the right plays and trust their coaches to call the correct plays, they had to build trust as a team; trust within each other. They had to trust the man in front of them, to the left of them and to the right of them to block for the runner and stay on their man for the duration of the play. Each person on the field held an equally important part in this seemingly simple task. That seemingly simple task was far from simple, but time after time they made it all look so easy. Luckily, this bond, this chemistry, this trust came naturally to them. This trust was such a solid foundation of their year after year success.
As the boys got older and the stakes got higher, they came back each year with a vengeance. A thirst and a need to win. Not only were they dedicated, spending hours and hours getting better, faster and stronger, but on any given Sunday you could see their eyes burning with determination through their helmets as they waited for the next play to be called. It's almost chilling to recall.
These boys have shown me such phenomenal examples of respect, humbleness, loyalty, trust, dedication and determination; but the most touching thing these boys have shown me is heart. Whether it was raining, snowing or scorching hot, these boys showed up to play. Whether they had pulled muscles, sprained joints and even a few broken bones, they showed up to play. Whether they lost every game the previous season or took home the gold, they showed up to play and always gave it their all. Week after week, year after year, they came back to a place only they can call home and a huddle of boys only they can call family.
Sadly, that triple over time never turned out in their favor, but with a team of boys like this one, it's hard to ever really lose.
Today, these boys are seventeen and about to begin their final leg of their journey together as they begin training for their senior football season. The boys have left me with one idea to contemplate. What's more amazing, the boys' journey or the legacy that they leave behind?
P.S. To my brother and the boys, thank you for letting me take this journey with you. May the memories you made last you a lifetime and some; I know they will for me.
