Football is Life
Until it isn’t anymore
Growing up it was naturally assumed I would play football in high school, and I was happy with that. I never thought about not playing. I started in flag football in 5th grade. For two years I learned how the game was played. My team even won the league championship game. I still vividly remember the celebration with jerseys flying in the air and players and parents alike jumping up and down with hands raised high. It was everything a young boy imagined football would be.
The following Fall, I made the transition to tackle! I can honestly say I loved tackling. I didn’t really love being tackled, but I loved tackling! I tried every position on defense. The times I felt my greatest rush were when I made a beeline toward the receiver and crushed him to the ground. I experimented with playing on the line on offense. and became the Center, the one who sets everything in motion! It! Was! Fun!
I also suffered from terrible knee and hip pain from childhood through adolescence. At times it was so excruciating that I could hardly move. Then, at the time I needed my knees to hold up the most, they failed me. Imagine a 12-year-old boy waking up one morning after football practice being in such pain that he could not move his legs. I ended up on bedrest for a solid week before I could support weight and go back to school on crutches.
The day I went to the doctor for the pain was the day that changed the trajectory of my life forever. I’ll never forget hearing, “You can continue to play football and not be able to walk when you’re older, or you can stop playing now and live a normal life.” How does a young kid make that kind of decision!? I wanted to be one of the guys on the field. I wanted to be part of the team. I wanted to become a man the way my brother would, the way my dad wanted. All that was taken away. I remember sitting in the car with my mom with tears streaming down my face. All that I thought would happen in life was taken away.
All I could do was pray for God to help me. The good news is, He did. To be sure, I regret the decision to leave football to this day. I often think about what could have been. But, I don’t regret being able to walk!
Without football as an option, I was able to explore all sorts of other interests. I found new joy in life through speech, art, travel, weightlifting, racquetball and pain-free hiking! Even better than that, I became a man who understands compassion for others and values true relationships over the accolades of a crowd. I learned how to take up my cross daily and follow Jesus.
