The Season Starts August 1st

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away but near Akron, Ohio was a young man I knew very well. This young man had dreamed of the day when he could take his place among his athletic idols and play football for Ellet High School. I’m sure this story is not very unique for a child of the 70s in the Midwest but when you talk to this guy, you could see his eyes brighten when he recalled those days. Although they were days that came and went with incredible speed the memories were vivid. This guy tells me that now days he can’t remember driving to work until after he was already there, but he can somehow remember little details about events over 50 years ago.

When this young man was a little guy, he was asked by his dad if he wanted to take the five or six block walk up Stevenson Avenue on a Fall Friday night to catch his first high school football game. When they were about halfway to the stadium this experience started to take hold. They could hear the muffled announcers getting the PA ready, they could hear the marching band performing, they could hear the drone of the crowd assembling on their sides of the field. The light standards were ablaze, and they got more excited the closer they got to the Ellet Orange Bowl. When they rounded the last corner, it was majestic! The smells of fresh cut grass, the sounds of cheerleaders in cadence, the sounds of pads and helmets clicking, the smell of hot dogs and popcorn at the concession stand, and the scoreboard all lit up just waiting for the teams to come charging on to the field.

Having never experienced anything like this before the young man is awestruck with the entire experience and wonders if he would ever be fortune enough to do what he saw those guys doing. He was hooked for life and as he walked back down Stevenson Avenue with his dad after the game, he remembers his dad asking him, “Well, what do you think?” The young man looked up at his dad and said, “I want to do THAT, it was awesome!”

His dad lets him know that next year he will be old enough to play and promises to sign him up for a team. Although this young man has no idea of how the game is played, what the names of the positions other than quarterback are, or how you put on the equipment he is IN!

This is where the young man starts getting excited as he transports himself back to that time in the late 1960s and starts to laugh a little bit at himself. He recalls that when he put on his equipment for the first time, that he put the thigh pads in backwards as well as the hip pads (which by the way can be very painful!). Once he figured that out, he put them on correctly and laced up his brand new high top black spikes. He put this oversized helmet on that made him look like an astronaut heading up to the lunar module. When he shows pictures of that day it is hilarious. His knee pads are protecting his shins, and his thigh pads are down to his knees.

He also grimaces as he remembers the first time they had to do grass drills, running laps and hills, getting yelled at for being in the wrong place or not going fast enough. He didn’t see any of THIS on that Friday night a while back. The coaches are also blowing this dang whistle nonstop and saying things to us that were supposed to be naughty words. Yikes, if their mothers could hear this they are going to get grounded for life.

So, it is time for the first game, and they travel to nearby Coventry for a practice game with the Comets. They line each team up on corresponding 40-yard lines and the young man remembers picking out the guy directly across from him on the other team realizing he’s a pretty good-sized boy! He is sure that it was probably like going to a painful recital for his parents but to him he was in the orange and black uniform and part of his first team just like his heroes on the Friday night under the lights with dad.

Today’s blog will be about this young man’s football odyssey through the years and why August 1st always brings back some special memories from a half a century ago.

But First…A Joke:

Fresh out of the shower, a man stood in front of the mirror complaining to his wife that his biceps were too small. Instead of telling him it’s not true, she came up with a suggestion. “If you want your biceps to grow, then every day take a piece of toilet paper and rub it on them for a few seconds.”

Willing to try anything, he fetched a piece of toilet paper and stood in front of the mirror again, rubbing it on his biceps. “How long will this take?” he asked. “They’ll grow larger over a period of years,” his wife replied.

“Do you really think rubbing a piece of toilet paper on my biceps every day will make them larger?” “It worked for your butt, didn’t it?”

Bonus Dad Joke:

What did the father buffalo say to his son when he left for school? “Bison.”

A Verse to Contemplate:

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens - Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)

Have I Told You This One?

Over the years, football season started for this young man on August 1st. As he moved through the different levels of ball as he grew older it was always the same. During winter workouts and conditioning, the coach would let us know that The Season Starts on August 1st and we better be ready. August 1st.........the first day of "two-a-days" and the official start of football practice and the first day you could be in pads and hit. Two-a-days was a practice in the morning and a practice in the afternoon after a lunch break. Then go home and collapse in the bed for a quick nap.

For this young man, football was a place where he could learn discipline and teamwork. He learned about leadership and how to deal with losing and winning and sticking out something until the end once you start. He learned about not quitting even when things got tough. He met a lot of lifelong friends. It also was helpful being a football player if you needed a date!

One thing I found interesting as this young man went on with his story was that his heroes back in that day were guys who were only a few years older than him that made a name playing for the Orangemen. Guys like Cockerham, Pirgowicz, Yost, Parcell, Loughry, Kuhl, and a host of other guys. This young man was very content to be able to follow these guys who were something of a legend to him. Playing games in the Rubber Bowl, trying to get into the Turkey Day game on Thanksgiving, or trying to get your team and your name in the Beacon Journal. Perhaps these were not the loftiest goals but for this young man it was high cotton.

By now you have figured it out that I am the young man. I still love going to watch those games and I'm still hooked. Not so much to relive my "glory days" but it is just a lot of fun to watch a bunch of dudes try and become a team. To have their time under the lights and to have some memories that last forever. It also prepares you with a dose of reality that some guys are bigger, better, faster, and stronger. That Woody Hayes was not losing sleep over me not playing college ball at Ohio State, in fact I’m pretty confident that my name never even crossed his desk at any point. I figured out that going to college to develop some other skills might be a better idea. It is hard to have a dream die but it does prepare you for the future as that tends to happen more often than I would like.

When I got my time to play, I remember the excitement when the band cranked up and we went rolling out on to the field. I remember feeling confident that I belonged out there. As the verse above says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” I’m pretty sure high school football fits as an activity under the heavens. I’m so glad my dad took me to that first game. I’m forever thankful for all the coaches, parents, teachers, and fellow teammates that made the experience one that I will never forget.

We won one game in my senior year, against Kenmore. All those years of pee wees and jr. high football and we won ONE game. But you know what? I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'm 64 now and August 1st still is special to me. Have fun guys, The Season Starts Today!

A Prayer:

Heavenly Father, show me Your ways so that I may walk with You. Give me Your wisdom so that I may know You better and be a person that strives to glorify You in all that I do.

Book Recommendation:

OXEN, The Key to an Abundant Harvest by Joseph Sangl (2012)

Music Recommendation:

Pathways by California Guitar Trio (1998)