FOOTBALL

This has been such an emotional week.  We finally settled with the life insurance company and we able to tie up everything with the funeral home and arrange for his name and such to be put on his tomb.  The thing is we had the choice of emblems and such if we wanted one to add to his name.  I chose only a picture of him. I thought about it and thought about it....two things a scripture verse which they didn't have and a football.  Football.  He loved the sport with all of his heart.  We found out during the course of all his tests that he had played with a broken arm and other injuries.  He even hoped to be able to return to the game once they fixed his back against our wishes.  We thought he was nuts of course after all he had gone through due to a football injury to want to go back to the game but that's how much he loved it.  

So why did I choose no football?  Because to ME football is a fraud.  All the years he played we were all about how a football team is a "family" and they boys, they believed it.  In their hearts they are a family.  But that's as far as it goes.  Beyond that high school team that was so small they had to play all teams and were so exhausted but never gave up it was and is a fraud.  He (WE) believed it about all football.  How foolish we were.  We didn't hear one word of condolence from ANY of the coaching staff from his high school team or any of his team from the Little Giants of Wabash College at all.  Once he was injured he was out of the "family".  I sat with him constantly all the time he spent in the hospital and nobody came to visit or called. And when he passed I've yet to hear one single word from any of them even when some of them have walked right past me and looked me straight in the eyes.

Then tonight I watch how inspiring Tim TeBow is.  How he took a young man who got injured playing and had to have part of his leg amputated under his wing.  Publicity is all it is.  I wrote to so many players, including Tim Tebow,  hoping one would just give Andy a call or write him to help get his spirits up, help keep him in that fighting frame of mind.  Not one responded.  NOT ONE SINGLE FOOTBALL ADULT TRULY HAS THE FOOTBALL FAMILY MENTALITY THAT ULTIMATELY MY SON GAVE HIS LIFE FOR.  I was told that even when approached with a petition to retire his number by a student I don't recall our sports director refused, flaming fires of a horrible rumor that has been spread.  When my husband questioned him he said he couldn't because they didn't have enough numbers.  Hello...we have a small team and I know of players who's numbers were not being used.  Please do not insult my intelligence. (And yes they were in the correct number range) So aside from going for a quarter of a few home games to support THE BOYS I have not been able to watch any more football than that since he passed and I don't think I will ever again.  I didn't want Andy playing football initially.  My Dad talked me into it and admittedly my perspective changed.  I saw it as a sport that taught the ultimate importance of teamwork, bonding, individual responsibility, dedication  and the important of working your tail off if you really want it bad enough.  Now I see that it is all about greed and coaches ego's and schools reputations.  If  I'm wrong then where was all his football "family'?

No everything I *thought* football was I'm actually seeing in band yet you don't see crowds coming to the band competitions cheering them on...go figure...what a messed up world.