High School Football

How can you have a football game before school has even started? I don't know.

This isn't my hometown team, but a couple kids from our church are on this team, so my hiking buddy Doug and I went to see them.

Unfortunately, neither kid left the bench...at least for the half that we were there. And...the team was behind by 3 touchdowns...19-0 at half-time.

I know just how they feel. I played for 2 years, and only started one game. As a wide receiver, I was real good at catching the ball...but I wasn't crazy about learning the playbook, or throwing a block. Go figure.

So...my best football memory goes like this. Try to imagine the scene. It was 35F degrees, along with freezing rain. Cold, very cold. All the players on the bench were covered in full-length rain parkas. But...my hands were freezing. I snuck over to the trainer's station, and stole 2 towels...stuffing them into the large pockets. Far from toasty, but much warmer.

All was good until the 4th quarter when somebody got hurt. The trainer yelled..."WHERE'S MY TOWELS? WHO TOOK MY TOWELS?"

I couldn't admit to the heist. I used my selective hearing, and acted like I didn't hear...turning my back to the trainer's table. My hands stayed warm.

I just saw the final score on the late night news. They lost 39 to nothing. Not a good start to the season.