The Next Generation

So the boy got a bit of a treat, courtesy the brother yesterday. Someday, if he remembers, he may even come to appreciate the opportunity for just how unique it was. He got to go out on the 50-yard line of the game during halftime while the brother was honored with his jersey being retired.

We started up in the stands and the boy was plenty curious about the game. He wanted to know which team he was supposed to root for; what endzone they were trying to score in; how long the game was and on and on. He maintained interest until one of his cousins started playing Angry Birds on a cell-phone. Hard to compete with that I suppose.

But with about 10 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter, I told him that there was going to be a surprise. He immediately wanted to know what it was, but I just smiled and said it wouldn’t be a surprise if I told him. He tried a couple of guesses, but I wouldn’t acknowledge his guesses and he gave up trying.

The media guy came up to get us with about 5 minutes remaining in the half. In this case, “us” consisted of myself, the sister, the Mom and Dad, the brother’s fiancee, the boy, a former teammate and a current football buddy. As we walked down to the stairs that would let us on the field, the boy turned and asked with a smile “Is this the surprise?” I nodded in reply.

So we stood on the home sidelines waiting for the half to end. There were pictures taken and handshakes and high-fives and all. The team mascot strutted by and stopped to give the boy a high-five. But mainly, he kept a low-profile, preferring to watch and take it all in. I suggested he turn around and look up at the stands (probably about 30,000 in attendance), but he wouldn’t lift his head to do so. Instead, he just turned with a sheepish grin and instead looked at my boots.

I asked him if he was having fun, but he apparently didn’t want to say anything either. Just more sheepish grins. He was watching the long-snapper warm-up and the players mingle around the bench in front of us. My brother and I are pretty good sized, but I tend to think the players must have looked larger than life to him all suited up.

Then the moment finally arrived. As we started to walk out, I had to nudge him a little as he dragged his feet. But right around the numbers, he saw his uncle leading the way and became more comfortable. There were some brief introductions and he heard his name announced on the loudspeaker; that resulted in a big grin on his face as he turned to look up at me. Then they were playing highlights from the brother’s career on the jumbo-tron, finishing with a live shot of us standing behind him on the field as he was presented with his framed playing jersey.

The whole thing ended with the brother holding up his framed jersey for the stands as the crowd gave him an ovation for time well-served. As we were walking back to the sidelines, I looked around a little wondering if this would be the last time I’d be on a field. When we got back to the sidelines, I said “You know, when you’re out there playing, you don’t even notice the people in the stands. You’re just worried about your teammates and the guys across the ball from you. What do you think, you want to be back out there someday?”

Another wordless grin. And then, a little nod of his head.

Then it was my turn to smile.