Happy Holidays
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving one of my good coaching buddies shot me a text. It said, “Hey, if Nathan wins Friday he will be in the MAC Championship and we should go!” I politely texted him back and said it probably wouldn’t work. With the holidays around the corner, flights would be expensive from Florida to Detroit and it would be hard to get off work, but I would look into it.
Although I would have loved to see a former player in an important game, I really didn’t want to mess around with booking a flight, renting a car, and the obligatory visiting of relatives in nearby Indiana. Surely the holiday airline prices would provide the perfect excuse to enjoy the game from the comfort of my home.
A man of my word, I searched flights from Orlando to Detroit and found one on a discount airline for $56 roundtrip. My first built in excuse had just been shot down.
Next, I emailed my principal and explained the situation and emphasized, if it is too hard to get a sub, I can come to work. She immediately emailed me back and said getting a sub would be no problem and to enjoy the experience. Now my second excuse had also been eliminated.
My final excuse rested with my wife. While she is the most understanding and caring person in the world, she avoids spontaneous decision making like the plague. I ran the whole scenario through her, fifty-six-dollar plane ticket, already have a sub, former player in a huge game, thinking she would still prefer me not to go. I was completely wrong. Not only did she think I should go, she also was interested in her and my son joining the adventure.
With all excuses exhausted we booked the trip and rooted for our former player in his final regular season game. His team won decisively so we packed and got ready for a weekend of football, friends, and family.
The following Friday, also game day, my family boarded our flight and headed for cold temperatures and warm memories. When we landed in Detroit, we met my coaching buddy and his family for an early meal and then headed to Ford Field for the game.
My buddy and I had been in contact with our former player all week, but we weren’t sure if we would get the opportunity to see him before the game. We understood his primary goal was on preparing for the game with his team so we tried to distract him as little as possible. Ultimately, we never got the opportunity to chat with him. However, we did take our sons to the tunnel the team would be exiting through prior to kickoff.
As the team entered the tunnel our former player saw us and came over and gave us all high-fives. My buddy and I both have 8-year-old sons and getting a high-five from a six foot five defensive end brought the boys more joy than anything Santa will be delivering this year.
After the high-fives, our sons became super fans. And the night just got better and better. The player we cheered for played tremendously, the team we supported won valiantly, and we, as dads, shared a special experience with our sons.
We were hoping to get to catch up with our former player when the game was over, but again we knew his primary focus should be on his team. We hung around to watch his team be presented with the championship trophy, sing the school song, and excitedly celebrate. We were happy to wait, knowing how special this moment was for him as a player.
The celebration was deservingly long. Our super fan sons were both anxious but tired. We still weren’t sure if we would get much more than a high-five because of the importance of the game and pending locker room team meeting. We kept an eye on our player as he celebrated with his team and eventually the festivities came to a close for the victors.
For our group this is when the night went from good to great. From the 50-yard line we watched as our former player raised his finger and pointed to our group. Then he, as a defensive lineman that played every snap, ran across the field to where we were located. When he got to our section, he bypassed the security guards, worked through a group of fans, and wrapped as many of our crew as he could in a hug. We congratulated him on his victory. He expressed sincere appreciation for us being there. And we just chatted for a bit.
Out of habit, I asked him how his grades were. Out of respect I asked about his mother, who had always supported our program when I was his head football coach. And out of view I hid the tears of joy that were forming in my eyes.
When we parted ways I told him how proud I was of his accomplishments on and off the field. On the way home Nathan texted me “I freaking love you Coach! Thanks for always being there!! I am glad to have you in my corner!!!” The next morning my son woke up and told me that he wanted to grow up and be like Nathan. It was awesome to see my own son look up to a player that I had been able to positively influence.
Seeing these two important parts of my life intersect made the experience even more special. A trip I tried to avoid became a memory I will never forget.
See you next time,
Coach Fields