This was the first time I ever experienced football. It was the early 2000s and the days always seemed long. I was just a kid at the time, but the memory seems to carry on. The memory has weight to it, though. It’s more than just a childhood memory. It symbolizes a time that everything was ahead of me and I had few plans to make. It was not like now where every decision you make can have an impact on you later. Back then I was able to make a choice because I wanted to have fun. This, I find, has purer meaning behind the choice, it wasn't because I had to do this if I wanted to be successful or go to a good college. Looking back I did it in search of something I could find and hold on to through life, something that can be shared and marveled at later.
My search began at home. It was the beginning of August, we were a month or so away from the end of summer in Michigan, but as most know Fall seems to always roll around early. My dad walked into my room and asked quite expressionless, “What do you think about going to watch the lions play?” Trying to hold some excitement back I replied, “Yeah, sure I guess that sounds fun.” He must have seen through the mask I tried to put up, because he had quite a big smile when he replied with a simple, “Okay, be ready tomorrow morning.” Something about our conversations strikes deeper than just a decision to go. I could have easily said no to my dad’s question, he has asked before for me to travel new places with him. In fact, one time he asked if I wanted to visit his work with him and I said, “no,” but I didn't this time and it started a motion that lead to a thirst for something more, something I had to have.
When we got there I was in awe. It was just a high school football stadium, but it seemed like a coliseum to me. I see now it felt bigger because it was the biggest stage I had ever been on, you could feel the essence of all the blood, sweat, and hard work that was there. Most people don’t make it any farther than playing on a high school stage for any sport and I felt that there. The presence of the love of the sport by players who weren't able to continue playing and played their last games there. I remember walking around on the field before the players arrived, feeling the turf move under my feet, it was a different sensation. It wasn't quite like walking on the sands of Virginia Beach when I traveled there, it was firmer, but it still shifted under my feet. As I sat there marveling at the stadium I thought back to the first time I had ever visited the zoo, the sense of amazement in both places seemed very familiar.
As we watched the players I was hit with a sense of confusion. It didn't look easy through my young eyes, I had never experienced that sort of work myself or even seen people run, hit, do push ups, and exhaust themselves like that before. Yet when they came off the field they were smiling and laughing as if everything they did was fun. Looking back I see that this must have been the first time I had seen real perseverance, they were all trying to achieve one goal and by the end of the day they must have realized they were getting closer to that goal and doing it together.
All these physical events where nothing compared to the lasting stain it left on my conscience, though. It left me wanting more, I wanted to be part of something like that. I grew to love the sport and wanted to experience it myself. Going to those camps drove me to push to play football. I played others sports as a kid, but nothing stuck like playing football. I can remember when I first started playing and I hadn't adjusted to the amount of work it takes to play the sport. I wanted to quit immediately, it was too much. I realized, though, that all of my friends were going through the same thing and they weren't quitting. It seems that this taught me to persevere through things, and looking at my life now I can truly see that to really experience the benefits of anything you do, you have to see it through.Going to those camps meant so much more than what is on the surface. It essentially made me who I am today. I made a decision that changed the course of my life it seems. It has given me values and bonds that will be hard to break. Playing football has given me so much and without it I would not be who I am today.