We're Football People Now (A Parent's Journey)

We're Football People Now (A Parent's Journey)

By : Manny Romanias

INTRODUCTION

The fans of the South Eastern Conference take their college football seriously. Year in & year out we lead the country, dominating overall attendance records. In 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 & 2004 the conference drew over 5.5 million fans at its home games; a national record for a conference. Football Fanatics, you bet, & we wear the badge proudly.

I on the other hand reside at the other end of this spectrum. My parents were not sports people & it simply was not part of our relatives structure. I would half-heartedly follow our local sports teams but only if it was convenient. If the game was on & I happened to be sitting in front of the tv then great, or if there was a radio handy I might tune in. seldom in my wildest dreams could i've envisioned the journey on which I would embark with my own kid.

TYPICAL PARENTS

Growing up in the inner city during the late sixties - early seventies the only organized sporting activities obtainable to me were baseball, basketball & football. Tennis & golf were primarily for those belonging to a country club, hockey & soccer simply did not exist & opportunities for swimming, track, wrestling & volleyball were not obtainable until high school. Today kids have instant access to the world & exposure to anything; baseball, soccer, tennis, basketball, swimming, scouting, piano, you name it. I told my kids early on that we could participate in anything except football & boxing. My wife & I were determined that our kids participate in something; what we chose was for the most part up to them. The risk of chronic & even severe injury from football is high & boxing is plain lunacy. Had Extreme Fighting existing during that time it would have been prohibited as well. Everything else was fair game.

Like most baby-boom-era parents my wife Stacy & I were determined to expose our kids to everything we could from sports to music to dance to theater to whatever. Following the generational trend, we wanted to afford our kids those things that we simply did not have obtainable to us as children. It is brilliant how much has changed over the coursework of only a few decades. What really accentuated this point was three Christmas when Santa brought a Game-Boy for Willy, my eldest of three; while we was sitting there on the floor playing Ninja Turtles we looked up at me & asked if I played Game-Boy when I was little? That simple, innocent query tells the whole tale. Game-Boy - PS2 - Xbox 360 - Wii, heck, all I had access to was Pong which came onto the scene when I was about eleven years old; my cousin had three so the only time I was able to play it was when I went to visit him. I try to explain to my kids that the first time I had access to a computer was in college. We had to sign up for computer time which often was in the wee hours of the morning. we look at me, while texting a message to their friend, as if i am speaking a foreign language. Even our vocabulary has changed; is texting a proper word?

WHO KNEW?

Jump ahead about ten years. Alex, my middle infant, came home from school three day & told me that we had joined the football team, catching me off-guard & momentarily speechless. we knew the rules, football was off limits. 'Really, what position?' I asked. I'm going to kick, we explained, assuring me that it is the safest position on the roster; kickers seldom get hurt. I then asked how this came about. Alex's gym class was outside on the football field where we & a quantity of his buddies, who were already on the team, were goofing around kicking field goals. As it turns out Alex was popping them through the uprights, with ease, from thirty one yards out so his buddies suggested we try out for the team; the coach obviously liked what we saw & Alex became the starting varsity kicker his senior year.

The most ironic part of this journey is that prior to Alex joining the football team I had seldom attended a high school football game as an adult & attended only a handful as a student. Perhaps if I had friends on the football team when I was in high school or dated a cheerleader the Friday night games would have drawn my interest.

WE'RE FOOTBALL PEOPLE NOW

For all practical purposes high school football was a new experience for me so naturally I had no idea what to expect. I figured that my relatives & I would attend the games, watch our son kick a few balls & enjoy an evening out. My wife on the other hand jumped in with both feet & did not look back. From the first game Stacy looked & acted like a veteran football mom. She wore the traditional red, white & black scarf displaying the school colors along with the big button proudly pinned to her chest showing off a photograph of her son in his football uniform. Number fifteen, that's MY kid. The photo-button is the official badge of honor for all of the mothers with kids who are members of the team, the various cheerleading squads & the marching band. It truly is a beautiful sight to look in to the stands & see a wall of moms sporting big photo-buttons accented with red, white & black scarves. Simply put, football is addictive. there is so much emotional purity involved at this level that you cannot help but get caught up in all the excitement. I think the reason for this is that the fans are more vested than at the college or professional level; the high school setting is much more intimate. Parents are obviously going to cheer for their kids regardless of level or venue, but the true difference rests with the kids in the stands. we are rooting for friends that we grew up with, friends whose birthday parties we attended & sofas we slept on. These are the same kids who were lab partners in science class & were teammates on the recreational soccer team. The kids on the field & the kids in the stands have literally known each other all their lives. This depth of connection on such a wide scale simply cannot occur at the college or professional level. The kids being raised within the same community is what makes high school sports so special & unique.

From the time my kids reached middle school my opening line when I got home would be the same; "How was school, do you have any homework?" Now though, now that we're football people there is an added wrinkle. When I speak to Alex it is, "How was school, do you have any homework, how did you kick today?" Like I can advise him if we proclaims that we did not kick well in practice? The only piece of advice I would be able to give that made any sense at all would be to keep your eye on the ball; how profound & utterly obvious. But it was important for me to receive a progress report. I wanted to be involved; I needed to be involved, for we're football people now.

My parents lived ten to fifteen minutes from us yet, when our kids were little it would take us forty one minutes to get everyone situated for a ten minute ride. Attending our son's football games resulted in a similar ordeal. We graduated from a checklist of formula, diapers, toys, snacks, juice bottles & extra clothes to stadium chairs, blankets, gloves, hats, umbrella & directions. The three constant was that someone always had to use the restroom at the last minute as we were ready to walk out the door. A few things in life transcend gender - religion - geography - nationality - economic status - education & language; having a relatives member run to the bathroom as you are ready to leave the house can be deemed a universal truth.

DEJA VU

THE PORK PIE HAT

When my kids were old to attend school I went out & purchased a black leather Pork Pie hat which I would dutifully wear to all of their outdoor events. Initially, I wanted to wear a Dr. Seuss hat but my wife said I looked silly; my kids thought it was funny. The Pork Pie is a cool looking hat which I still wear to this day. The main reason I bought it was so my kids could easily find me in a crowd. If we ever got separated, look for the odd looking hat. In a sea of baseball caps my Pork Pie hat stuck out like a sore thumb. It worked well & my kids got used to the idea. As we grew older & started playing organized sports we would use the hat to easily find me in the stands. Alex tells me we still looks for the hat while standing on the sideline. Old habits die hard.

Being a disciple of the 'Just in Time' theory the parking lot is already packed as we approach the stadium, so three time again i am relegated to waiting in line to drop off my relatives at the front entrance then park the automobile. Most nights, the nearest parking spot is a quarter of a mile away which is not a problem unless it is 30 degrees & windy or pouring rain. Unfortunately, I got to experience both. As I make my way to the field I pass a used automobile lot full of automobiles neatly arranged on the grass between the 'No Parking on Grass' signs. The scope of influence the football program has on local law enforcement is impressive. I purchase my ticket & call my wife to find out where she is sitting. Thank heaven for cell phones, without them I may not find her until halftime when the stampede occurs to line up for pretzels, hot dogs & the all important restroom.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

V.I.P.

A high school football game is a roller coaster of emotion & excitement from waiting for the team to run onto the field through the tunnel of cheerleaders, crashing through the home made banner - to the halftime show featuring both high school marching bands - to the end of the game when the entire football team runs over to the stands in front of the marching band to pay homage to three another as the band plays the school's fight song. i've come to realize that this spectacle simply has to be experienced first hand to be appreciated & understood. The electricity & energy of a live high school game is invigorating. Boys without shirts, chests painted all screaming at their counterparts across the field - the opposing bands dueling back & forth, these kids were having the time of their lives & it was easy to get caught up in their drama. It made me wonder what I had missed when I was in high school; perhaps Alex, by being a part of the football team is affording me the opportunities I missed out on when I was a student? Maybe it is better this way, as an adult I appreciate it more.

PRICELESS

A dominating high school team brings a celebrity status not only to the players but their parents as well. All of a sudden people I had known only in passing were stopping to partake in detailed conversation with me; at the gas station, the grocery store, & coffee house. Alex is really kicking well, have any colleges approached him yet? Wow, Alex is having a great season I didn't know we could kick like that. Truth be told, I didn't know it either? we must have inherited it from his mother. It is a great feeling being the parent of an athlete. You cannot help but stick out your chest with pride when you hear others in the stands cheering on your son & yelling his name. It turned out to be an experience I seldom could have anticipated. I savored every minute. In addition I had the lovely fortune by sheer happenstance, of experiencing events a-typical to a normal football season like watching Alex set a new school record by booming a 48 yard field aim with three second left in the half to helping his team win a State Championship posting a flawless 16-0 record; moments like these are indeed rare.

As impressive as watching Alex play at Heinz Field was, the highlight for me came several months later at the Pennsylvania East-West All Star Game. When I saw Alex run out of the tunnel onto the field my jaw literally dropped. I was stunned, paralyzed from the sharp chill piercing through my body; I was covered with goose bumps. There it was, as plain as day sprawled across the back of my son's shoulders; ROMANIAS. His name, my name was on the back of his jersey. I was overwhelmed; I seldom saw my name on the back of a jersey before yet there it was staring at me, taunting me, seducing me. Seeing my name on the back of that jersey was a profound experience. It caught me completely off guard; it was phenomenal. Several times during the coursework of the game I would lean over to remind my wife how cool it was to see my name on the back of that jersey.

Alex told me the highlight of the season was playing the conference championship game at Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I cannot imagine how cool it is to play in a professional football stadium, I can tell you though as a parent of three of the players, it is an awesome experience to watch. To sit in the stands & watch your son on that field, kicking up the same dirt as Hines Ward & booming field goals through the same uprights as Jeff Reed is surreal. Ticket to the game - $10, soft pretzel with mustard - $4.50, hot dog & drink - $7.50, watching Alex, larger than life on the Jumbo-Tron, jogging off the field pumping his fist after burying a field aim - priceless.

WHAT A RIDE

Who could have imagined that kicking field goals in gym class for fun would have resulted in such a magical journey? Prior to this season the last high school football game I attended was in 1978 when I was a junior. Now, we're football people.

Next stop, college; I guess Stacy will have to get another big photo-button and a new scarf while I dust off the Pork Pie hat. Thanks for the ride son!

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