Playoffs, y'all!

JonnyB, #5

I never used to like football. The rules-- like undecipherable code. The play--run for 20 seconds, then stop. Run for 30 seconds, then stop. Huddles and time outs and crazy referee hand signals...I just could never understand it enough to enjoy it. But that was before it was my boy lunging down the field with 2 guys on his legs and one on his back, fighting like mad to get at least one more yard, or lunging through the air to hit the opponent with the ball. Now one of my favorite weekend past times is watching football games in the cold air with the boys I can yell the names of as they sprint down the field or take somebody down. What fun I am having watching Jon and his football team make history in the playoffs!

Playoffs, y'all! (And I'm not even from Texas!)

I now have such a respect for the sport of football. The discipline, teamwork, camaraderie...it builds character like no other sport I know. And the sense of community you feel with the other crazy, yelling parents who run up and down the field is so rich! I'll be honest, I actually got choked up the other day as I watched Jon's teammate make touchdown #2 in their first ever playoff game. I've watched these boys, and this coach for 4 years lose game after game, and not give up. It's so like life, if you just keep walking, steady and faithful, you will eventually make it to the finish line, or the end zone. ;)

Not to sound weird or anything, but I feel God's pleasure when I watch Jon play. Like he's smiling at the son He made so strong, so persistent, so focused. I don't know how long football will be a part of Jon's life, and our life. But we will enjoy it, for however long it lasts. Looking over the photos from that day, I'm struck by the sense of team and loyalty needed for those boys to throw themselves into the opposing team players to protect their man with the ball. Sometimes they are protecting Jon. And sometimes Jon is throwing his body into someone to protect his buddy.....taking one for the team, as they say. There's probably a lesson in there about loving our neighbors and bearing one another's burdens, or helping other people reach the goal (endzone) because if they succeed, we win, too, but sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

Next weekend, second game of the playoffs. And I wouldn't miss it for anything!