Face of a Champion

Nephew just finished another season of "spring" football - basically, a way to keep the players active and engaged during non-football time.  Spring ball can be rough, in part because a lot of the boys also play baseball, leaving fewer players to fill the roster.  Yes, they get more playing time, but it's tough on their bodies - Nephew's team is suffering turf burns, whacked-up elbows, a possible concussion, and more. 

But they're dedicated (and so are their parents!). These boys, now 7th graders/almost 8th graders, have been playing together since third grade. I remember being at one of their very first practices and thinking "this is NEVER going to work!" 

But it did. And they made the play-offs every fall season, often right into the championship game. And every year they lost, even in 2009 when their championship game was dedicated to The Wombat, the most devoted football grandma ever, who passed away just two weeks before the game.

Nephew is so smart, and such a hard worker. He maintains an A average in school, he volunteers as a lunch worker every day, he participates in Boy Scouts and school activities, he helps both at our house and at GolfDad's with heavy labor whenever asked. He's generally polite and well-mannered, he's a voracious reader, and he'll eat ANYTHING.  You could not ask for a more delightful teenage boy!

But of course, something was missing for him and his teammates... until November 2011. Finally they succeeded! And THIS is the face of a champion, for so many reasons!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)