The Joy of Football

No real Eagles news today so I thought I would go off-topic.

I spent Christmas with my sister and her family. My 11-year old nephew Jason is a Saints fan. He got a Saints t-shirt and hat as part of his gift haul. He wore both all day long and was very happy to have them.

Jason has never been to New Orleans. The closest he’s ever come is visiting Atlanta. So why the Saints? Two words…Drew Brees.

Star football players, especially quarterbacks, have that effect. They draw you to them. It is fun to watch Jason developing into a football fan. He doesn’t understand the 4-3 defense or what 12 personnel means, but he loves Drew Brees so he now also loves the Saints.

This year that has meant a lot of fun. Jason is just sure his team is headed to the Super Bowl. He says it with confidence, but not cockiness. It is fun for me to see how much fun he is having watching his team have a great year. He does get bummed when they lose, but not for long. Kids tend to focus on the next thing pretty quickly.

Adults tend to focus on what did or will go wrong. Kids get more joy from sports.

There was no Drew Brees in my childhood. I loved a lot of different players. Dan Fouts was probably my favorite QB. The Chargers explosive offense was so much fun to watch. I used to go out in the backyard and pretend to be Giants RB/FB Rob Carpenter. Even calling him a good player might have been a stretch, but I loved his powerful running style. I loved Tony Dorsett’s speed, but there was no use in pretending to be him. I couldn’t even pretend to be fast.

Randy White was my favorite defensive player. He went from being a LB in college to a DT in the NFL. He also had a cool nickname, Manster. He was half-man, half-monster. Things like that matter when you’re a kid. I was fascinated by Lester Hayes and his Stickum. That goop covered his hands and forearms and helped him rack up a lot of picks.

Football was fun back then.

There are times when it is now (all of 2017), but there are years like 2018 when following the Eagles seems more like part of a sentence handed down by a judge than something to do for fun.

We all grow up. We become more serious about sports. We let the outcome of a sporting event dictate our mood for several days, maybe even a whole week.

It was good for me to spend time around Jason and to see the joy that football is bringing him right now. It is a reminder that this is supposed to be a fun diversion from the harsh realities of life.

I’ll have a healthy outlook on the Eagles and the 2018 season…until about 4:27 on Sunday when I’ll start once again obsessing on every moment.

Forget joy, win or else!!!

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