A Taste of Yesterday

Well, my husband did it!  He played his heart out at the alumni game and he lasted the entire game! 

He had to be there early to get all the equipment and get ready.  When we got there, there were several of the younger guys there and when they saw Chuck walking toward them, there were whispers but I could hear them.  It was all I could do to not bust out laughing. 

"Oh my gosh, that's Chuck!"  "Hey guys, Chuck is here, oh my gosh!"

You see, to them, Chuck is like a legend.  I know that sounds weird but for years the coaches mentioned his name, they told stories about him and these kids were a lot younger and have never met him, only heard of him.  It really is strange but really funny to me. 

I was nervous about this game.  He was playing with kids that are a lot younger than him and he hasn't practiced or worked out for this game.  He was going in and winging it.  It's not that he's overweight or anything, In fact, he's only 20lbs. heavier than he was in high school.  I wish I could say the same!

When the game started, I got really nervous and anxious to see him out there.  They put him in for the first defensive play and he went in as a linebacker.  The play starts, he goes up against a big kid and he ended up on his butt!  We all laughed in the stands and I watched to make sure that he wasn't hurt. 

He played a lot during the entire game, he played all four quarters!  He survived!  I am so proud of him.  He helped with a few of the tackles and he ran his butt off. 

The kids thought it was really strange to see their dad out on the field playing but I know that they loved it.  When the announcer called his name after he helped make a tackle, we all went crazy cheering but I heard the kids yelling, "Yeah Dad!!!" Best cheers of the night, by far. 

He plans on playing again next year but he plans on working out up until that game so he can be in better shape and maybe even run the ball a bit next year!  He had a lot of fun and will be sore today but in the end, he did it and I really couldn't be prouder.  I really enjoyed watching him out there, I have missed seeing him play and it brought back so many memories of what was years ago but only seems like yesterday.