Call it a Father Moment. They don’t come often enough. But last Friday night, my son played in his first varsity football game, one of those times in life that leaves a parent feeling like a feather twirling in the air, much like one does in the final scene of the movie Forrest Gump.
Chase is only a freshman at Centennial High School, a quarterback who has dressed out and played every snap in seven freshman games, three halves of junior varsity games and dressed for nine varsity games. But last Friday we were at game No. 10, playing against a team that hadn’t won in two years, and Chase was told by the head coach to be ready to go in during the fourth quarter.
Sitting in the stands with his mother, I noticed Chase beginning to warm up at the end of the third quarter. Wheeler was backed up to their 20-yard line on fourth-and-13 and their punter drove the ball to about our 40; great field position for Chase as he began to run out on the field. The problem, however, was that one of our defensive tackles roughed their kicker, so the Wildcats received an automatic first down. The other problem was that Centennial was up 35-0 at the time, meaning there was a running clock and four more minutes would pass before the Knights got the ball back.
So, after the team’s second-string quarterback ran one play, Chase ran on the field for his first regular-season varsity experience. He had played in the team’s preseason game against Chattahoochee, but this time it was for real. It was a quick three-and-out, though Chase did tell me later he was considering calling an audible and running behind the team’s 6-foot-7, 285-pound tackle, who will be playing at Stanford next season. “We would have scored for sure,” he said, as the Knights would not get another offensive play.
It didn’t matter.
Afterwards, I joined Chase on the field for a photo that we would later post on Facebook along with some action shots, showing how technology has truly brought the generations together.
For me, that moment had been a long time coming, as Chase and I have worked hard for years getting him ready, and I told him he was lucky because I didn’t get my first varsity action in high school (I played at Lakeside in DeKalb) until my junior year.
I have no idea what Chase’s future is in football beyond the chance to play on Friday nights. But I hope any father or mother who loves sports and understands how they really prepare kids for life gets to experience a similar moment. I enjoyed the same experience last year when my twin girls stepped on the court for their first varsity basketball action as sophomores and again later at a region championship in track.
I have never hidden my love for sports, which is obvious considering the many years I have spent working in the field professionally. But until my kids got to high school, I really didn’t understand the impact they truly have on kids. I put my daughter Ashley on my radio show a few weeks ago on 790 The Zone and she told the Atlanta audience, “Sports is my life.”
Well, not quite, as family and academics are higher priorities, but I think you understand what I am saying. It’s a good indication of the impact sports have on not only the student-athlete but his or her family as well. And in a country that right now is really struggling with its moral values, as well its problems with crime and drugs, we all need to focus more on athletics and doing whatever it takes to drive the American youth into sports.
Winning and bringing home trophies is not important. Being the best player on the field is not important. It is the playing, being part of a team, that matters the most. Sports are what bring many of us together, what we remember from our childhood and, as the years go on, are at the center of the stories we love to embellish. Admit it. We all do it because it makes us feel good, it reminds us of a time when we had little more to worry about other than a mathematics quiz and getting to practice on time.
And now I have the opportunity to watch my own children go through similar experiences and take part in the moments many of us cherish; somehow, it makes all the responsibilities and heartaches of parenthood worth it all.
AN EMAIL FROM A FAN …
This came through the internet the other day …
Mr. Rosenberg,
You are an idiot. Mark Richt gives us the best chance to win now and in the future. Wait until Florida loses a few of their primetime players and then you will be talking about firing Meyer because of one or two subpar years. SEC is tough year in and year out, and we are missing a few players this year, but we will be back and the one to do that is Mark Richt.
I guess this reader didn’t really read my column. I said simply that to be able to compete with the Floridas and Alabamas of the SEC, Richt is going to have to change the way he does business. It’s just the way the conference has changed.
Rosenberg can be reached at ijrosenberg@scoreatl.com and 404-246-7819. He can be heard every Sunday on 790 The Zone during Falcons games. This week he is on from 1-4 p.m.
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