Family, Football, and Fostering the Future   

She Said ~ 

The summer will soon be like the faded kitchen wallpaper, a thing of the past; hot, lazy, sun filled days begone! High pitched laughter will turn to groans and grunts. The early morning sun will oversleep and let the darkness blanket us for a little longer.

Life will not steamroll ahead as if conquering all of the minutes in all of the days is vital. No, life will slow down for the Autumn change.

I will slow down for morning’s crisp air and darkening days. I will slow down for the playful leaves and barren trees.

So adios, farewell, goodbye, and good riddance to you, summer. In the games that you played, you made out like a bandit, a thief in the night, with my biggest love and my burning fury.

And so, hello September, very nice to see you. I count on you to usher in the healing balm of winter days and nights. Mend this brokenness my friend with the spirit of the season. Give me one, just one good reason to believe again, and to sustain.

Provide me with a somber silence, where I can genuflect before my grief and once again feel the innocence of belief.

He Said ~

“After all the cheers have died down and the stadium is empty, after the headlines have been written, and after you are back in the quiet of your room and the championship ring has been placed on the dresser and after all the pomp and fanfare have faded, the enduring thing that is left is the dedication to doing with our lives the very best we can to make the world a better place in which to live.”

The first animated awareness I have of spectating football was a Washington Redskins, (now known as the Commanders), game, circa 1976. In existence, there is a photo of me wearing a Billy Kilmer tee shirt.

Why did I choose this team? It was an obvious selection, because their archenemy was / is / & always will be the Dallas Cowboys; my father and older brother’s favorite gridiron gang. 

Hate is a powerful word, and one that has unfortunately, and too often unceremoniously, been employed when it is unwarranted or merely for shock. It should never be used impotently.

However, I denounce, despise, detest, renounce, repudiate, revile, and vehemently scorn “America’s Team,” the nickname given to this loathsome franchise during the late 1970s.

My seventh circle of hell is a continuous loop of the Cowboys beating Washington 35–34 in the 1979 season finale, while Paul McCartney sings Taylor Swift covers, and Hillary Clinton is my waitress who can only serve me headcheese and Zima.  

Football was distributed ubiquitously throughout my childhood. And, I loved it with a passion unmatched by many youthful offerings. I lived and died with each Washington endeavor. It became my favorite aberration.   

In fairness and fondness, I must mention my pops and brother ended their allegiance to the boys in Texas. They severed the ties because this organization fired Tom Landry, in what was widely perceived as a betrayal and an act of extreme disrespect.    

Landry’s dismissal was seen as classless, and a slap in the face to a true football legend. This would become commonplace for a man like Jerry Jones, (who purchased the team in 1989). There will be much more to write about the Dallas dirtbags as the fall’s pulchritude permeates, for now we are merely wetting your whistles. 

That magnificent blue-gray October sky is almost amidst us. It is time we assume our rightful place as die-hard devotees, gameday fanatics, and Monday-morning quarterbacks. Because, from this Thursday – (first kickoff will be 8:20 pm, as the Eagles take on my aforementioned, beloved C-boys) – until February 2026, the prolific percolating pigskin will pervade all pathways. 

So, let’s focus on the positives of this prevalent period and remember one final quote from the greatest coach of all time, (Vincent Thomas Lombardi) – 

“Winning is a habit. Watch your thoughts, they become your beliefs. Watch your beliefs, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character.”

Did You Know? The first professional football game was played on November 12, 1892, between the Allegheny Athletic Association (AAA) and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, where William (Pudge) Heffelfinger was openly paid $500 to play for the AAA, making him the first professional player. The Allegheny Athletic Association claimed victory 4-0.