Football Sunday

many times, he told me of his days as uncle john, 
as a football coach in carrabelle.
his stories about football 
taught me that strength is found in losing,
just like it can be found in winning.
he taught me that football is a lot like life...
there are a lot of rules.
you are all supposed to go in the same general direction,
if you decide to go in a direction that is not the direction your are "supposed" to go in, there is certainly a distance you can go that will be considered "out of bounds."
there will always be people who will make a concerted effort to go against you.
some of us are hurt by others and some of us are out to hurt others.
some of us wear clothes that are probably too tight to wear in public.
helments and skulls have evolved to protect the brain,
but, regardless, brain cell stills seem to be negatively impacted
by massive blows to the head.
sometimes in football and in life, you get your ass kicked,
and that is ok, as long as you're wearing a mouthpiece and a cup,
because you will likely need to have a voice at some point in your life...and so will your children.