Alumni Football Blog #1: – Here I come…slowly.
In the history of crazy and strange things Mr. Babcock has done, this is going to be among the top two or three. So why not write about the long, strange journey to the crazy thing? And this year’s crazy thing: Alumni Football!
About a month ago, I stumbled upon a Facebook listing for Fabens Alumni Football team. This group was recruiting alumni to sign up for a team that would play our High School rivals, the Clint Lions. For a fee (to be paid for at a December meeting) players would be able to strap on the pads and hit the field for one last reach for gridiron glory.
My impulsive nature was blunted (a bit) as I did not sign up right away. However after a day, and after examining my gut feeling (both physically and mentally) I signed up. A mere 24 hours later, I received an email telling me that the roster was now full and I was a member of the 40-man roster (and the oldest player on the team.)
Now, for a bit of history on my short and non-glorious career as a football player. In Fabens, each of the classrooms at O’Donnell Elementary had a team for each sport. So, for 4th, 5th and 6th grades, we got to play football against other classrooms, something which we all looked forward to.
As I was the tallest and lanky-est during these years, I played both Tight End and Defensive End. While I was a bust on the offensive side of the ball, defensively I ruled (in my mind, I was Cowboys All-Pro Ed “too Tall” Jones) and batted down many a quarterback’s pass by simply putting my ‘chango arms’ up.
While the flag football games were fun, they were not as fun as the tackle games we’d play during lunch, after school or on the weekends. The only downside was how much my young knees and legs seemed to ache. Badly. All the time, However, I kept playing, because that what kids do, even if it hurts.
So it was with great anticipation that my friends and I looked forward to playing together, as Wildcats, when we reached Junior High. All we needed was a physical from our doctor. For them it was a free pass to football, for me it was the end of the road.
That growth spurt that made me the tallest and lanky-est for the last 3 years had also taken a toll on my body. My doctor called it Osgood-Schlatter disease. It was my knees and they were in bad shape. I remember talk between my mom and the doctor ranging from braces to crutches to percentage talk about adult recovery; but what I remember most is what the doctor said, “no sports for at least 2 years.”
2 years became 4 and finally 6. And that pain in my knees, it never completely cleared up. I never played organized high school football. Instead I became a student of the game and sports, filming games, talking to coaches and immersing myself into writing and journalism.
So now, after years of covering the Mighty Wildcats (and 2 memorable years coaching the Junior High version; a novel in and of itself) I have the opportunity to strap on the pads and helmet and see exactly what I missed.
Some have asked “Why do this? What do you have to prove?” I say, I’d like to go to my grave without that huge ‘what if’ hanging over my head. Additionally, I’m doing this for all the other ‘old men’ who came before me that can’t take to the field one last time.
I hope you enjoy reading about this football experiment as much as I’m going to enjoy playing in it. For those of you that may want to play yourselves, check out the list of teams below and follow the link for more information.
To read alumni football blog #2click here.
To read alumni football blog #3click here.
IMPORTANT ALUMNI TEAM MEETINGS: Dec 4, 2011 Buffalo Wild Wings 665 Sunland Park Dr. El Paso, TX 79912
12:00PM – Teams TBA 1:00PM – Anthony, Ysleta, Burges, Horizon, Socorro 2:00PM – Clint, Fabens, Riverside & Austin 3:00PM – Jefferson, Bowie, Mt View, & Sal Elizario 4:00PM – Andress, Irvin, Coronado, & Franklin 5:00PM – Hanks, Eastwood, Canutillo, & Del Valle 6:00PM -Teams TBA
http://elpaso2012.eventbrite.com/
