Every game whether it is a sunny hot day, a rainy cold day, or a day where there is snow on the ground. I always take a moment to talk to my dad. I think about all the moments that we shared before games and after games, after wins and after losses. After good games and after bad games, after big games and after games that meant nothing at all. Every game I take a minute and think of all of the moments. The flashbacks to all the moments.
           

Walking down the long, wide, steep hallway with all the hype of finally being able to play at the same place that a lot of people before me have made their legacy. It was my time to make my legacy, leave my mark in history. We knew our job when we were walking out onto the bright, hard, rough turf. We had a war ahead of us we had to take our crown back. The game before was about to end and we started getting all hyped up and ready to go. We hear our enemies coming into the tunnel behind us and the gunpowder is about to be lit. Just as the game ahead of ends we start our 50 yard lap. I was so high that it felt like I was flying. We were done with our short lap and got into our stretch lines. That is the first and our last time to look around and take it all in… After that it was game time.
           

As I am looking around I try to find my parents. I finally find them. They are waving and they just look so small compared to the rest of the place. They were proud of me no matter what happened. I was a starter so before the game all of the starters names were put on the big screen my dad almost started to ball his eyes out because he saw his son’s name on the big screen at the Ralph. I looked up as I ran onto the field and I saw my name on the bright board that looked amazing. I was playing at the same place that so many great players played before me. Prior to the game we had done our research we were playing a team that liked to trash talk and try to get us a penalty. We knew what we had to do to win. The team was trying to become the first Buffalo school to win the section. We had to go out and play our game. After running out on to the field it was time to do my job.
           

I already knew the guy I was playing against I knew his name, height and weight. I was ready to go I knew that he wasn’t their best player and I knew that I could beat him and really make a difference in this huge game. I put my hand down in the ground for the first time. It was so hard and rough if I didn’t wear a glove it would have hurt my hand. I had to put all my weight on it and had to hold my body up like that. The first hit gets all the nerves out. Every game I got nervous but the first hit makes those go away. The first play was a run play that didn’t go my way which was good because I didn’t do anything beside hit the guy across from and got my nerves out and I was ready to go. The next play was a pass play. On pass plays it was my job to push the guy back and trying to get to the quarterback. I pushed my man back but the quarterback got rid of the ball. It was third down and we were about to get something good happen. It was running play and I beat my man off the ball and I was about to make the tackle but the running back fell and let go of the ball. I fell on to him and I’m trying to crawl over him on the rough, hard, turf. I was about to get when my teammate fell on it he had stole a few during the season. I got back to the bench and everyone was very happy and we needed to get a touchdown off of this. I talk to my teammate and he screams in the loud stadium.

            “You forced that out”
            “Nah he just dropped it” I explained.
            “We’ll just see what they say on Time Warner about it”
            I laughed and responded.
            “Let me know what they say”
           

We ended up winning the game and that moment when I saw my dad smiling it changed my life forever. He was the father of a champion. Whenever I won something he would tell me to be proud. This was the first time that the win actually meant something. This was going to go in the record book. I was part of the team that we got our crown back. The whole team worked for that. Weather they were a starter or a back up. That was the last win my dad ever saw. It was the best game up to that point; it was also the most important.