During the season I eat, sleep and breathe football. I love football; it’s something about the vibe and the energy I get from the faint smell of popcorn and the scream of the crowd.  I try to visualize myself making multiple game changing plays. Every time I run out of the locker room doors I’m ready to do my job. There is nothing like the putting my gear on complete with the new uniforms shiny navy blue and grey. We look like a D1 college team. Our coaches also do the best job of preparing us like college kids, unlike other programs. They take the time to explain to us and show us what football really is. There is nothing like the spirit of the game, and letting the intensity and anticipation build as I try to envision how the game might go and what might happen.

As soon as I step onto the big green field my only mission is to punish my opponent. My goal is to destroy the man across from me hopefully leaving some of his blood on the turf. I want to make them pay for being on the other team. I make up something in my head like the kid across from me hurt my mom or baby brother. I line up ready to get off the second the ball moves and kill them. As soon as I see the Center flinch the ball, I blowing up the offence. I lay a fat O-lineman on his back; I can hear his helmet and pads smack against the ground.  I’m constantly in a hunt for the ball. Always looking to get a sack, a tackle for loss and maybe even knock the ball loose; hearing the announcer boast my name over the stadium speakers.

I get a rush of adrenaline as I smack the quarterback knocking him back off his feet onto his back, laying him down, seeing the wince of pain in his face. The satisfaction of when I stop a play in its tracks, causing panic and doubt from the coaches of the other team is like winning the lottery. Looking back, there is no other feeling like blowing up the big-headed quarterback for a loss of yardage. It really changes the momentum of the game once we make an amazing play and get hyped up. My teammates get hyped too. The brotherhood on the football field is like no other sport because we all have to play in sync.

Football is not just a sport but a way of life. Another great thing about playing football is the sense of achievement and fulfillment I get from playing for the Chiawana Riverhawks. So many people are there to support me at my games and my entire family was there even at the state championship games in Seattle and all the playoff games. Some of the best experiences I have had in high school have been on and off the football field with my team. The taste of that Round Table pizza is a small piece of heaven after a victorious yet tiring win on our home field. Even just the long victory walks, up the long uphill road in Edgar Brown, are memories that are imprinted into my mind forever.