Buckeye Magic

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be on the field with my school's Varsity Football team Friday night. Preparations started Thursday evening with the baking of 10 dozen cookies for the boys almost all of them arrived at their destination. :) All day Friday was filled with nervous excitement as we tried to get through the day and be productive. I found myself slightly nauseous all day thinking about the evening to come. Finally, the last bell rang and it was time to take the cookies to the field house and rush home to get the children situated and get back for the pre-game activities. As I entered the field house for the second time to watch the highlight reel from prior games and hang out until game time, I could feel the electricity in the air. The Pastor lead the team in a devotional that would inspire anyone to walk on water.

Prior to this game the team had lost two games on our home field, so there was also an air of apprehension as everyone prepared for the game. I milled about and visited with Miss Amy our Athletic secretary as the guys suited up and got taped. Next the boys took the field to warm up and get loose. They looked like a well oiled machine going through their warm up exercises.

I was impressed as the boys grouped up for a pep talk from our Head Coach. The mood was growing increasingly frenzied as we listened to the coaches words. Then a short meeting with the Defensive boys and a prayer. By this time I was so proud of those boys that it didn't matter whether they won or lost the game. I had seen them help each other and be responsible in a way that I had never seen them before. I was inspired and felt honored to teach at Gilmer High School.

Finally with Game Faces on, we took the field. Running out onto the field amid screaming fans heightened the excitement, and it only gets more intense from there. I was trying to soak in everything, but I really only remember bits and pieces, as the next hours flew by in the frenzy that was a battle of Epic proportions, but they rose to the challenge and won the game, and as I deposited my jersey back in the field house and slipped off to my own children and husband, I knew that I had experienced something amazing and magical and that I would never be the same.