It's that time of year! My favorite season, my favorite sport, I'm in heaven.
I gained my love from my father, who has 5 girls and 1 boy but I think he always hoped for 5 boys and 1 girl. He always showed such great joy watching football on our little black and white television and it was a time to get close to him because he worked multiple jobs and was very busy with church callings. My sister, brother, and I collected football cards and played with them on the floor while my dad watched the tiny screen.
My favorite football card looked like this;
I always pretended to be Bart Starr when we played games or dress up. I intended to name a child Bart. I loved watching him play with his always perfect light hair and it seemed he could throw the ball further than anyone I knew. (My favorite color is green, I wonder if this card had anything to do with that.)
My dad liked the Green Bay Packers because he said they were led by the greatest coach ever, Vince Lombardi, and he often quoted him. Here are a couple that have stayed with me.
"The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall."
"Leaders aren't born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal."
Now 50 years later, I get to watch my grandsons play, my beloved Utah Utes, and I still consider myself a cheese head who watches all Packers games in my green jersey. They all bring me joyful memories of experiences I've had and lessons I've learned, just because of my love for football.
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