Facing Giants

We all have giants we face throughout our lives. Bad people. Bad things. Obstacles that make us stronger. The Panthers faced giants on October 30. It was their second play off game. Win this game, they go to the Super Bowl. We are so proud of the 7 and 8-year old football team. (As well as the 9-10 year old team (working hard) and the 11-12 year old team (undefeated!)

We had a drive that morning. It was a cold drive and as we got closer to the area they'd be playing in, 2 inches of snow (or more) covered the ground and the trees and fields were covered with a thick layer of frost. As we continued to drive up and out into the backwoods to Jackson Pond, I laughed and said, "I hope they plow the field." It was no laughing matter, the field had been plowed.



We came prepared. Some what. Almost. Parents brought food for the tailgate since the last game we attended did not have a concession stand. We took meatballs and rolls, cookies, mini cupcakes and bags of popcorn. We had fun decorating the bags. Just a simple way to show our school spirit and support for this team that has worked to become a great team.



The field was plowed, the field was wet and the opposing team on the field was HUGE compared to our team. To put some perspective to the players, I think the heaviest player on our team weighed 85 pounds. The other team, had numerous players that tipped the scale at 125 pounds. Yep, one proud father told parents on our sideline that. Not only were they heavier but taller. I wondered if they were actually the 7 and 8 year old team. Nevertheless, our sons and daughter, were facing giants today. The temperature and wet field did not help but we were all cheering them on.

They lost this game. This loss ended their season. They were upset. To come one game away from the Super Bowl playoff, is nothing but disappointing but their fans were and are so proud of them. They held the giants and managed to put a score on the board. Not a total loss. Not a shutout! They learned a lot about their game and how they play it on that day. So proud of you Panthers!

Trophies

Yesterday we attended our son’s football banquet. He was so excited because he was going to get a trophy. The weather was very nice for mid-November in upstate New York. As dishes and crockpots were carried inside, the boys gathered outside. After calling the football players inside, the extremely long line formed for to weave through tables weighed down with lots of great smelling (and tasty) food. Our son wasn’t hungry. He wanted to go outside to play football. He complained about the room being hot, too many people and we really shouldn’t ask him another question pertaining to food or drink ‘cause he was not hungry! So he sat at the table quietly. I think he was stewing. He was upset. He wanted his trophy and he wanted to leave. Forget the pomp and circumstance. Inside I was giggling at him. If he only knew. He wasn’t hungry until I offered him a piece of ham and a sweet butter roll. And he ate more than one sweet dessert when his sister brought baked items to the table. Not hungry – yeah right.

After eating, the coaches had the lights turned off and they started a video presentation. The music was BOOMING. It was too loud for me even with my ears plugged. We watched the great video and then trophies were handed out to the football players on the 7 and 8 year old team. As he handed a trophy to each player, the head coach said nice things about each of them. Elliott returned to our table with a huge grin and he wouldn’t put the trophy on the table. He did once, but quickly took it off when his sister touched it.

Here he is – ready to go since he has his trophy – his FIRST trophy in hand.


I attempted to take a picture of Elliott and his best bud but the lights went out to start the next presentation. Below are the two pictures I managed to get:




Go Panthers! See you next year on the football field.