I was a bright kid. The thing about being bright is that you can be picked on if you're in the wrong place. I remember in 1st grade, this gangly kid named Harper didn't like me for being bright and decided to beat me up. My friends Johnny and Ian saved me but that wasn't the last time they had to do it. They had a similar situation, but were brothers and had each others back. Thankfully they wound up having mine. We're still friends to this day. Eventually, our moms got together and decided that we needed to be able to defend ourselves and signed us up for wrestling. I never imagined how completely different it was from what you saw Jimmy The Superfly Snukka doing. There's no ropes, no leaps, just two boys in headgear, singlets, and Asics. I didn't like it at first, but I wound up learning under Coach Thacker and his sons. It was a long road toward getting great.
By 3rd grade, I never got picked on again. It kind of stops when you can make someone kiss their belly button because you've got them twisted into a pretzel. I proved to be pretty great. I went to the best camps (Dan Gable, Russ Houk, Bruce Baumgartner), trained like crazy, maintained weight, and went to those early tournaments every weekend there was one. I got a loads of medals and trophies, but if I didn't push myself I wouldn't have made the gains I did or make it to where I was when I stopped.
The thing is, Football is the sport sport I loved the most. I played mainly to impress my dad. He grew up in a weird time when schools were integrating, but society wasn't. He got a pass because he was great at football. He even played in college (go Wolfpack!), but didn't make it to the next level. But at least he took a chance. It made me want to play though. I committed late, as in when I was a sophomore in high school. I played a few years in Pop Warner, but I was busy wrestling. I started in JV, which wasn't that hard, but I knew the real game was varsity and the only way I'd make the team and impress my dad was hard work.
The summer between sophomore and junior year was when I put in the real work. Waking up at 5 to lift weights, working on construction sites from 7 to 4PM everyday, running after work, lifting again after work, and learning the playbook. I ate *all* day long. I made the jump from 180 to 210 pounds. I came back a different person. I became the 5th fastest person on the team, behind the two starting running backs and the two fastest receivers. That year I alternated with the defensive captain who was another junior that started at my position, middle linebacker. He feared that I would take his role. I didn't think about him, I just wanted to get to the top of my mountain. I would whisper to myself, "you're the greatest backer in the world." I felt like it and showed it.
Senior year I was named defensive captain and was leading the defense from the linebacker position. Toward the end of my senior season I was named on the all-league team and was encouraged by Coach Muster to sign up with the NCAA. I wasn't going to be a star at a big school, but what if I got a scholarship to an Ivy or a small, D3 school? Being a kid from a middle class background, not having to pay for college was an amazing option.
The last league game of the season was tight. We played Linsly, a school from West Virginia. We were up by one touchdown in the last quarter and we didn't have the ball. I was on the field, calling plays. I needed to lead the defense to stop them from scoring. I remember seeing a play action and the quarterback dropped back for a pass. I got through the line and drove into him, right at the hip. I felt fire behind my ears and down my neck and back. Both of us laid on the turf and didn't move. I couldn't hold up my head. After being carted off the field, we were both taken to the regional hospital. I was stripped of my uniform in the ambulance. With nothing on, according to Coach Zappas, my neck looked like a horse collar was around it because it was so swollen. Everything was swollen for over a week. The doctors told me I had a partial tear of my Trapezius and several other muscles and wouldn't be playing football again. The QB I tackled had a ruined knee. According to the doctor and my coaches, it looked like the impact of my body on his hip and the lack of give of the turf wound up screwing up my neck and tearing every ligament in his knee. Both of our days playing sports seriously were over right then
I spent months in physical therapy and wanted to rebuild again. I really thought I could make it back. That winter I moved like an old man, wearing a neck brace for a month and a soft brace for 2 more months. I slept on the floor to not feel pain throughout my upper torso. I did range of motion exercises, stretched several times a day, and tried to not lose my strength. I just wanted to be back to normal. Muscle relaxants? Painkillers? I got off them the first week because I didn't want to become complacent. That was pain like I still haven't felt since. I would have a cortisone shot every few weeks to help the recovery, but I wanted to be back to me before the injury again. That never really happened. Sports were over that year and pretty much the rest of my life. That was the longest winter of my life.
I tried to walk on in college. I was a regular human being, but not at the level I was before. With the lack of lifting weights for 8 months, I dropped 20 of the pounds I gained. I wasn't big enough for my preferred position, and wasn't fast enough to make the team as a corner back. I had the talent and the timing and put in the work, but with some bad luck I missed my shot. It took years to get over it. I would dream about playing again throughout college. It was one of those things that I thought would haunt me forever, but eventually I accepted it was out of my control and moved forward with my life. I'm still friends with several of the guys from that team. Four of them wound up playing in college and one made the practice squad for Pittsburgh. Nowadays, when I see great athletes I realize it's hard work, timing, and luck. 2 out of 3 isn't bad.
I'm lucky because I didn't lose range of motion, I don't even have severe pain like some people who have had similar injuries. When I'm in my 50s I probably won't have a limp. Sometimes I have a dull ache in my right shoulder and forearm, but live with it. I was in the game and loved every moment. I don't regret a thing. I'm glad I can say that.
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