6 years later, I still know nothing about football

Team Hunsperger

Little league baseball started early for our middle son Mason. He first played t-ball on the city league here in Carterville. He had an aptitude for the game and played it through his freshman year in high school.

Along the way, Mason took up an interest in football. He played flag football early on and then in seventh grade joined the junior high team. I attended a handful of games when I was in high school and college but never really understood the action. I even went to a few Rams games when they played in St. Louis and more recently a Tennessee Titans game.

This week the Carterville Lions played their last game of the season and since Mason is a senior, it was his final performance. Despite spending the last three years under the Friday night lights, little has changed. My wife and I would sit in stands and question each other about what was happening on the gridiron. Like me, she too is clueless about the sport. I’d say we have a general understanding of the game and know keywords about it.

Please don’t misunderstand our lack of understanding as a lack of caring. We enjoy being at the games and watch our son and his teammates on the field. The experience, I’m sure, would have been more enjoyable had we known the reasoning behind the action we were watching. Of course, whenever Mason would make a touchdown or a tackle we would beam with pride. I’d look forward to post-game conversations (when I could stay up that late) with him to try to understand what had happened during the game.

Now it’s on to cheer season and supporting our daughter Brooke. She’ll be on the sidelines for basketball games and we’ll be in the stands roaring for our Lions. That’s a game we (at least I) know and understand better than football. It’s been a great ride Carterville. Thanks to Coach Drust and his staff for making our Friday nights more fun.