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I completely understand and also worry about the dangers of the sport. I take concussions extremely serious and will not let an athlete mess around with any type of head, neck , or back injury. These type of injuries are ALL off-limits until cleared by a medical professional.
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I was so excited at my first start on Defense..It was homecoming..My Big Brother was there..My Parents were in the stands..My Dad having an ear to ear smile for the first time since ...I met him?..for TWO days straight..
I was still on the kickoff team and we were kicking off to start the game.
I got dinged on the right side of my helmet in my blind spot..never saw it, but heard the crack...The field was slowly spinning first horizontally, then the field appeared to do "flippy-flops"...I was really trying to concentrate on lining up on the right side of the line at DE, and wouldn't look my OLB in the eyes because his Dad was the team DR..He kept shouting something to me, but it sounded so s l o w ...Lucky the first two plays were to the other side and the other OLB was making the stops..By then the cobwebs seemed to be clearing up and I seemed to know pretty much where I was...I wasn't about to lose my chance at real playing time.
My Son's now at that age where he's wanting to know if "I'll be proud of him if he becomes a fameous..." and not afraid to tell me he wants to be just like me. And gave that as a reason after I asked him why he wants to go out for Football again when he gets older even though he hates contact.
I was tempted to take advantage of this power I seem to have over him while I still can..Tell him to quit these "girly sports" and...
I just said, "I'm already proud of you"..and almost teared up...and said something corny like, "I'll be the most proud of you for doing something you truly enjoy"...Then I pointed out how the smallest player we have at Nebraska is probably the best kicker in the sport..AND started out playing Soccer.