Fears of Tears

It's postseason football time--and my son's team is looking like they're going to make a nice run in the playoffs. This year's team is loaded with talent, finished the season undefeated, and is fun to watch.

Round 1 of the playoffs began Tuesday with a convincing win. We always head down to meet our sons as they exit the field. The first team off the field was the visitors and as they walked off I saw a lot of dejection in their faces. The last guy off was the player who did just about everything--he was all over the field and you heard his name and number on the PA all the way through the game.

And he was in tears as he left. Probably a senior, that was also probably it for his football experience. The rate of kids moving on to college level programs is low--so this might have been the culmination of all those years, all those practices, all those games.

It was so refreshing to see a young man cry. As dudes, we tend to put on masks of invincibility so that we never show emotion which could be construed as weakness. It's very wrong but it's very normal in our society. And I think it messes us up.

There are still times when my sons (17 and 16) show just the tiniest flashes of still being little boys. Innocence is stripped away earlier and earlier but when those way-too-short moments give me a little squeeze that reminds me that even though they're now both bigger than me, smarter than me, and not as dependant on me---they are our children and need us to be parents.

#88, you were a warrior that night on the field---and off it. Your true emotions showed disappointment but they also showed courage. Keep it that way.