Descriptive Essay On Football

“ We have to win this I want to make coach proud after all the hard work

As I exit the locker room, I strap on my black cleats and tighten my gloves. I grab my silver helmet with the lightning bolt logo, touch the sign that says “Play Like A Champion Today,” and walk into the tunnel. Finally, we hear our team’s name, and we run onto the field ready to defeat the fear of losing embedded in our minds. The opportunity arose, and whether we seized it or not, this would be my last game. We took away from that day more than just a win, or a loss. As somber as I was to let this moment go, I knew I had not let my team down. There was no anguish, no agony. These lessons from football have carried over in my journey to become a physician. I knew I wanted a career in healthcare, and football has better prepared me for that.

Walking out onto the opponent’s brightly lit turf field setting up for the kickoff of the second half just gave me the feeling that everybody knows, my hair starts to stand up, butterflies began to flutter in my stomach, and everything seems to slow down. Looking into the stands and seeing that our hometown fans had traveled four hours in order to outdo the home crowd gave me a sense of comfort. Looking into East Jefferson’s stands and seeing that our fans, despite having to travel all the way down south, outnumbered their fans by at least 70 people. I found myself thinking that this meant just as much to our town as it did to our school and team. This feeling would be just the motivation we needed in order to finish this game

“Call 911! Someone? Anyone? Please call 911!” Those were the last words I remember hearing on that hot, April day. The blazing sun was at its peak position at high noon and was striking down on my already beat red face. The dry, wilted grass lay under a freshly painted soccer field. This field was to be an immensely important and life changing symbol for my team and I, as we fought for our first place trophy and a state championship. As the starting whistle blew, the game quickly spiraled into a belligerent battle. Players went head to head, scoring goals one after the other until the score was tied 5-5. Bone-tired, the clock ticked closer and closer to half time.

The atmosphere warming up was silent, you could hear a pin drop. The field was a perfect shade of green with a hint of dew on the tips of each piece of grass. Yesterday, my team AC Sandhills was defeated 7-0 in our first game of the 2012 Mother’s Day Tournament. There was no energy in anyone at the moment, including myself. We thought the next game would just be like the first, another blowout. We thought we were done in this tournament, but little did I know this would be the game where everything would change. My coach JR noticed that we were not ourselves in our warmup. So right before kickoff he gave us a speech about how to bounce back after a horrendous defeat. “When I was in college, we lost our first game of the season off of an own goal 1-0. You know what happened in the next game? We won, 4-0. Do you know how we won? Because we moved on. We focused on what we had to do in the next game and we forgot about the last one. That’s what I want you guys to do.” His motivational words filled me and the rest of my team with a hunger for victory.

While it may not be a recognizable stadium like US Bank Stadium, Clemens Stadium at Saint John’s University holds a lot of meaning to me. While I have never played a game on that turf, I have spent many Saturdays cheering on the Johnnies, playing catch with my cousins and uncles, and helping out on the sidelines with the Chain Gang crew. These long days in the sun, rain, and snow are some of the most memorable of my life. Clemens Stadium means more than football to me. I have learned about perseverance and not giving up when things seem impossible.

Going into high school was a big deal for me. A new school with new teachers, friends, classes, and just about anything else you could think of. Everything was new except for soccer. I had been playing soccer since I was five years old, and it had become my favorite hobby since. This year, I had hoped to make varsity on the team, but being the shy, stand back kid I am, I didn’t have the courage to take that spot and become a leader of the team. Being a leader along with a hard working attitude, a desire to win the game, and some skill were the qualities varsity players had. You needed to be able to step up when called upon, rally the team together, and play your heart out. These qualities didn’t suit me at all, or so I thought.

As I dig my heels nervously into the artificial grass, I think about the cleats that have run across this field in the many home games. Especially that last rivalry game which was the game that was of most importance to everyone at that school. The game was between the north and south county high schools and just about everyone and their brother had come out to watch the sweaty football players run back and forth across that field.

The last bell of the day rang releasing all of the students. Most of the students went home, except all of the soccer students. As I picked up my bag, I walked towards the locker room. The soccer team sounded like a bunch of animals in the locker room. The whole team was changing into our bright red uniforms. Positive energy flowed through all of the players. “Are you ready?”, my friend asked. “Yes!”, I replied as I nodded. The speaker was dancing, and playing loud music. We all packed our bags and were getting ready to head out to the field. Out of the locker room we followed the long hallway that lead to our destination. The lights of the hallway came down like solar beams. My stomach began to turn of nervousness. The never ending walls of the hallway seemed like we were traveling through the desert. At the end of the hallway to large, grey doors were waiting for us. The doors opened, and the sun greeted us.

It was a cool, overcast October day. My Father and I left early in the morning to make the drive from Davenport, Iowa to Green Bay, Wisconsin to watch our beloved Packers play the Minnesota Vikings. The game would mark my first Packers game ever. The year was 2010, and Brett Farve would take the field at Lambeau for the final time in his career; but obviously not in a green and gold jersey. The Packer faithful did not view him as a loss as we found new talent in our young quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers would lead the Packers to a Super Bowl win later that season. It was sure to be a memorable day.

On a regular Friday evening, I was able to attend one of my student’s football games. I had two students in attendance one female and one male. The female was on the cheerleading team supporting the team that the male was playing for. The team I was having to root for was recognized as the “Ravens”, composed of quite a few third graders and up. In their gear, as in they were professionals you could tell the excitement from the players as the cheerleaders began jumping and cheering as they approached.

In our lives struggles and difficulties will never be avoided; they are a part of life. Whether or not we are ready or prepared, they are always going to happen. The fact is that life is ever changing. And, as one season ends and those doors are closed, new seasons as well as new opportunities will come in place of those gone. What makes the difference in each day, however, is how we respond when that adversity comes our way. As was the case this past year in football for me. For me, the most painful and most disheartening game one year (2016), then became the most amazing and elated game I would ever experience when we played the next year (2017).

“Riley are you ready to go?” “Yes” I excitedly replied to my father. “Are your clubs in car? “They are” I answered, eager to begin the exciting day. We jumped in my dad’s ford explorer that warm July morning and left for the nearby Ye Olde Country Club. After we finished the 9th hole I ran back to the cart grabbed the score card and began adding. Excitedly I yelled “I did it! I just shot my best score! I was so happy, I will never forget that day that started my love for the sport of golf. I fell in love with Golf ever since I was a youngster, it has had a huge impact on shaping me into the person I am today. It was not just any routine day for me, it was an opportunity to have a good time golfing with my dad. My dad and I have always shared a special bond when it comes to all sports. We have had our good times and also our bad times. Flash forward 6 years and I’m crying at the door before my dad leaves for a Wednesday night Central game vs the best team in the MAC in 2008. Since I could not go. “Why?! That’s not fair” I hopelessly told my parents. Sporting Events, golf and fishing are my favorite things in life not only because my dad enjoys them, but because we enjoy them together.

Everyone says football comes down to inches, but it is rare to witness a game where inches matter. Why is it rare? However, I was fortunate to witness an enormous game that did emphasize the importance of inches.

Beep, Beep, Beep the sound of my alarm clock wakes me up and I get my helmet strapped, click click and get loaded into the car. Time seems to be going slow and the music in the car seems to be going faster. I am awake and suited and booted. The car pulls up to the football fields, and I feel intimidated. When the whole team got there, we began to practice plays and I was the starter on defense. I knew I had to step it up because I was always the smallest player on the field. The teams are lining up for the coin toss we get to have the ball first we run a wham counter our biggest wingback gets the ball for a five-yard carry. The sidelines are screaming my team is getting smacked silly and is in pain. and they snap the ball and get sacked for a three-yard loss the crowd gets louder and louder as the screaming goes on. We lose another five yards, and then we have to switch sides because our time limit is up.