Football Memories

I woke up this morning with a partially remembered dream about playing touch football during the halftimes of Denver Bronco games trying to invade my consciousness. I lost the thread of the dream, but it inspired some nice memories.

Back in the day, a group of friends and we Waltons rotated houses on Sundays to watch the Denver games. The Broncos had John Elway playing for them at that time and win or lose he was always fun to watch. We were all a pretty athletic bunch and if the weather permitted, a ragtag football match usually broke out in the streets fronting our houses. Traffic was minimal in those days on Sundays and even less so when the Broncos were playing. Men, women, children and yapping dogs all took part. It was great fun and often so much fun that we'd be well into the third quarter before someone inside would yell that Elway was doing something extraordinary again and we ought to come and see.

My boys, sons Don and Todd, and I didn't need others to get up a game though. We had our own good time playing wide receiver against cornerback with me chucking the ball to whichever son was on offense at the time. Todd was three and a half years younger than Don and at a speed and coordination disadvantage, but he never let that get in the way of competing with his older brother. He developed a set of moves that were both hysterical and effective. He would run around (parked) cars, behind cars and onto cars to get separation and I would have to get the ball to him at just the right moment. Both boys could always catch well, so that was never a problem. Todd's best move was to run, fall and fake injury. When his brother relaxed his guard, Todd would jump up and burst into the open. Second best was to just get us all laughing one way or another, a thing he's always had a talent for, and then sprint into the clear. My passes weren't always the best at those times. In the early years - we started playing when both boys were very little - it was pretty much a mismatch when Don was on offense. Just pitch and catch, really. If we were playing on grass, I would purposely throw the ball high or low or behind him to make the grab more difficult. It was a joy to watch him dive and make a catch. Later, when both boys were in their teens, the talent gap closed substantially and Don had to play with greater intensity to get open.

It would be nice to get out and throw the ball around right now. Of course we'd be limited to five yard outs and hitches, but just seeing the boys shoving playfully and talking smack to each other would be all I need to make me happy. Since distance apart doesn't permit that - Don in Colorado, Todd in Maryland and Yers Trewly here in Panama - I guess we are left with just watching the games. That being the case...Go Broncos!