Javalina has undergone some growing pains in his football life and like a phoenix and has come out with a promotion to varsity and a new moniker, he is now being called Baby Jesus by the coaching staff. Mijo has had his ass kicked around as he adjusts to bigger, faster, stronger kids, but this boy loves that sort of thing. He looked like a husky bruiser last year and was playing both sides of the ball on the JV squad, now he is playing second string and was barely in at the end of the game for mop up duty. I felt a little bad for him because I know he is a competitive boy and he wants to prove he can compete anywhere you put him. I also know he is just not as big as some of the older kids and I don't need him getting abused and possibly hurt because he is not fully ready for the new challenges, so in the end I was mostly glad he didn't get hurt on the field.
We were unsure we would even be able to attend the game until Tuesday or Wednesday this past week. We finally were able to buy reserved seats for the game on the morning of the game, which was on Thursday night. We had to log onto a school website and follow instructions on how to buy the tickets, I believe I ended up on the wrong one because although it had a screen to buy tickets, they were never available. Wife, luckily, had better luck, and she was able to get us tickets and entry into the game. The game was played at the Hays football field and for a high school facility, it was really nice. The field is artificial turf, as most are nowadays. The bleachers were all aluminum and in fairly good condition. There were a good number of parents in attendance compare to last season when it seemed like just a handful of parents showed up for some games.
The game itself was a blow out in favor of the opponents. It started out well enough with the Coogs getting an interception and a couple plays later a long pass taking us to the five yard line, but then reality set in and a bad snap gave the ball back to the Jaguars and it just fell apart from there. The score was a horrid 56-8, but at least nobody was badly hurt. Towards the start of the fourth quarter, Baby Jesus finally got on the field playing defensive tackle and he looked the part. He was shooting off from his four point stance and managed a solo tackle on his second play shooting around his blocker and catching the running back in the back field and getting dragged up to the line of scrimmage for a good looking clean tackle. He said his coach joked with him that "he was not a religious man, but he might become a convert and believe in the power of the Baby Jesus." He is getting called this because of his long hair which flows out from the back of his helmet which helps to identify him in a crowd.
The game was a little rough, but I was just happy everyone walked off the field with no serious injury. I know there is an increased risk to getting the virus by involving ourselves in this activity, but what if there is no vaccine for another year or two? Is he just supposed to spend his whole high school life hidden inside our house? He has some growing and learning to do, he has to be part of something and being a part of the team is good for his character growth and I know he gets a great feeling of pride in being an athlete. We are doing the best we can. We wear our masks, we don't socialize as much with the other parents, Wife was with me and we mostly kept to ourselves once we sat down. I just my son to enjoy his favorite thing, it is important for him.
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