Together we make football - my story

[titan]

I posted my story of having Bronco season tickets for 45 years (since age 12!) for the nfl contest "together we make football"

If you have liked my reports here (training camp, bronco qb club, dallas road trip) go to the link below and "like it" - maybe that'll help get it noticed.

http://www.togetherwemakefootball.co...550b6f7400000d

More reports coming - the bronco qb club is working on a "broncos legends" meeting for november and I'll post a summary here on orange mane.

Tim ("titan")

[baja]

Done!

Love your reports Titan, keep up the great reporting.

[DenverDynamite]

Very nice!

[OBF1]

Put a smile on my face. Thanks for sharing Tim

[randerson1184]

Great write-up! Excellent story.

[crawdad]

Great story, Tim! I started following them cause my fiance's neighbors had season tickets back in 1969 while stationed at Lowry.

[Irish Stout]

Loved the story Titan, thanks for sharing. That site is way over complicated though. Took me a few minutes to figure out how to scroll down in your story.

[broncocalijohn]

Nice story but I cannot believe you left us in the South Stands!

[broncosteven]

Good stuff Titan!

[sutoazul]

Good story!! I voted for it!

[Miss I.]

Pretty great. I posted a story also about some friends of mine on there. I doubt we have a shot at it, but I wanted their story to be on there too because it's just a nice father son thing. At any rate I did like yours too because it is brilliant. Good luck.

[TD4HOF]

Done. Great story and good luck!

[baja]

So I see all the 'great story ' comments and went back to the link. I didn't realize the first time around the story box would scroll - duh. Now that I have actually read the story - I can say great story. I hope you win you embody what the contest is all about.

[DenverBound]

Classiest Broncos fan of all time. Hope you win.

[*WARHORSE*]

I started writing my story and went to submit it............realizing the time difference 5 minutes too late.

Oh well.

If you care to read.....its true. This is what I was gonna submit.





Millington Tennessee, 1972.

I was really scared. I didnt know anyone. On my very first day, when the other kids had been practicing for weeks, they padded me up, lined me up at tailback and told me to run it up the gut. I did okay I guess. The coach, who I had never seen before slapped me upside my helmet and told me “Great job kid!”
He turned to my dad, “Hes never played?”
“Nope.”
That was my only practice that year. My dad, a career Marine, was a Vietnam vet. A man who went where the real fighting was. And he got orders again.. I didnt know where and I didnt know if I would see him again. I was nine.
There was something about football. When he was gone, I would think of him whenever I saw it on TV. I was afraid of it, yet my dad who I loved so much and who I was so proud of just couldnt stop trying to get me to love it too. I remember him telling me to come stand by him while he was watching it on TV. Sometimes he would make me hold the antennae so we could get better reception. And he would say things like, “Do you know who that is? THATS Dick Butkus.” Or “THATS Fran Tarketon. FRAN THE MAN!”
I would stand there listening and being amazed at why he got so animated when football was on the TV.
We moved to Frayser Tennessee later and my dad told me to try out for football. I did. I made it but once again didnt know anyone. I pretty much was there because of my dad, but my new best friends in the neighborhood, brothers John and Pat ____r were there with me and their dad was the coach. I was pretty much biding my time until we were done because “Im not a quitter” and didnt plan on playing again.
That was until about mid season the coach stuck me in at nose guard and told me to ‘get rough out there!”
I bloodied the centers nose on the first play knocking him into the backfield. He was afraid after that but stayed in the game. Back in those days, you didnt come out for a bloody nose. I was effective out there and was disrupting everything because I was getting in the backfield making stops. I was running back to the sideline when coach John pointed his finger at me and screamed for all the world to hear, “CMERE BOY!!! DADGUMMIT CMERE!!!!!!”
I went over to him waiting to hear what I did wrong. He looked really upset. He grabbed me by the facemask and said, “Did I hear right?? Did you bust that kids nose out there??” I was scared. Coach John was big. There was blood on my forearm pads.
“Yessir” I whispered.
He began pulling me back and forth by the facemask like I was a ragdoll. And I was about ready to cry I think.
“DAD GAMMIT I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU BOY!! Look at you! LOOK AT YOU!!!” As if I could see myself.
“ Youre a beast SON!! Scuse mah french but youre a DAD GUM BEAST!!! WAY TO GO SON!!!! Way to play FOOT-ball OUT THERE!!!!!”
He was hitting me on the helmet, my teamates were screaming at me and patting me on the head and all of sudden I just let out a “YEAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!”
Man did it feel good. I clenched my fists...
“YYEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! !!!!!
Didnt know where it came from. But there it was.
I used to say Coach John created a beast that day, but it was football really.
Leaving the game, hearing all the comments from the dads, the moms, the coaches, the refs, the grandmas, auntys, uncles....oh man. All this in front of my parents, my sisters and most of all the cheerleaders.
I was ALIVE. And I wanted to feel like this ALL the time.

I connected with my dad that day like I never had cause I understood. I understood why my dad got so animated about football. Football was life. And life was alive when football was going on. All the way home he told me all the intricacies of football and how good I could be if I wanted. It felt like heaven.
My name is D_______W_____ and I played for the Denver Broncos of Denver Elementary School in Frayser Tennessee. We had thirteen players the next year and we took second in the F.R.A.
I love football.