Dylan's first football game

Dylan had his first football game last night. He's in the youngest league. In fact, I don't think David played football until 3rd grade. This league takes 2nd-5th graders. Needless to say, Dylan is one of the smallest guys on the team. He was so excited that he could play football this year that when he got his mouthguard, he wore it to bed three nights in a row. I finally put my foot down and told him to leave it on his helmet. We were late to practices because we would be ready to go and suddenly realize we had to go search his bedroom for the mouthguard. I haven't really watched his practices much so this is the first time I've really gotten to see these kiddos in action. I can summon the experience up in just two words: "sheer entertainment!" These boys are so much fun to watch in a totally different way from watching older kids who actually know what they are doing. The method seems to be, if you see a jersey of a different color than your own, jump on it! I mean, look at this, can all these boys really think they've just tackled the guy with the only ball in the game? After every play, it takes the coaches a couple minutes to get everyone back into position and then they do the dogpile thing all over again. I was very impressed as there was one (failed) passing play, and the whole crowd went absolutely wild when there was a fumble recovered by the other team.



Dylan is especially fun to watch - but then, I'll be the first to admit I'm biased. When waiting for the snap, he takes the crouching stance to extremes. That's him on the far left looking for all the world like a backwoods camper in desperate need of privacy. When seen from behind, his little butt looks like it's sitting on an invisible chair, he's so far down. At some other times, it's hard to tell what he's doing, although it's pretty obvious his head isn't always in the game. It's so clear these kids are having a blast and the parents are all so relaxed that it was an enjoyable experience all the way around. I guess it's not until high school football that over-zealous parents start booing the coaches and referees. That's a spectator sport I can do without. Judging by his smile at the end of the game, he had as much fun as we did.