Guest Post: Not Just a Game

This is the first guest post on my blog.  I may be a little biased, but the writer is a pretty wonderful, Godly woman: my mom.  After she came to her first NGU game about a month ago, she commented on how different it was than what she expected.  I was curious as to why it was so different for her, and thought you might like to hear her firsthand experience and thoughts. Thanks for writing this Mom.  I'm glad you got to see and experience a little taste of our lives.  Without further ado, here is her story...

This was going to be so fun! I hadn't been to a football game in years. We were really looking forward to seeing our son-in-law's coaching skills and watching his team play. We found out later he was going to be making calls from the press box, so we wouldn't see him "in action", but it was great to say hi before the game started as he stopped to give Sara a quick kiss.

However, since our daughter is a football coach's wife, the game experience was totally different than I expected.

We arrived at Sara and Brett's home on Friday night. It was a relaxed evening; Sara made a good meal and we all just visited, watched TV, and spent time together.

Saturday was a different story.

Brett went in to the office early so we were lazy in the morning. He came back at lunch and I sensed a change in his demeanor from the evening before. When he was getting ready to leave for the school, Sara gave him a kiss and said, "Go get 'em coach!" John said, "Good luck!" And then I added, "And remember it's just a game." Bad call!

Brett said goodbye and left. Sara immediately corrected me saying it isn't just a game, it's his career. I felt terrible! There was nothing I could do to change my comment, so I resolved to be more careful in how I responded in the future (a struggle I've had for 54 years!).

There was an air of anticipation and excitement when we arrived.The football stadium is really nice, only 6 years old and the bleachers even had backs, which was great for John's back and his mom, Kiku. Kiku said they would win because she was there to cheer for them.

I could tell Sara was tense. When Brett's team scored the first touchdown, we all yelled and jumped up and down. Sara was happy, and there was such relief on her face. I was beginning to understand the pressure she felt and that it wasn't just a game!

Not remembering the details or all the plays, I do know we scored a field goal and then the other team made a touchdown, so we were only up a few points. Sara's face said it all. She was very concerned the other team was going to score again and take the lead. Again, this wasn't just a game.

At the half we were still ahead. I told Sara I had no idea how much stress coaches and their wives were under!  I was thrilled when we scored again, for the points on the scoreboard, and to see the tension begin to fade away on her face. That brought even more joy.

We won that day. A blessing for the team? Yes. And much relief and joy for our daughter and son-in-law.

I won't ever think about football in the same way again. It isn't just a game! Hours of planning and training go into every game. The coaches want their guys to play their best, not have any injuries and know they've done all they could to prepare their team. There are livelihoods on the line, coaches' and players' futures at stake, a lot of stress, and even more prayer!