My Monthly Sports Minute: What Football Means to Me.

Meadowdale Pee Wee Football — in my hometown of Dayton, OH — is where my sports career started.

I vividly recall not enjoying my first few moments on the football field. It felt like punishment — my parents signed me up for football to keep me out of trouble. It’s ironic, before then, I couldn’t wait for my chance to get out on the football field. I wore a football costume for Halloween. My brother played football as well. And, I wanted to do everything he did. So, when he was at practice one day, there I was in my Halloween costume pretending to practice as well. My first few “real” practices were not fun, but I enjoyed game days.

After games started, you couldn’t pull me away football. As each Saturday passed, win or lose, I knew I had found something I could do every day.

One early football memory that stands out to me is of a game where we had to play an hour away in Cincinnati, OH. I’m not sure what happened, but there were only twelve kids from my team who were able to make the trip, including me. So, I had to play the majority of the game. I had no idea what I was doing. It was just fun being out there for around 99% of the game.
Side note #1: The kid I ended up sitting on probably did not enjoy his day. (Before you judge me, I did not do this on purpose- somebody pushed me).
Side note #2: We won the game. Shout out to our RB for showing up in the second half with fresh legs and shredding the defense.

I went from Meadowdale Pee Wee Football to Fairview Middle School’s team and lastly Meadowdale High School’s varsity team (we won’t speak about my attempted walk-on at Bethune-Cookman University).

Each year I played football, I found myself enjoying practice and the comradery too. Football was fun. The brotherhood formed with my teammates was great. We all shared a bond and we all had a common goal. We hardly knew anything about each other outside of football, but we knew if you were on the field we could rely on you to do your job.

My most enjoyable time playing football was in high school. This was the time when my teammates and I actually cared about winning (too bad we spent so much time losing). We became close. We hung out outside of practice. We hung out outside of school. The moments we created off of the field are almost just as memorable as the time we spent together on the field. So, when I think about football, I think about family and friendships. I think about the fun times we had while winning and the heartbreak we shared after losing. Whenever those days come up in thought or conversation, all of the emotions come back with them. From time to time, when I talk to my dad or my brother, our conversations may veer towards those precious moments in time.

Whenever I find myself in front of a TV watching a football game, I always think about the 8 year old who first hated practice. I always think about those years spent challenging myself and the person across from me. I think about my family, my teammates, and my opponents. I think about my son and I wonder if he will want to play football, if he will continue my family’s cycle.

— Bobby Elam, former varsity football player and current football fan