prs+memior

Paul Sommers Eng 103 Dr. Hartman 9/15/10  Worth It? It was the third game of the year and I was starting full back and linebacker. We were playing St. Jude, which was our rival school, and we wanted to demolish them. It was my eighth grade year and I just made the weight to be in the backfield by two pounds. That meant I was one of the biggest running backs in our league. During this game they couldn’t find a way to stop me running up the middle and I was gaining six to eight yards a carry. My coach was a firm believer in “ If it works then keep doing it until it doesn’t!” We had the ball and were driving it to end the half. It was my tenth time in a row to get the ball and I was getting extremely winded. We finally marched it down the field and as I crossed the goal line for the touchdown I was hit in the back by their middle linebacker I didn’t think much of it at the time just thought of it as a hard hit. As I was trotting off the field I felt I sharp pain in my lower back. It was unbelievably uncomfortable and I figured it was just a minor injury. At half time I had one of the coaches stretch my back muscles and rub the part that hurt. I went ahead and finished the game. I went home that night and knew it wasn’t just a minor injury, but was more serious. I completely ignored it though and didn’t allow myself to think anything of it. One reason was because I knew how much my team needed me to play. We only had fifteen players so everyone was needed. The other reason was because we played nativity the next week. That was a game I could not miss. Nativity was my old school. I went there from kindergarten to fifth grade. I still had a lot of friend who went there. Everyone knows it great to beat a rivaling team, but nothings greater than having bragging rights over your friends. If I won, it would be something I could hang over my friends’ heads forever. This game was not just important to me, it was important to my entire team. We were said to be the best two teams in the league and we knew it was not going to be any easy game. The team practiced extremely hard knowing how good Nativity was. I practiced as much as I could but coach didn’t want me to practice too much and not be able to play in the game on Sunday. I hated sitting out of practice but I knew I had to if I wanted to play. It was the longest week and it took forever for it to finally become game day. Finally, it was here though and I couldn’t wait. I arrived to the game early so that my coach could wrap by back up. We went out into the parking lot and we got to his van and he said “Drop your pants down so I can put some ointment on there and wrap your back up.” I dropped it so my entire butt was exposed. I turned around and there was car driving towards us. I wasn’t too worried about it because it was only my butt. Then I saw the entire Nativity cheerleading squad start peeking their heads out to stare at my bare butt. They all laughed hysterically. It was the most embarrassing moment in my life but I didn’t have much time to think about it. The game started in a few minutes and I needed to focus up and think about the game. I hadn’t played football in a week and I was so ready to hit someone. We were kicking off and as soon as the whistle blew the rain came down. There is only one thing more fun than playing football, playing football in the rain. I was on the kick off team. I couldn’t wait to hit someone after watching practice all week. I took off but I didn’t feel nearly as fast as I did before. When I finally got to hit someone it hurt me way worse than it did him. Usually when I hit someone I could feel his body collapse underneath me. This time it was the opposite though and it was me who was being crushed. The game was like a game of tug of war. Just like our coach said it was a tough game. The rain seemed to come down harder and harder with each second. Our already heavy pads doubled in water weight. Neither team was getting anywhere with the other. It was zero to zero going into the fourth quarter. Both teams were extremely warned down. The pain in my back was completely numbed by the intensity. Nativity had the ball and it was fourth and ten from there own 40. Their quarterback dropped back and looked for an open receiver. I was watching his eyes to see where he was going to throw it. He was staring down his tight end, which was my man. I knew he was going to throw it to him. I gave him a little cushion so the quarterback thought he was open. As soon as he threw it I broke on the ball and grabbed it from the air. When I jumped up it felt like someone had stabbed me in the back. I was in extreme pain but my mind snapped off that as soon as I saw the end zone. I ran towards it but I couldn’t pump my legs. I was running extremely slow and my teammates could tell I wasn’t at my best. As soon as they saw me they took over. They blocked every person on the field as I slowly made my way into the end zone. My team broke out in a cry of excitement. We were all jumping around and for those three minutes of celebration I totally forgot about everything. After, the three minutes passed my excruciating pain was back. I couldn’t even stand. The next day I found out that I had cracked a vertebra on both sides in my back. The doctor said that I cracked one half of it at the first game and the second have the second game. I couldn’t play football for two years after and had to wear a back brace for five months. My coach later came up to me and asked, “Was that one game worth it?” “Wouldn’t have changed a thing,” I said.