This article expresses the opinons of high school football from a mother's point of view and all the emotions she faces with a child's participation.
A mother wonders about the negative aspects of competition. The feelings of rivalry and failure give her cause to stay up some nights in deep thought. She wants what is best for her son and doesn't want to stifle his dreams or abilities because of her own personal fears. But she does have fears and she will continue to worry about her son long after even his teenage years are over.
Along with the fretting, comes the memory making experiences that brighten a mom's life. Seeing the child you raised on his way to becoming a man will create a lump in anyone's throat. She will watch her son run out on to the field and think about how far he has come from the moment of his first steps. Sitting on the sidelines, a mother will reminisce about days long past, from first words to these last years of school. She will watch the football game intensely so as to not miss a second of her son's glory days.
A mom is the ultimate cheerleader. Even if she sits there silently expressing it only with a smile. She is doing more cartwheels and hollering louder then any of the squad that is performing on the side of the field. She may not show it outwardly with dramatic gestures but she is dancing inside with every play carried out and every down completed. Even the quietest of mothers have been known to jump up at the sight of her son committing a touch down. Once in awhile these feelings of pride and admiration, for someone she has had a hand in creating, can not be contained.
A mother might miss a high school football game now and then. Circumstances of this fast paced society sometimes make it necessary to be somewhere else. But no matter where a mom is, her thoughts will be with her son. She will send a little prayer of protection because of her not being able to keep a watchful eye over the proceedings. She will see him run out on the field in her mind and automatically look at the clock when the time comes for the game to be ending. If she is not at home by the time her son should be, she will call with the pretense of finding out the outcome of the game with the real intention of making sure her son got home safe, sound and all in one piece.
Whether or not her son is a star football player or just a bench warmer, a mother will lovingly clean her son's letterman's jacket. She will lightly touch the high school's emblem before hanging the coat back in her son's closet. She will get teary eyed about how her son is testing his wings. She will think that even if he is not the best player on the field, he is darn sure the most handsome.
Long after a son's career of high school football is over, a mother will regale her friends with tales of his prowess as much as, if not more then, a son does himself. High school football, from a mom's point of view, is as important to herself as it is to a father. Even if she is not the one running plays in the backyard, you can often find her peeking out from behind a curtain, projecting her support through her eyes.
