I just have to share this. Austins friend Cassidy asked me last night if it was OK to submit an essay about Austin to the NFLs Together We Make Football contest. Here is what she wrote: ___________ All season long, during commercials when fans are waiting anxiously for the game to come back on, I’ve heard Tell us your football story but never thought twice about it. I’ve seen the stories of handicapped and sick children who football has brought happiness to, but never thought it could impact the average fan. I didn’t want to waste NFL readers’ and my own time writing a story of how football changed my life just to win a prize. I was your average football fan, and that was it... or so I thought. I never imagined that football would become the reason behind one of the hardest times in my life—and also the reason I’m able to get through it. I’m a college freshman in Fort Myers, Florida, at a school I didn’t expect to attend; I always pictured myself at a college with a football program. My college doesn’t have a football team, but it does have modern architecture, a great nursing program I plan on pursuing and is within a few hours of both the Miami Dolphins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although raised in the Tampa area, I’m a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan. My parents were born in Wisconsin, where you’re either a Cheesehead or not a football fan! So imagine my excitement when I started meeting fellow Packers fans on our college Facebook page this summer as we anticipated the start of school in the fall. My football story is about a fan named Austin who changed my life forever. As die-hard Packers fans, Austin and I were fast friends on Facebook; in fact, he asked me to marry him as soon as he saw I was a Packers girl! We texted all summer and made plans to watch the Packers together in college. It was comforting to know I already had a good friend and Packers buddy to share my college experience with. Our friendship grew even stronger when we met in person. For all the stories of online and virtual friendships not working out in real life, ours was the opposite. Although our love of the Packers brought us together, we had so much in common. Austin made me laugh, and his love of life was contagious. We spent much of our free time together—going to the beach, paddleboarding, playing video games and throwing a football around at the pool, lake and fields on campus. His friends were my friends, and my friends were his. We were forming a bond and social circle that would carry us through our college days. It was wonderful, and I was grateful that our love of the Packers brought us into each other’s lives. On the night of September 13, we played video games in Austin’s room with another Packers friend whom we nicknamed Wisconsin (to avoid confusion since his name also was Austin, and he was the only Packers fan we met who actually lived in Wisconsin). I remember thinking as I returned to my dorm that night how grateful I was to have these two guys who I knew only because of football playing such a large role in my life. And that’s where the wonderful part of our story ends. Austin died suddenly in his dorm only a few hours later—exactly one month after his college life began and only three weeks after his 19th birthday. It also was the day we were finally going to watch our first Packers game together. He was on the phone with his mom when his lungs filled with fluid and he took his last breath. So far there is no explanation as to why. That morning—through the tears and disbelief over our friend who had his whole life ahead of him—I told Wisconsin I would never be able to look at anything Packers-related again without thinking about Austin. He nodded in agreement. Every day for the next two weeks, I wore my Green Bay Packers bracelet in Austin’s memory. I only took it off to shower, which I dreaded because it felt so wrong leaving it on my desk and walking out of the room, even knowing I would put it right back on once I dried off. My passion for the Green Bay Packers has grown tremendously in this past month without Austin. I feel like it’s my job to carry on not only his love for football and the Packers, but also my own. He would think that’s really funny, but I’m sure he also would approve. I just got a job at a sports memorabilia store so I can surround myself with Packers apparel and knickknacks, and therefore the many happy memories I was fortunate to create with Austin during our friendship. And the newest addition to my dorm is Austins most prized possession: an Aaron Rogers autographed football. His mom gave it to me when she came to pack his dorm last week, assuring me Austin would want me to have it. I’ll cherish it for the rest of my life. Looking back, football has always been here for me on the roller coaster of life. From the picture of me as a toddler sitting on a Scooby-Doo statue in a Packers cheerleading uniform, to a few years later when my parents’ divorce had me bringing my singing We Are the Champions toy hamster to a sports bar to watch Packers games with my daddy. Football also was there after my first heartbreak in high school, where again I coped by bonding with my dad over our love of football. And finally, football was here for me when I lost my dear friend Austin. A tradition since 1920 and in my life since I was born in 1995, football will continue to be my #1 hobby and support system when needed. In my own life as well as in many, football creates friendships. Friendships create memories. Memories create emotions and love. And THAT’S what we all live for. ____________________ Cassidy, youre an angel, and your essay already wins the grand prize in my book. Austin was SO lucky to have you in his life!
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 16:57:55 +0000
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