Sharon Williams Burk was the Football Fan in our house. I can tell you in great detail how Waterloo native Don Denkingers blown call in game 6 of the 85 World Series changed the outcome, and how my Dad refusing to turn off a Cardinals game nearly got us taken out by a tornado, but when I met Sharon I didnt know a Down from a Goalie. Where I lived in Missouri, there was not much interest in Football, but lots in Baseball and Basketball. My school didnt have a Football team (they still dont) and I never played ever. It is no wonder that the Football Cardinals went under in St Louis. For 2014, only the La Dodgers had better attendance than the Cardinals, and only the Oakland Raiders had worse attendance than the Rams. Kids just played Baseball every free minute. Unless the weather was to bad or we didnt have enough players. Mike Carroll and I used to trade punches at Qulin Eagles - Broseley Tigers Basketball games. It was a friendly rivalry that always sent us home bruised, but each proud of our team. But it was not that way for Sharon. Her Dad was an All-State Football player in High School back in Owatonna Minnesota. Both her brothers were star players for her High School and both went to college on Football scholarships. She was a loyal Iowa Hawkeye fan for all three sports they are known for, Hayden Fry era Football, Basketball, and Dan Gable inspired Wrestling. She had Black & Gold everywhere. She invited me over to watch Basketball. The Hawks were playing the Tennessee Volunteers. She was cheering vigorously for the Hawks, so I started cheering for the Volunteers. Stopped her right there. She stopped cheering and turned to me on the couch WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Well you are cheering for the one team, so I thought it would make it interesting if I cheered for the other. This was a new concept for her. I didnt suggest trading punches, but we enjoyed the game rooting for each team. Then came the day. She invited me and my kids to spend Thanksgiving Day with her family. It was a Football day, so I figured I would watch too. (Wrong) First things first, Sharons Mom, Karoll, welcomed me and tried to interest me in some snacks. I said No thanks, Ill wait for dinner. (She didnt tell me it was all snacks and no dinner like I was used to.) I was trim and fit in those days and didnt want to break my routine. It was middle of the afternoon when I learned from Sharon that snacks was dinner. Sharon encouraged me to sit on the couch with her two brothers and two brothers-in-law and get to know them. They were not interested in their Sisters new boyfriend though. It took a while, but the two teams lined up for a play. Each one seemed to last 8-15 seconds. Just when I thought I would see one, all five would charge the TV just like the offensive line did in the game. They would be shoulder to shoulder as close to the TV as they could get for every play. I gave up on watching the game and just watched them. :-) I was getting to know them. They had a nice Sister. She would come out of the kitchen and smile at me every so often. It was a good day just for that. When the Hawkeyes, or the UNI Panthers played and the game was on her radio station, she would have to work. She was the traffic manager. It was her job to make sure there was always something on the air, either the game or a commercial. Every so often she would break in and I would hear her voice on the Radio, This is Sharon, today it will be bitterly cold with snow and wind and blizzard conditions. (Or whatever the weather was that day.) After we got married, she never missed a game if it was on TV. She would always sit there watching intently in a perfect Al Bundy pose. (She did the hand thing just like Al.) When we were in Texas, she turned into a Longhorns Fan, on account of Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley. She was just as excited for their games. I finally did get interested when our grandkids started playing. The oldest boy, Joe, was really good. He was a Receiver, the one who caught the ball and made the touchdown. He had a partner, Eric Sanders, who was a terrific Quarterback. Eric would become the Quarterback for the UNI Panther college team. He is coaching for the Oakland Raiders now. Together, they were dynamite. Sharon was so proud :-) The whole family was. And two of her Nephews Quarterbacked Football and played Basketball for her High Schools teams. They were good too. It always made me a little nervous to go a game with Sharons Dad. He would get so worked up and start yelling at the officials. I just knew we were going to get kicked out. But the Officials had known him for two generations of kids and were used to it. Watching a game with Sharons little sister was dangerous. When something happen that excited her, she would jump up and start pounding on whoever she was sitting by. Our grandsons John and Zach were just coming into their own in sports when Sharon had to leave us. They each played Football one season freshman year. But John dropped that in favor of Rugby, which he really loves. Zach has become a really good Baseball player, and Basketball in the off season. Sharon did get to watch many of his games. He may be the only one I have pictures of? Several boys and girls tried Soccer, we went to their games, but that didnt last long. One granddaughter was competitive in Volleyball - the most popular girls sport here in Iowa. They go at it every bit as hard as any of the boys sports. And it is a girls sport that gets a lot of fan support. Sharon always lamented that her generation was relegated to being Cheerleaders for the boys instead of playing for themselves. Oh yeah, I forgot the Sharon a Cheerleader connection. One of our granddaughters, Samantha, is a pole vaulter ! Who would have thought a girl doing that? The rest... are working on it. I guess we will see what they do. She cant be here to watch them, but they know Grandma is proud of them, everyone.
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 03:05:26 +0000
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