When I feel that chill, smell that fresh cut grass
I'm back in my helmet, cleats, and shoulder pads
Standing in the huddle, listening to the call
Fans going crazy for the boys of fall
They didn't let just anybody in that club
Took every ounce of heart and sweat and blood
To get to wear those game-day jerseys down the hall
The kings of the school, man, we're the boys of fall.
That is the first verse to Kenny Chesney’s song, “The Boys of Fall.” The song has so much meaning, so much truth, so much love for the game and the bonds with teammates, brothers. I'll never forget when my coach showed this song to the entire team. It brought us together. Playing high school football is a life changing experience, and everyone who played it will say the same thing. Playing high school football changes your life. It sure changed mine.
When you grow up in a town where every game the stands are packed, the lights shine bright, there are a lot of expectations for us 15 to 18-year-old kids. People look forward to these games all week long and if us players don’t deliver a W, well the next morning is rough for us. What people see is the on the field stuff. They see big hits, touchdowns, big passes and runs, field goals, celebrations, they see it all. What people don’t see is the behind the scenes. The endless sprints, the endless hitting each other every play, the endless yelling from our coaches that we loved so much, the endless workouts, the endless hours. We put our blood, sweat and tears into that turf, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Playing high school is exhilarating, man. Exhilarating. Lining up next to, not your teammates, but your bothers is awesome. I miss playing high school football more than anything on this Earth. That first line “When I feel that chill, smell that fresh cut grass I'm back in my helmet, cleats, and shoulder pads Standing in the huddle, listening to the call Fans going crazy for the boys of fall." That speaks volumes. I can smell the grass now, I can feel the heat of the turf in mid-August, I can feel the equipment on me again. You make bonds with your brothers than can never be broken. Because no one could ever replace or take away what we’ve been through together. We went through the sprints, the injuries, the yelling, the workouts at 6:15 in the morning for one reason: to wear those game day jerseys down the hall. We felt like kings, and damn well we deserved to.
In life, we always focus on tomorrow. What we’re going to do next in our lives and sometimes, most time we forget about tonight. What does tonight mean? Because tomorrow is never guaranteed. Well when your strap up the shoulder pads, lock in your helmet, put the mouthpiece in, all that matters is tonight. All that matters are having your brothers' backs out there. All that matters is getting the W.
Well it's turn to face the stars and stripes
It's fighting back them butterflies
It's call it in the air, alright
Yes sir, we want the ball
And it's knocking heads and talking trash
It's slinging mud and dirt and grass
It's I got your number, I got your back
When your back's against the wall
You mess with one man, you got us all
The boys of fall.
Getting to stand there, listen to national anthem being played, looking at your brothers, looking back at your loved ones in the stands, looking into the dark, Friday night sky, looking at the flag that honors and protects this amazing country, right before you go into battle is spine chilling. It's emotional. How can you not get emotional about football? It’s an emotional game.
Fighting back the butterflies might be the hardest thing in high school football. You know your coaches have taught you and prepared you enough for the week, you know your teammates have your back but those butterflies always kick in. You don’t want to let your brothers down; you want to excel and go out there and give it your all. And until the ball is kicked into the night air, well those butterflies will carry with you the whole day.
I played for high school football in Levittown, New York, on Long Island. Played for the Macarthur Generals, wearing the red, white and blue. It’s hard to describe the relationship we had as a team. I know most teams say they’re brothers and they’ll do whatever for their team, but how many times do they really mean it? I truly believe, my senior year, every single person on that team were brothers. On the field, off the field we had each other’s back. If we saw someone down, we picked them up right away. If someone was in trouble off the field, well you know damn well the team was going to be wherever our brother was to protect him. We wanted to see each other succeed. We wanted to win but we wanted to win for each other. That year we were picked to finish 6th in that conference. Why? Well we moved up to the best conference in Long Island and there were a lot of players on the team with very limited Varsity playing time.
We all were in a group chat together. That’s how close we got was that group chat, it was legendary. Anyway, we all said in that group chat that we think we're the best team in our conference. Trust me, we all read Newsday’s preseason rankings. We saw what they said about us. They said we would just sneak into the eight team playoff as the sixth seed. We saw that they wrote that we were inexperienced, we saw people say we might not even make the playoffs. We’d be lucky to finish with an above .500 record. We didn’t care. We read what they wrote about us but it’s not like we cared. We didn’t take that as offense. We took that as the biggest motivation possible. Pick us last, we want you too, well prove you wrong. And we did. We finished that season 6-2, losing both games by a combined of 8 points, placing as the third season in the conference. Every game came down to the wire, every game was so close but we knew we could do this we said to each other. Were family and family always has each other’s back. We felt the love from the fans from day one. We knew they believed in us and for that were truly grateful. Sometimes the fans were so loud it was hard to hear in the huddle. I couldn’t even hear the play call from the Quarterback who was 5 inches away from me because the fans were so loud and into the game. Running out on a Friday night game, in front of our screaming, crazy, loud fans was amazing. That gave me chills then and gives me chills thinking about it. They were the best fans out there because they loved us so much.
The best memories I have are with my brothers. If it was celebrating a huge win that night, or taking naps in the locker room during off periods because our bodies were aching, if it was getting yelled at by the coaches, if it was running sprints until we dropped, if it was toilet papering cheerleader houses the night before homecoming,if it was pretending to be cheerleaders for a Breast Cancer Awareness fundraiser, if it was walking our Moms down the field on homecoming, if it was blasting the music in the locker room and dancing like crazy because we were just happy to be with each other playing the game we love. All those memories were absolutely unforgettable.
Our coaches were the best. They taught us more than the game of football. They didn't just prepare us for the next game. They taught us how to become men and they prepared us for life. We didn't know it at the time, but I realize it now and for that I'm grateful. I wouldn't be anywhere near the man I am now if it wasn't for them. They help change my life for the better. They took a boy and they turned me into a man. They taught me what it's life to face a tough situation and fight through it, to never quit, to keep moving forward. I don't know how I could ever thank my coaches for what they did for me, but I thank them for always having my back, on the field and especially off the field. It's a great feeling knowing the four of them had my back. I love my coaches. They're special.
After we lost in the playoffs to the eventual Long Island Champions, we were crushed. We felt like we failed our fans, our coaches, our town, ourselves. We knew we didn’t play our best. Even though we lost in overtime, we knew we should’ve won that game. We know we still had games left to be played. We knew we were the best team in the conference and I still believe that today. But after the game was over, the fans emptied out, the lights still on I walked out to midfield in uniform with two of my best friends since we were kids. We sat at the 50-yard line and just talked for about 20 minutes about all the memories, all the fun and everything we were going to miss. The two of them left and I sat there on a cold, fall Friday night. By myself, I put my head down and started to cry. I knew nothing was ever going to be like this again. This was the best moment of my life and now, in a blink of an eye, it was all gone. It was heartbreaking. The one thing I regretted was during those grueling, hard practices, I looked towards tomorrow. It didn’t matter how hard it got, I loved every minute and I realize that now.
There was no better feeling, winning a game, celebrating on the field, going into the stands to see loved ones, take pictures with them, taking pictures with your brothers, and then going out that night to celebrate the win.
Yeah, high school football was grueling, it was hard, it was difficult. None of that mattered. High school football is the most genuine football out there. It's competitive, it’s fun. You don’t have to worry about if you’re going to get drafted, what your next contract will look like. It was pure. And that’s what I miss the most.
After I graduated, I got to see my brothers a year younger than me, avenge our playoff loss by winning themselves a County Championship. Proving they were one of the best teams in Long Island. And yet again, people doubted them but they knew they were the best and I couldn't be more proud of them when they proved all the writers, all the media, all the hatters wrong.
Never take this sport, this moment for granted. One day you'll blink and it's over. Seeing your brothers, all the good times, all the blood, sweat and tears are all gone. And it hurt likes hell. But when you live in the moment and you make the most of it, and you love your brothers and when you take every moment like it's your last, then there will be no regrets.
Playing High School football can be described by one quote. The quote comes from the fictional character Eric Taylor in the show Friday Night Lights. "Every man at some point in his life is gonna lose a battle. He's gonna fight and he's gonna lose. But what makes him a man is that in the midst of that battle, he does not lose himself." Every man will lose a battle, he will fight and he will lose. It happens all the time in football. But when you have your brothers and you have your coaches and you have your loved ones and you have that one, big family, you can't lose the war. And your brothers won't let you lose yourself. It's the bond that is unbreakable. Everything said in the locker room to one another stayed in the locker room. We trusted each other. Every team needs to find that to be successful. You need your brothers.
Never lose your brothers in the midst of the battle. Never lose yourself in the midst of the battle. Together, you can accomplish the world.
It’s a bond that can never be broken. I always try and keep in touch with my brothers. We remanence and talk about our favorite memories and we double over laughing. The memories are unforgettable. I always got my brothers backs and I know they always got mine, until our final day. We’d do anything for each other. That’s what happens when you play together, work together, every day, all year, all throughout the day. We became a family. We stayed a family. I love my brothers.
We were the Boys of Fall.
