Article October 12, 2009 Issue

football dreams

BY DOUG MOSER

In the small towns of Texas on Friday nights in the fall, thousands of people go out to stadiums to cheer on their local high school football teams. Playing high school football in Texas can be compared to playing basketball in Indiana—it's just "what you do." If you've read the book or watched the TV show Friday Night Lights, you know what I'm talking about!

Growing up in Texas, I started playing football in full pads in second grade, and dreamed of suiting up for my high school team one day. In my junior year, I got my chance, and started the first game of the varsity season against a former state championship team. It was a rather daunting experience for me, as I lined up across from a guy that outweighed me by nearly 100 pounds. Just a few plays into the game, he drove his helmet into the back of my exposed ankle—a cheap shot. After helping me up, he asked me if my leg hurt. I answered that it did, and he replied, "I'm going to break it." I was filled with feelings of fear, anger, confusion, and pain as I struggled to finish the first half of the game.

Whatever I'd faced a physical challenge or illness before, I'd always found healing through relying solely on Christian Science prayer-based treatment. But after the game, I agreed to have an X-ray taken in order to calm the fears of our team physician.