The Hit Case

"The Hit"

By: Bubba Horne

The hit that would shake the world and change my life forever occurred ten years ago. When I was seven years old just about to enter the first grade on a car ride back home from a family lunch my father asked me, "Son what do you think about playing football?". Instantly my anxious mind said I would love to. My mother not so confident as my dad and I was always worried about what may happen on the football field, but seeing my love for the game she just could not find herself saying, "No". I come out onto the football team of kids that had been playing with each other for a couple of years now. Being the new guy I knew I would have to step up and prove myself of the football player that I knew I could be. One player on our team was an exceptional athlete playing running back this young man just could not be tackled. Frustrated the coach asks, "Is there anybody at all that can bring down this guy?". With a hard pumping heart I buckled up my chin strap and said, "Coach I can".

With this being my first time ever strapping up some shoulder pads and sliding that jersey over my head and buckling up that chinstrap to secure the helmet on my head there was a part in me that said, "You do not have to do this". I knew what had to be done though and my heart spoke over my mind. My coach looked at me after I had spoken up and says, "Well go ahead Horne, get in there". We did the only drill known in football that separates the men from the boys. This drill is called "Oklahomas". I lined up across from my opponent and stared straight ahead at him. He was bigger, stronger, faster, and more experienced. I knew if I could come off the ball low and hard enough and keep my feet moving as fast as they could go just maybe I have a chance at bringing him down. Down... my hand sets in the dirt. Set... I raise my butt just a little and look my opponent face to face. Go... I fire off the ball meet him and hit him low and hard the crack of our pads got the entire team fired up and could have been heard from miles away. I wrap my arms around him chopped my feet as fast as they could go and I drive him straight to the ground. I get up wipe the dirt off of me seeing my teammate laying there on his back I reached out to help him up, he gets up and shakes my hand and the entire team claps all around knowing that this was going to be a good season and showing a sign of acceptance for me as there new teammate.

I loved football. I loved everything about it the sound of the pads cracking, the dirt, playing underneath the lights. Football has always been a major role in my life. There are times when it feels like all that I have is football. This year playing is my tenth consecutive year of playing football and I pray that it will never stop so that I may be privileged to go