Opening Kickoff

“You’re playing football?”

That was my reaction four years ago, when our oldest son, Matt, an incoming freshman at Jesuit prep school St. Louis University High School, told us of his intentions to go to football camp and then tryout that August.

We are not a football family. Tom, a teacher at SLUH, is also a soccer coach — 27 years and counting. From the time our boys were little, I was dragging them to soccer fields all over St. Louis. And I’m a former baseball writer — 17 years at the Sporting News. From the time our boys were little, I was dragging them to baseball stadiums all over the country.

Even basketball wouldn’t have surprised me. Tom is 6-feet-5, and both Matt and Jack come by their height honestly. Figuring Matt, who’s approaching 6-3 now, would be tall, I put a Little Tykes basketball hoop in his room before he was out of his crib — the same year I covered the NBA for the Sporting News. I even considered painting a Celtics logo on his hardwood floor, until the 2004 World Series made me wary of all thing Boston.

But football? No way. “He’ll go to camp and get hit and not like it,” I told my husband.

“They don’t hit in camp,” he replied.

“He won’t like those two-a-days in tryouts,” I said.

“You might be surprised,” he replied.

He lasted. He loved it.

And before I knew it, I had a football player. Below is a picture of his first game in Aug. 2008. Matt is the kid on the end, lined up against that big guy. I’d like to tell you what happened on the play, but I think I had my eyes closed. I just saw him running off the field with a grin on his face.

I had a football player.

How it all began, Aug. 27, 2008.