A New Football Season, But The Same Old Superstitions!

Submitted by Gretchen Rose on Mon, 09/29/2014 - 15:14. | comments

The first of September finally turned up on the calendar. It's a month which I look forward to every year because it comes with it the promise of a new school year, a break from the Texas heat, and yes, my friends, the beginning of football season. I know I am not alone in saying that, for football fans, the seven long months between the last play of Super Bowl Sunday in February and the beginning of September without football is like spending time on the dark side of the moon! We football moms are still working, just not at full capacity. Celebrating a touchdown

Her son finally recovered from a stress fracture of his back, a Dallas mom begins his sixth year of football with a mixture of anxiety and excitement.

Gretchen Rose

From Son Up to Son Down: A Middle School Football Game-Day Diary

Submitted by Gretchen Rose on Thu, 09/12/2013 - 18:50. | comments

The big day finally has arrived! Who is ready for some Tuesday night football? After a summer of workouts, drills, and tournaments, it is finally time for my son to use all the skills he has learned on the football field.

After 8 years of playing against the other neighborhood school teams, the 7th grade is finally together as one team. The first game is a big one. The schedule has 7th grade as the away team, so it comes with the added bonus of traveling on a bus with 100 + of your favorite 12- and 13-year-old boys. Just bless the coaches right now!

So here is the game-day journal of just another football mom, navigating her way through the waters of 7th grade football!

After 8 years of playing against the other neighborhood school teams, a Texas youth football player begins 7th grade football. Want to know what it's like for his mom? Well, here's her game-day journal.

Gretchen Rose

Two-A-Days: Are You Ready For Some Football?

Submitted by Gretchen Rose on Thu, 08/22/2013 - 13:19. | comments

Mid-August in Texas can only mean one thing: it is time for football season, finally!

Before we can start school and focus on the upcoming schedule, we tune up with "two-a-days." In its purest form, that means teams practice in the early morning, take a break, and come back in the evening for a second practice, thus avoiding practice during the hottest part of the day. Football player hydrating

A Texas mom of two teenagers - a son in his first year of middle school football and a daughter on the high school drill team - slogs through an endless series of two-a-days in preparation for another year of school and sports.

Gretchen Rose

Season Tickets For Texas High School Football: Priceless

Submitted by Gretchen Rose on Sun, 06/16/2013 - 16:42. | comments

I wonder how much a ticket would cost to see Game 7 of a Boston Red Sox World Series game at Fenway Park. What would some "Cheeseheads" in Wisconsin do to get tickets for the NFC championship at Lambeau Field, January snow and all? A ticket to any NBA final with Michael Jordan playing would have been priceless. In some years, a single ticket to the Texas/OU game during the State Fair of Texas can cost thousands. Map of Texas with fooball pin in Dalls

No doubt about it, sports fans love their teams and the games they play. Because for some games and some teams are so iconic that the money and time spent are priceless. High school football is that way for one Texas mom.

Gretchen Rose

Texans Celebrate Thanksgiving With the 4 Fs: Family, Friends, Food, and Football!

Submitted by Gretchen Rose on Tue, 11/13/2012 - 21:50. | comments

The days are getting shorter. The leaves on the trees are turning beautiful shades of burnt orange, maroon, gold and plum. The election season is finally over, too. The temperature has dropped below 80 in Texas. For me, it is the best time of the year. Time to concentrate on the 4 Fs for the remaining weeks of the year: Family, Friends, Food, and, of course, Football.

Bountiful Feast

Pecan pie topped with dollop of whipped cream

Thanksgiving is all about the 4 Fs in Texas. Our turkeys are roasted, unless you are tailgating for the holiday. That bird is deep-fried in a propane cooker on asphalt in the parking lot.

Thanksgiving will be a bit different in Texas this year. While one mom from Dallas says it will still be celebrated with family, friends, food, and football, one tradition will be missing: for the first time in nearly a century, the University of Texas Longhorns won't be playing the Texas A & M Aggies.

Gretchen Rose

When A Player Is Hurt, Every Mom Feels Their Pain

Submitted by Gretchen Rose on Sun, 10/28/2012 - 20:44. | comments

The hit was clean. The defensive end came off the line quickly and got around two offensive blockers. He met the running back in the backfield and they crashed together to the turf. The fans cheering the offense fell silent. The defense had held, forcing a fourth down. Time to call, in the words of the announcer, a "$10.00 cab ride" for the offense.

The play was over, but the defensive end and the running back were still down. It was a scene no fan wants to see. Even if your child isn't the one injured, a sobering thought runs through your mind anyway: that it could have been.

The play was over, but the defensive end and the running back were still down. It was a scene no fan wants to see. Even if your child isn't the one injured, a sobering thought runs through your mind anyway: that it could be.

Gretchen Rose

Football Mom 2.0

Submitted by Gretchen Rose on Mon, 10/15/2012 - 14:28. | comments

The conversion is complete! What a difference a year can make! This time last year, I was a timid novice. I was new to the world of elementary school 11-man tackle football. As a mom, I wanted to learn quickly, so I could help my son and myself! I channeled the truly great one, Olivia Manning! She is a football mom with no peers! With two sons in the NFL, she has seen it all! Every day and every situation, I would ask myself, "What would Olivia do ?" She served me well. We had a very successful first year in the league.

With her son in his second year playing football, a Texas mom has taken her game to a whole new level, but because she loves football and her son, it was easier than she thought to "graduate."

The Sport