NFL/College Football Thread

Not by choice.  I thought I was set for law school after my BA in Government/Political Science, but with a court case looming, my application and acceptance was withdrawn.  I had no idea it would take more than two years of waiting to go to trial, looking over my shoulder, waking up in cold sweats from nightmares, and finding out who my real friends and family were - I worked many different jobs, while taking graduate courses at LSU without real direction.  

Saddled with debt from college, graduate school, and attorney fees, one of my professors encouraged me to teach for awhile. Another professor wanted me to apply for a fellowship at the University of Chicago Divinity School for a PhD in philosophy/religious study.  Another professor did everything but beg me to apply immediately with pre-approved acceptance for an MFA in creative writing.  Another professor wanted me to apply to Johns Hopkins for a PhD in Political Science.

I was tired of having little to no money and felt the pressure of those bills dangling like the Sword of Damocles above my head. A teacher recruitment fair popped up at LSU, and that's where I met my future dear friend and Yankee buddy Joe.  He offered me an opportunity to teach for a couple years in California.  I fully intended to return to Louisiana for law school.  The problem was that I accrued too much money taking courses to obtain a certification to teach, while I was teaching and coaching.  After my second year, just before I could finally afford a few items in the frozen food section of the supermarket, my Ford Thunderbird fully molted, and I was already performing administrative duties and accruing more debt from classes to obtain my administrative certification.    

Two more years, and people were telling me that I was being groomed for superintendent, to which I found ludicrous - I was going to go back to Louisiana for law school.  Then, Sarah was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and despite heroic efforts on her part, she was forced to stop working.  There was no way to leave my job for three years of law school, especially without medical insurance for Sarah.  Just one of her medications cost 700 dollars per month without insurance.  And, we had no clue as to how insidious the progression of her disease would be.  

Jerry Jeff Walker sang that "Life is mostly attitude and timing."  Unfortunately, it has been lousy timing and some life-threatening illnesses that confined me to the field of my father and siblings.  Granted, I have held many different titles  - probably more than my father and all of my siblings combined.  Except for my relationship with Sarah, I never felt so alive and excited as when I was in a competitive university environment.   It was just never meant to be.  

Every now and then, Sarah would look me in the eyes and tell me, "I know you're not completely happy doing what you're doing.  You didn't sign up for this life."  To which I would always reply, "If you recall our vows - in sickness and in health - it's exactly what I signed up for."