My time with a Statesman coming to end

For the past two years in the fall, I’ve followed my brother and his family around the Midwest watching my nephew Hayden play football for the Statesmen of William Penn.
He’s the WPU longsnapper and most of you that read this column know that from past writings. But this week is something a little more special. As we head to Oskaloosa, we head there for the last time in our 49 jerseys.
Hayden played for West Burlington and started as a freshman. I still remember being at Bill Nelson Field when they put him in at quarterback that year and he drove the Falcons to their first touchdown of the game. He played quarterback for about a year before they moved him to fullback, and tight end, and linebacker, and kicker.
I wept at his last high school game, which was played in Fort Madison. It was also the same day my wife left for Texas. So that day sucked, anyway. But it was still sad to see the Friday nights come to an end. Hayden’s fun crazy in pads and has been playing since he was a little kid. He has a radar for collisions and sometimes it goes a little haywire. But his father gets to relive football through his son and that’s something special for me to watch.
Hayden was a multisport athlete playing baseball, football, and basketball. He dabbled with track in junior high and had some discus record or shot or something. I don’t remember. I didn’t get to go to a lot of those.
I got to a lot of baseball games and basketball games. Watching him play was something that I didn’t get to do as a father. My oldest daughter was a cheerleader, and we were in the stands for those. My youngest daughter liked to go to wrestling matches and cheer on the Bloodhounds. I was usually working, but she liked to tag along. I coached them both when they were younger. I only wanted to coach youth sports. I didn’t have a big passion for the high school gig. Really, I don’t think I was smart enough for all that.
Hayden signed his scholarship with WPU to play baseball. It wasn’t until a meandering football coach saw him messing around with a football at a spring baseball practice and approached him about playing football, as well, that he joined the team. Hayden had considered WPU for football, but decided to play baseball instead to save a little wear and tear on his body.
But after some heavy deliberation, and probably some nudging from his old man, he decided to give it a shot. His first year he didn’t play a lot and I didn’t travel all over with the family. The second year, he was on the roster as the long snapper and back-up tight end. His spring game that year, he racked up about 50 yards and a couple first downs, and looked good. That was the last time he took a snap on offense. Since that time, he has just been the snapper on punts, field goals, and extra points.
But even with him getting in maybe 10 plays per game, we’ve built a little cult around this guy, who’s still a kid to me. Everytime he runs onto the field we bellow “FORTY-NIIIIIIINE” from our perch somewhere in the stands or in the grass of these NAIA college stadiums.
And let’s not take these small schools for granted. I mean, Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas has got some game. They don’t just play good football, they know how to tailgate and an absolutely charming campus with old stone buildings built in a little valley, and a charming downtown.
We made friends with a bartender in Fayette, Missouri two years ago when we were looking for some pregame nummies and he was just getting open. We helped sweep the floor and put the chairs down and then he served us a couple beers and a pizza, and put on the televison. We went back this year and did the exact same thing for his wife.
I’ll miss all this. I don’t know what I’ll do next fall – but let’s not be stupid about it. You know I’ll find something. Maybe we’ll go back to my brother's and my alma mater and start watching the Leathernecks. I’m pretty sure they know how to tailgate there. Or maybe we’ll just bum around Iowa City on game day and crash other tailgaters. I’ve been known to be a little social in those environments. I know – most of you know me as the reserved, quiet reporter who lives in the shadows and backgrounds – nah, that’s a bunch of crap.
My children have given me wonderful memories and we laugh about them regularly. My brother’s kids give me the same goosebumps when I see them in their elements. And when they grow out of them, or say move to Hawaii, it hits almost as hard as when my own girls moved into college dorms or to big cities.
I guess what we look forward to now is being able to spend time with them all in different spaces and different places. I’m sure there were tears spilled somewhere Saturday in Osky. Now the fun comes watching them move into adulthood and the plans and chaos that will ensue from there.
And in the realm of chaos, I have to give a shout out to former Fort Madison baseball coach and current Van Buren baseball coach Ron Walker.
On Tuesday morning, I came down with infections in both eyes, and came down the stairs to rain in my basement. The rain was coming from yet another pipe that burst. But I have an old cap and tube wiring and wasn’t thrilled about walking through water to get to the main shutoff. Ron has started a company called Coach’s Plumbing, something he and I had discussed many times before. Ron showed up about an hour later and in 24 hours had the basement repiped. He’s got a good business model at a good time and does work in Fort Madison, so give him a call when things get wet. I’m not sure he’ll stop the tears from my family growing up, but he's quick with a leak – But that’s Beside the Point.
Chuck Vandenberg is editor and co-owner of Pen City Current and can be reached at Charles.V@PenCityCurrent.com.