Page 48 - Life's Outtakes 8

I want to give you the opportunity to drop down to
junior varsity if you would like. I can pretty much
guarantee that if you do, you will get lots of playing
time. Just come see me if you want to do that.”

Everyone knew that would be a loss of prestige.
The attention from the cheerleaders and other students
would be gone. So when I told Lenny I was going to
JV, he was surprised.

“You’re crazy. No one cares about you on JV.”
I laughed. “That might be a good thing, with as
many mistakes as I make. But more important to me is
the fact I joined up to play football, not to warm the
bench.”
Only two of the forty players went to JV — Wade
and me. When the varsity players were honored in
assemblies, we might be mentioned, but we were
usually left out. When varsity lockers were decorated,
ours were conspicuously left undone.
But on JV, Wade and I became a powerful duo as
offensive tackle and offensive guard. I also found I had
talent at defensive tackle, earning the honors of most
tackles and most sacks for the season. I made lots of
mistakes, but I learned a lot.

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