A Father's Day reflection on life lessons from dads and football

USA Today

15-06-2025

A Father's Day reflection on life lessons from dads and football
Happy Father's Day!
For many of us, the story of our love of football begins with our fathers. If we're blessed enough, our grandfathers played a role, too. On this Father's Day, I wanted to look back and honor my father's major influence on my football path.
I grew up west of Cleveland in a family of Browns fans. My dad has never been a hardcore Browns fan, but he's certainly an emotional one when they're really good or really bad--and they've been both in my football lifetime. He was a farmer, as was his father, and his father's father. That lifestyle didn't leave a lot of time for football watching, but he certainly tried to catch at least some of every game--win or lose. After we moved away from the farming business in the early 1980s, we wound up catching a lot more Browns games, even a handful in person.
His passion remains college football. My dad is an Ohio State grad, and to say he's a proud one is a massive understatement. I went to my first game at the Horseshoe just after my 1st birthday. I've been to at least 30 over the years with him. The two-hour drive to Columbus on Saturdays was our father/son time. He'd go over who I should watch as an eager kid who desperately wanted to be the next Art Schlichter. Sometimes it's good when dreams don't come true...
Watching my dad watch football helped form how I approach the game. He taught me to watch the linemen, not just the guys with the ball. I learned from him to prefer sitting in the end zone, in order to see all the players on every play. My dad made me an All-22 junkie before I knew how to count to 22. I'm proud to say that's been a useful life skill.
I'm actually a Lions fan in part because of my dad (and mom) being Browns fans. We lived close enough to Toledo that I could watch Detroit every Sunday on the black-and-white console TV in our basement. My parents would get up in arms over missed tackles, dropped passes, bad holding penalties, whatever it was in that moment that was driving them crazy over the Browns. I wanted no part of that. Sure, I loved some of the players; Clay Matthews and Doug Dieken were personal faves--and I've had the pleasure to tell each of them that in person. Life was better around the home front and in school on Mondays when the Browns won, so I certainly wanted the hometown team to win. But they weren't "my" team.
I relished the relative solace of watching the Lions teams of the "Silver Rush" era, and they were entertaining and competitive enough in that Monte Clark era that becoming a Lions fan was an easy alternate path to take. My dad might've looked at me a little funny when I asked for (and got) a Billy Sims Lions jersey for Christmas in 1981, but he didn't try to change my fate.
Sometimes when the Browns disgusted him enough, or were involved in a lopsided affair, my dad would yell down the steps that I could watch the Lions in color on the living room TV. He'd usually watch a little too, happy to see me happy. I've never forgotten that; one of the best life lessons I've learned from my dad is to enjoy and appreciate the happiness in others. In the years I played football, I was always the biggest fan and supporter when my friends and teammates made a big play. Nothing was better than a best bud scoring a TD or blocking a punt.
I've had the wonderful fortune to spend a lot of great father/son time with my own son while watching football over the years. His football story is different than mine, and that's what helps make it special. Now almost 20 years old, he came of football age while we lived in Houston as the Texans rose from perennial also-rans to legit contenders in the 2011 and 2012 seasons. They were a fun team with engaging personalities like J.J. Watt, Arian Foster, Owen Daniels and (future Lions standout) Glover Quin, among others. His first NFL jersey was Andre Johnson.
He's still a loyal Texans fan even though we moved back to Michigan just ahead of the 2013 season. He's in college now and could very well be the only Houston Texans fan at Michigan Tech. I'm proud of him for staying loyal to his team. I'd love it if he had become a Lions fan, but that isn't how it works. If you don't feel it in your soul and bones, you can't fake it. True fans always know...
I learned that from my dad, too. I've learned so much from him over the years. I try to thank him, but he doesn't really grasp that concept. He was just doing what he thought was right and good for me. That's all I ever want to do for my own kids. Like my Lions, and my son's Texans and my dad's Browns, I don't always get it right. It can be painful at times, as a fan and as a man, to deal with the frustration of failing. I've learned to sincerely celebrate the wins, be it the Lions or in life, more than I wallow in the losses. My dad is still good at that as he approaches his 80th birthday. I can only hope my son has learned that, too.
Happy Father's Day, and thanks to all you dads who helped make football something special for your kids.