Well, all across this big wide country, boys, young men, and yes, even young women will don kneepads and uniforms. I WANT TO PLAY, TOO!

They will also don arm pads, thigh pads, and helmets. I REALLY WANT TO PLAY, TOO! Yes, it's my favorite time of the year-- FOOTBALL season! I am so happy when FOOTBALL season comes, and very sad when it ends. Each year I wait for the Hall Of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, the season's very first football battle in August. As you all can tell by now, I've always wanted to play this fantastic game. I've always wanted to make that game-winning interception or catch that game-winning touchdown.

I loved the way Oakland Raider safety Jack Tatum made those hard tackles. I loved to see the tall Los Angeles Rams Quarterback Roman Gabrielle throwing passes to Jack Snow. I loved the Fearsome Foursome beating up on other offensive lines. This, my friends, was football at its best.

Yes, all across this land, there will be peewee league, little league, Jr. high School, high school, college, and professional football beginning this weekend and continuing until the weekend of the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

People forget about disabled sports. Most people think disabled folk just sit there and watch FOOTBALL on TV. This is so untrue.

I can still remember my first pass catch for a touchdown. I was about 10-years old, pushing my manual chair as fast as I could. I ran a crisp and clean post pattern to the goal line with a defender all over me. The quarterback (my teacher) threw a rainbow pass right into my lap. We had a slight advantage over able-bodied players--if we missed the ball, we would get a second chance with our laps catching the football. Believe me, I used it many times.

We played disabled football in the middle of winter with the snow coming down. We played on a paved parking lot most of the time. Each parking space represented ten yards. We only had three downs to make a first down, unlike our non-disabled counterparts.

In our game, the walking disabled would be our quarterbacks because they had the most mobility. Most of our QB's were just like the able-bodied QB's. Each QB was the general of the game and ran the team. He would start most running plays. The people in power wheelchairs would be linemen or safeties. I happened to be one of the best safeties at Southern Ill. Univ. and at Berkeley--I have to say this. I loved to watch the quarterback, and I would attack the pass play almost every time.

In our game the linemen had to count to ten before rushing the quarterback. The guys that could push themselves in manual wheelchairs would be the tight ends and split ends. These guys would run beautiful pass patterns. They would score the most touchdowns. All the ladies loved these guys just like our non-disabled counter parts. The really slow guys would be the full backs making holes for the quarterbacks. These guys did a lot of holding too. Trust me.

Playing football on Saturday. mornings became a routine at Saluki (SIU) Land. All of the guys in the Thompson Point dorms would play until old man winter took hold of the Midwest.

I loved playing football because it created teamwork between individuals with different disabilities. Each person had his own special talent. I had very fast reflexes so they wanted me to play safety. I could be Jack Tatum on wheels. I loved it. My motorized chair was not as fast as others were, but I made up for it with quick reactions to each play. I still believe that defense wins games. Just look at the last five Super Bowl Winners; only one of the five Super Bowl Champions, The St. Louis Rams, did not have a formidable defense. The disabled football league game would always start out as touch or tag tackle. It would begin as a game of fun and a game of exercise. But as the game's score got closer and the end neared, the touching and tagging got harder until we were playing wheelchair tackle. Chairs crashing into chairs all over the parking lot. Chairs turning over after a great hit by the defense.

What a sight to see, what a noise to hear, but it was fun! Did players get injured? Yes. Did they continue to play? Yes. We were all young and crazy at the time and wanted to do something different. Just like our non-disabled friends, we played for the game. We all played to win. We played because we enjoyed the competition. The Rolling Rainbows (my team) won the one and only disabled football league title at Southern Ill. Univ. The Berkeley Bandits, my California team, did not fare as well. Second place would be as high as this team could achieve. The Richmond Rattlers always seemed to be better and faster than the Bandits.

I will never forget my teammates and best friends on these teams. I understand why when people retire from the game it can be very difficult--major changes in the athletes' lives. I, too, had a very difficult time leaving wheelchair football; coaching just did not fill my need for competition.

So I will be happy for the next four or five months because FOOTBALL has begun. []

THAT IS THE GRAY LINE

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