Last night all the senior players, along with Coach Benzel and myself (and Mr. Winter who drove us), had dinner at the local fire station with 10 fire fighters and their Chief.
I have done this tradition with the seniors on my football teams since the year after 9/11 happened. It has become a staple event that the seniors genuinely look forward to. Obviously this was the first time I had done it with this CPC seniors.
Last night you would have been so proud of them. They (our players) were First Class the entire event. Our Cornerstones (Captains) presented the firefighters with a card and game ball signed by all the players. They also did a tremendous job speaking about how special it was to them to honor the entire fire department and the true heroes that they are. We then Prayed over them and had a home cooked meal that had been prepared by our Gridiron Moms (thank you GI Moms).
We spent over an hour there and then took some great shots with the firefighters near the ladder truck (another tradition)…fun to watch HS seniors feel like 5 year old kids again!
The Fire Chief said, “we have never had anyone do something like this for us before. This is wonderful and your players are so respectful!”
When we talk about ‘winning’ off the field…this is what we mean. Last night was a Victory for our entire football team and school, and the fire department as well.
