I think one of the great things about being a fan of a sport or team or even player is it's ability to bring together people from all walks of life. No matter your age, politics, religion, ethnicity, etc., we can all come together to support our team. The time shared together among fans at a game can only be trumped by sharing that same time with family and friends. For a father and son, time spent together at a ball game can become the memories of a lifetime. Unfortunately, the cost of going to the games can make it hard for this to happen. So for me, the Orange and White game being free this year was a my chance to share a memory with my 11 year old son.
This is something I have imagined doing with my whole family for a long time, but with my son inparticular. While my dad and I never went to a game together, we were able to share that bond thru listening to John Ward call the games while setting around the huge console stero in our living room!
I really wanted this to be the perfect father/son day. We got up early, put on our orange and white and headed to campus. After walking around, going to the campus store and stopping to pay homage to the statue of General Neyland, we headed down to go onto the field to get autographs! Now in my mind the huge line that was already formed would at some point end and my plan was to simply file in line at the end. So while the gates to enter the stadium were opened, we were shopping in the store to allow the line to die down. I tell you this to set the stage for a great day. After about 20 minutes we made our way down to go into the stadium. While the line was still incredibly long, I assured my son that we would get in. While many people cut line, I didnt want that to be part of the memory of my and my sons first time on the grass! I have to tell you after about 15 more minutes I really started to panic, it became clear that this line was never going to end and I was worried that my perfect day was going to fall woefully short. We made our way back to the top of the hill and filed in line. It was another 10 minutes or so before we got down to the 20 foot wide gates they were funneling us into the stadium thru. By this point I had apologized to him that we werent going to get any autographs because my plan to file in at the end was stupid. He was disappointed but to his credit he didnt say much. The day before we had found him a Tyler Bray jersey for him to wear and get signed. Like most kids, he had his favorites and Tyler was the man!
I know this is long but this is where it gets good! Because everyone is being crammed thru the tunnel onto the field, it became necessary for us to get single file as we took baby steps thru the tunnel. A 6 second walk litterally took about 3/4 minutes. As we started thru I hear this big booming voice behind me ask my son, "Are you planning on getting his autograph?", Now I couldnt turn to see who was asking but I knew he meant Tylers autograph because Easton was wearing his #8 Jersey. I told the voice that was the plan but since I was stupid in my planning, at this point we just hope to get the honor of stepping onto the field. For the next few minutes we walked thru the tunnel and talked about TN football, the team, fans, etc. He was super nice and huge! I could tell he was somehow a part of the program based on his knowledge and when I caught a glimpse of him(6,5 or so) I assumed he was a former player. I explained to him that based on all the negativity you hear all of the time that I had under estimated the fan turn out and killed my sons chance to get Tylers autograph. As we got to the end of the tunnel he said, "well, if you still want that autograph, follow me!" I recognized immediately this was our shot! He quickly guided us thru the checker board endzone (that was completely awesome by the way) around the ropes and right up to the side of the table where the players are!! Of course now I know this guy definitely is a part of the program. He yells over to Tyler and the next thing I know, here my son is shaking hands and getting his jersey signed! Keep in mind this all happened in a manner of a minute. This was a completely sureal moment and my mind sort of went blank. This all happend so fast, a second ago I was a dumb dad that had messed up the day and now suddenly I'm on the field and my son is meeting his favorite player! I snapped out of it just long enough to take a couple of pictures and then it was over. At this point I asked the booming voice, "ok, so who the heck are you anyway?" He introduced himself as Jeff Bray, Tylers dad. We went on to talk for about 10 minutes before I decided I had taken up enough of his time. He talked about his family, all of his kids, introduced me to his wife and son, and was absolutely amazing. He was a dad and a fan helping another dad and fan. I thanked him as one dad to another for giving a memory of a lifetime for my son and I. Jeff Bray is a VFL in my book!
I'm not sure who was glowing more after that but I have a pretty good idea! If our budget allows we plan to go to a couple of games this year, maybe Ga State or Troy, I can't wait for him to see a game live but somehow I know it will never top his first time on the field! The man to the right is Jeff Bray
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