For Veterans Day 2017, Charlie and I were invited to attend the NFL Los Angeles Rams “Salute to Service” game against the Houston Texans. Through the amazing TAPS organization Charlie was paired up with a player from the LA Rams who played Sunday’s game in Ryan’s memory, with Ryan’s initials on his helmet during the game.
On the Saturday before the game, we came to observe a special Rams practice where each family got to meet the player who was playing in their loved one’s memory. Charlie was matched with Tanzel Smart #92, a super sweet rookie just drafted to the NFL from Louisiana. He took the time to talk to Charlie about football, about Ryan, about his own family, and he told Charlie how much he appreciated him. It was so sweet and really touched my heart to see this huge player bending down and giving my little guy a tender bear hug. After the practice Charlie was given a matching helmet with Ryan’s initials on it that Tanzel Smart autographed for him. And Tanzel also gave Char his practice gloves to keep. I do not have any pictures from the pre-game day practice itself, as apparently professional football is VERY serious business and cameras were not allowed during practice in case we were actually Texan spies recording plays, but I did take plenty before and after the practice itself. ;) Charlie found this especially amusing and pointed out two Texas license plates in the parking lot of the practice field afterwards. He is convinced that they were the vehicles of Texan spies... If so, luckily the spies were not very successful, as you will see from how the game went on Sunday... ;)
On Sunday, game day, we arrived at the LA Coliseum and were part of the pre-game torch lighting ceremony. Neither Charlie nor I had ever been to a professional sporting event so it was awesome site to see the huge stadium, watch the players be announced, and be down near the field during the excitement! After the pregame show, we were escorted to a suite where all the TAPS families got to watch the game together and eat yummy food. Did I mention how amazing the TAPS organization is?? They completely spoil us with such awesome, well-organized events where we are able to remember and recognize our loved ones that have passed away.
Charlie actually surprised me by how excited he was about the whole football game! He has seen a few games on TV (he is a huge Broncos fan) and he has played flag football with Scouts, but he usually loses interest after a quarter or so. But maybe something about hearing the roar of the fans cheering in the stadium, watching the big Jumbotron TV thing, or just the excitement of so many energetic others packed together and surrounding us that Charlie was completely captivated! The Rams were the first to score with a field goal but when Texas pulled ahead with a touchdown, I saw my little guy’s spirits sink. I realized it would be really, really helpful to me if the Rams could pull out a win for Charlie... and goodness, they did! During the third quarter, they scored three touchdowns back-to-back and the stadium went wild! And my little boy did too. He looked at me during the fourth quarter and said, “Mom, I know the Texans don’t stand a chance to win at this point but I have to see how this ends!” So we, of course, stayed to the end and celebrated the final score of 33-7!
It was a precious day of some one-on-one mommy-son time and in memory of Ryan, acknowledging his sacrifice and honoring his memory. Side note - Kate chose not to attend because sports, and especially football, are just “not her thing” but she did tune in on TV for a bit and seemed interested to hear Charlie tell her about his weekend. And I can not think of a more rewarding way to have spent Veterans Day this year.
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