Football/Pure

While millionaire players and billionaire owners gathered in a small town in Michigan, adult coaches towered over thigh-high boys in pad and helmets that matched those of their heros, but only in diminished sizes, and practice was held on the soft grass of a city park.

Instructions were barked from the field. Parents watched and wondered if their child would be that one that beat all the odds and made it to the NFL--at least that's what the dad's thought. The mothers, even though it was a practice, hoped their son wouldn't get hurt.

Across the country thousands, if not millions of boys put on the pads and hit each other as they chased the one player who held the ball and ran as fast as his short legs could carry him hoping to escape the inevitable collision that awaits superstar and benchwarmer alike.

When practiced time was called each boy shook off the shoulder pads and found the adult(s) that brought them to the park. The harder they worked on the field will directly translate on how well they will sleep tonight as they prepare for another day...of youth and football.