The Boys of Brooker Field


A blistering cold November wind hit my face and made my mind wonder back to a time of clowning with my knucklehead friends as we played sandlot full tackle, no pads football at Brooker Field.  The whirl of bike tires could be heard as Wiz, Kondas, and Ox met up with the likes of Ski, Ren, Patty O, Beck, and Delprince.   We would wait as Double D, Knepshield and many others would arrive in tattered clothes for a mud bowl. We were The “Boys of Brooker Field”.
Decades of  wet and cold November days have come and gone since I last felt the mud of Brooker on my face.  The “Boys of Brooker Field” are men in our fifties with jobs and families.  Buckey and O'Rourke have walked through the end zone fog and waved goodbye for the last time.  We cannot see them, but we can still hear them laughing.
We might be men in our fifties, but our lives reflect the lessons that we learned as we tackled each other and slid through the mud.
  • Everyone plays:  If you showed up, you got to play.  We learn that if you had the courage to show up then we should give you a chance.  We learned to be inclusive.
  • Knock someone down; pick them up:  Sometimes, you get knocked down. Sometimes, you knock someone down.  We learned to give someone a hand up and accept one if offered.
  • Friends fight and forgive:  A fight happened every game.  I have fought with Double D more than anyone I know.  Friends fight, forgive and move on.
  • Rules are decided together:  Rules are negotiable and are decided together.  How many "mississippies" before you could rush was always a negotiation.
  • Life is about having fun:  We learned to have fun and enjoy life.
  • If you are  hurt, get up and put some mud on it:  Brooker Field was not for whimps.  You get knocked down; then you get back up.  If it hurts, put mud on it, suck it up, and keep playing.
  • Sometimes you are the bug and sometimes you are the windshield.  Bragging rights don't last long.  Sometimes we were the victors and sometimes we were defeated.  It's just a fact of a life well lived.
  • We are all good at something:  Knepshield was fast.  Delprince was a tank.  Everyone was good at something.  We learned to capitalize on the skills of our teammates.
  • You dish it out, you gotta be willing to take it:  We were relentless in dogging each other.  We learned to grow a thick skin and you gotta take it if you dish it out.
  • You shake hands:  After the battles of in the mud of Brooker Field, we would shake hands.  We all knew that respect was earned win or lose in a battle well fought.

 “ The Boys of Brooker Field” learned many lessons sliding through the cold November mud.  Most importantly, we learned that good friends are forever.  We have all wondered away from Brooker.   Someday, the last of us will walk through the fog of the end zone and hear the laughter of his friends and we will play in the mud again.  We are and will forever be the “Boys of Brooker Field”.

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