I in the crowd, just one of the fans,
Watching the game from high in the stands.
You down below, taking the field,
With padding for armor and helmet as shield.
Seeing you play on this cool autumn night,
Your teammates beside you engaged in the fight,
Revives sleeping memories of times now long past,
When I was a warrior both agile and fast.
Those reflections embody the bond that we share,  
Linking us close through the cool autumn air.  
For once in a time now so long ago,
It was I standing there in the light’s frosty glow.
‘Twas I who raced eagerly onto the field,               
With padding for armor and helmet as shield.
‘Twas I who lined up across from the foe,
My body as taut as a tightly strung bow.
‘Twas I who sprang out at the snap of the ball, 
To struggle, to battle, to grapple, to fall.
To rise from the dirt and to never give in,
To play just as hard in a loss as a win.
Yes, once long ago I played the game, too,
But I never performed half as well as you do.
I never launched field goals so far nor so high
That they threatened the stars that dapple the sky.
I never boomed punts that sailed through the night
Like comets embarked on a measureless flight.
I never drove kick-offs thundering through space,
Climbing and soaring with such awesome grace. 
I played the game hard, that much is so,
But not with the skill and the heart that you show.
And the bond ever strengthens while watching you play,
It extends far beyond what mere words can say.
But some day in the future you’ll be in the stands,
Watching the game, just one of the fans.
You’ll see a young man as he takes to the field,
With padding for armor and helmet as shield.
And then as the blood in your veins starts to race,
And you sense that your heart has quickened its pace,
‘Tis then you’ll perceive the bond being spun,
From the pride that a father feels for his son.