My Football Hero

So...when Aaron and I were dating, he would often recount the glory days of Granite Bay High School Football. He would get together with his football buddies, and they would always mention Aaron's famous play: Aaron played strong safety on defense, and during a critical moment during the game against Bear River in 1998, Aaron intercepted the ball and ran it for a touchdown. I've even seen the DVD of the ball literally bouncing into Aaron's hands before he shoots off toward the endzone. Granite Bay won that game, 21 to 14.

Aaron's never let go of those glory days. He still plays flag football with the flag set I bought him for 2 Christmases ago, and occasionally, we get to go to one of Granite Bay's games.

Last Friday night, we made the trek to Loomis for the Del Oro vs. Granite Bay game. Del Oro was favored to win, but Granite Bay made a similar play during that Bear River game in 1998: the strong safety intercepted the ball and ran it for a touchdown. Granite Bay beat Del Oro Friday night, 21 to 14. Aaron was able to stand on the sidelines during the second half and was able to celebrate with them.

This morning, Aaron was reading the sports section of The Sacramento Bee, and I heard him enthusiastically call me over to see what he was reading. He was very giddy:

Blast from the past – When Cooper saw Keddy make his third-quarter interception and return it for a touchdown, he said it harkened back to his first days at Granite Bay, when the Grizzlies went 0-7 in league with an all-junior crew, then lost their first two games to Roseville and Placer the next season in 1998.

"I'm thinking, They are going to run me out of town," Cooper said of the inauspicious start. "So we go up to Bear River, and Aaron Clift – he played strong safety just like Danny Keddy – intercepts the ball and takes it to the house, and we wind up winning (21-14). We didn't lose for 21 games and wound up winning two straight section championships.

"So when I saw that tonight, I said, That's one of those plays. You need one of those from an unsung hero, like Danny Keddy or Aaron Clift, the kind of kids that make high school football so much fun." (Read the whole thing at http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/484314.html)

I guess legends truly never die. Aaron's my hero!