Gun Squad

By

Gary Galleher

(with Rick Brown)

I’ve got to mention Bill. He’s a great story from my high school football days. Bill went out for the team junior year. He'd be the first to admit that Academics was more his strong suit. And while kid boy was small … especially by football standards ... and somewhat nerdy … Bill practiced on our "Gun Squad" all year ... playing blocking bag for the starters. Blocking BAG! This role was hardly fun what with getting hit all the time. But Bill hung in there all year … toughed it out as we used to say. And he only got to play a few minutes of our last game … all for a team that consistently lost.  
    
What a sacrifice to make for the team.
    
He admits he was trying to impress a girl...but still, what a cool thing to do. Dedication. Guts … and probably a little misguided. There were others on the Bulldogs like Bill … albeit very few.
    
I remember when he finally got sent into that game … the last of our season. We lined up against the other guys … Bill crouched down at the line of scrimmage … time seemed to stand still for one brief moment. Bill looked earnestly at me through his facemask and asked tentatively,

"What do I DO?"

To which I replied, "Tackle the guy with the ball."

I have no idea if the girl was impressed.

I was.

Kudos Bill.