If you give a kid a football, they will want goal posts to go with it.

Then, they will probably spend hours begging you to go out in the yard to play with them, even though you may want to sit on the couch and watch tv. They will insist. And their insistence will win.

And when a kid gets a Guernsey, they will need shorts and socks and footy boots to go with it. And a TEAM….. And then life as you know it will end.

There will be no more lazy weekends watching tv. You will see more frosty mornings than you ever thought possible. Every spare minute of your time will be spent taking your child to practice for a game. THE GAME.

And your house will be a mess. And your car will be dirty. All because you gave a kid a football.

Your weekends will be spent freezing on the sidelines. And their weekends will be spent gaining confidence and friends and learning new skills and having fun.

And you will be there the day they kick their first goal, first mark and their first premiership . And they will make you SO proud. The other mums & dads will congratulate you. But you feel weird saying thank you because it’s not you with the ball on the ground. It’s everything them. They did this.

When you give a kid a football, you give them more than just a ball. You give them a sport, and talent, and hope, and dreams, and friends, a new family, a place to learn about life, room to grow as a person where they can push their limits, and bravery, and courage and memories. And they will have ALL of these things, simply because you gave a kid a football 🏉

Because you gave a kid a football, you too will develop new, lifelong friendships, developed solely from the same passion for the game and love of your team. You will cheer together. Because you gave a kid a football.

Then one day, many years from today….they will be in their room and a football will roll out from an old dusty bag underneath their bed. And they will pick it up and realize instantly that when you gave that kid a football, you also gave them a childhood that they would never forget. And then they will hug you, and your eyes may leak – because you realize that everything YOU gave up along the way…..was worth it!

All because you gave a kid a football 🏈 …….