Sun Devil Fans for Life!!!

One of the ways we were able to bribe our new teenager Colton into coming on this trip was by promising  him that we would visit as many football stadiums as we could across the country. Well, this week we are in Phoenix which if your looking for stadiums your in the right place. Monday we visited the University of Phoenix stadium were the national championship was just played and today we were so excited to visit the University of Arizona, Sun Devil Stadium. This was going to be kind of special and different than the other stadiums because Colton has shown a lot of interest in  ASU and would love to attend and play for the Sun Devils.

So early this morning we left the girls at home and started out on our quest. It's always hit or miss with being able to actually get into the stadiums. Sometimes we give the old, " We traveled for miles to see this stadium, the boys love this team, could we just get a glance" , then in unison the puppy dog eyes come out. That usually will get us past the front desk and get us at least a quick peek at the stadium. Today was different, the lady at the front desk was firm with her response " no one is permitted past this point!!  Ok...... so we set off in a different direction and low and behold there was an elevator that seemed to say, " get in I'll get you were you need to go". Colton was hesitant and a little weary of being caught by the woman bouncer at the front but I saw an opportunity. Maybe I wasn't being the best example but the old adage of, sin and repent later kept coming to my mind. I told Colton, " the worst thing that could happen is they catch us and ask us to leave", so all us boys scurried on the elevator and hit the highest floor possible. When the doors open we were greeted by a friendly receptionist who was impressed with our ASU garb and motioned us to the desk. We automatically took our positions with our hats in our hands, shoulders down and a forlorn ed look on our faces that would of made Puss in Boots on Shrek look like a thug. I explained our situation and asked if we might take a quick look at the field. With a big smile she said, " sure, in fact please use this office and take as long as you'd like".  Our plan was falling into place, we stepped quickly to the window and there it was, the 70,000 plus stadium, it was beautiful. After a moment an older gentleman walked through the door and made a joke about people in his office. We quickly introduced ourselves, commented on the grandeur of the stadium and he immediately asked us if we wanted to see it up close. Next thing we knew we were standing in front of the "Tillman Tunnel" were the team stands before they enter the field. It was awesome walking up the tunnel and onto the field.  The boys immediately ran out on the field and started throwing the ball. This gentleman saw Colton throw and started to coach him on his technique. Whenever we passed by someone they would call this guy Coach, so  I asked him if he had coached before and he said, " yep, I've coached a time or two", I then asked what his name was and he said, my name is Frank Kush, I thought to myself, " that

sounds familiar" and then I looked up on the stadium and read the name of the stadium........FRANK KUSH STADIUM.  I was floored, here we are on a personal tour with the man who had coached the Devil's for 30 plus years, coached for the Baltimore Colts and had the stadium named after him. Well, if we weren't on cloud nine before, now we were. He took us into the locker rooms, weight room, training rooms, we met a lot of the players including the starting quarterback. He was extremely humble and very accommodating. He took time with each of the boys, asking them what there interests were and what they thought about football and life. He was so excited about our trip and wished us the best as he walked us to the door.

One of the other highlights of the day was being able to see the jersey of one of my hero's, Pat Tillman. Pat played free safety for the Sun Devils and then was drafted into the NFL. He was playing for the Cardinals when 9/11 happened. He felt so inspired to serve his country that he gave up a nine million dollar contract and joined the Army and became a ranger. He later gave the ultimate sacrifice and was killed in Afghanastan. I have always admired his bravery and commitment,  it was an honor to see his jersey,to run up the "Tillman Tunnel" and see the respect that ASU still shows for him.

The stadium is carved into the side of a mountain and we knew that we could get a great view of the stadium by climbing to the "A" on hill. We asked for direction and we were off. Apparently the directions were bad or we just didn't listen because after an hour of cliff hanger stunts and cutting our hands and knees on loose rock, we finally reached the top, only to find a beautiful walking path on the other side. That wasn't the worst......we had to go back down. However, the view was worth it!!

At the end of the day over some frostys at Wendy's, I asked the boys what lesson's they had learned.

Caleb said, " When you shake someone's hand you look them in the eye".  This lesson was given to Caleb as we introduced ourselves to Frank Kush. He took a moment and shook each boys hand and asked their names. When he got to Caleb he didn't let go, he knelt down until he was eye level and told him, " Young man when you shake a mans hand you always look him in the eye".

Carston said, " I want to live with passion, I want to love what I do"! He went on to talk about the passion of the athletes, how hard they were working out, how committed  and disciplined they were.

Colton, still amazed that we had not been kicked out but were invited in said. "There is no reward without Risk"

A parents job can be hard, challenging and seemingly thankless at times. Sometimes you wonder if your making a difference and then you have a "paycheck" a moment that makes it all worth while.......today was a paycheck!!