Sunday, December 09, 2007

All We Want for Christmas is a STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!

Oh, man...what an amazing ride we are on. I have butterflies now as I am typing this and my hands are shaking so badly that I can hardly type. I have known from the beginning that this team is special, both talent wise and as young men, but who knew we would still be playing this late in December? ROUND 5!! WOW! Each week is gruellingly (not sure if that is even a word) long! I am nervous about the next round as soon as the game is over. I get very little sleep, and when I do sleep it is full of dreams about the game...sometimes good, sometimes not so good. I know that is crazy! But for those of you who know me well aren't surprised. I was the same way when I was in high school when it was my Cougars and my Daddy's boys, but somehow it seems harder being a coach's wife and Mama O to many of the players. I feel like these are my boys! We are the Bulldog family! I want this championship so badly for the boys and for Jay and for all the coaches (and a little for the families and me:)! This is every one's goal from day one...whether you are a coach, player, coach's wife, coach's kid...this is what you start working for in July. All the family time that you has been sacrificed seems a little bit more worth it when you are 2 games away from a STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!! This week we play Highland Park (more on that later). The winner of this game advances to the state title game. WOW!!!! Here is peak back on our journey up to this point...

Camden cheering on the Bulldogs! She already has football in her blood! She loves to cheer, yell touchdown as she signals with her hand (yes she can say touchdown and do the correct signal), and clap and dance with the band!

The Ochekeys, McHams and Kirks after a victory in Hereford!


Score board after the Everman vs. Rider game...probably one of the BEST high school football games I have ever seen! I could hardly walk after the game. I am pretty sure I added a few gray hairs to my head and shortened my life by a couple of years! It came down to the last seconds of the game.


Ocheskey family on the Texas Star @ Texas Stadium!
Check out my hair...you can tell that I had my head in my hands a lot throughout the game.

Ocheskey family + Charleston (one of my sweet students I took to the game)

The Kirks + Charleston

Jay and Camden by a star. The were actually talking to the Mavs who were standing in the stands above them.

~Back to this week's game. We are playing Highland Park, who is a very talented team. This game is a tough one for me personally. I want to win really bad! I get choked up just thinking about it. The coach for Highland Park is Randy Allen. He was the head football coach at Cooper when I was there. He is the man who fired my Daddy two weeks before I graduated from Cooper. It was hands down one of the toughest times in my life! I will never forget the day (where I was, who was there, etc) when my Dad pulled Coby and I out of school to tell us he had just been fired. Oh well, some of you are thinking...that is the life of a coach. But, this was different. It was handled wrong in so many ways that it makes the situation even harder to swallow. I KNOW that it has been ten years, I KNOW that I should be over this by now, and I KNOW that I should have forgiven Coach Allen. Even my Dad tells me I should forgive and forget, but I can't. I still tear up just thinking about the pain that was caused! My family was torn apart. When my Dad was hired at Cooper , I felt what it was like to have both my mom and my dad in the same town for the first time since I was four. I was able to know how it feels not to have to plan a visit to my Dad's house. I could see him anytime; ANYTIME! My dad was able to watch me play sports, he was able to meet my boyfriends, he was going to get to coach Coby in baseball, but that was all changed one day by a VERY selfish man. God has since worked in my life, as well as my families lives and has showed me that this was all part of His plan. I pray that God continues to work on my heart and help me forgive! Believe it or not, I have come a long way...I am no longer planning on hunting this man down;) That was a joke. So, needless to say, I want to win this game in a BIG way!

Go Bulldogs!!

16 comments:

mamao-nonna said...

That's ALL we want too!!!!!!! Safety, success to the BULLDOGS!
What a SWEET victory that would be in sooo many ways!
Thanks for the pics! They are fabulous! I'll see you this weekend!
GO BULLDOGS!!!!!!!
Onward & Upward!
Love you ALL!
Pops & Nonna

campers said...

yeah!!! So exciting!!! what time is y'alls game? Are y'all right after us? Give Camden kisses!!!

Laura said...

oh mav! I hope yal win too, I will say a little prayer!I'm glad you are having so much fun with it and the football team has gone this far! I love that Camden is already so intofootball

ps I think they needed me more on the soccer field, they had you for track :)

allyo said...

We play Saturday, 1:00 @ Mesquite Memorial Stadium

Anonymous said...

Hey Ally,
Coach Allen's daughter and I were sorority sisters and I had a hard time being nice to her after it happened.......I can only imagine how you felt!!!!! I'm going to skip being nice.......I hope ya'll kill them (on the score board of course)
Love you
tell jay we will say a prayer for him and his team!!!!

Finally an Abrigg..... said...

Even though it's Peter and I's anniversary, I think we might just trot over to Mesquite Memorial Staduim and get our cheer on for EVERMAN! :) I love you!

andydawn said...

GO BULLDOGS!! I will be rooting yall on! SO much fun....congrats to Jay and the whole staff and players for making it this far and also for everyone who stood by them and knew they could do it!!!

mamaw said...

I love you!!!!
Mom

annalee said...

i can't wait to hear how great everman does at the game on saturday! i will be checking for updates as soon as i can get them. and i will be praying for a win for all the reasons it would be so wonderful!

Andrea W. said...

Does your husband have a secret game plan to put you in at running back?? That would totally work! You could really embarrass some unsuspecting rival team...

Miss you and being all consumed by football with you- GO BULLDOGS!

KirkKrew said...

We're cheering you on! Good luck!
Love,
Jenn, Lamar & the girls!

Shara Smith said...

I am planning on coming...I will just have to bundle Maddox up!Can't wait...love you tons.

Mauri said...

That is so exciting! Good for Jay... and for you for being such a great support system for him! I'll be looking forward to seeing pics of next weeks score board with Everman on top!

hejlyeah said...

GO BULLDOGS! We're pulling for you guys BIG TIME this weekend!!!

Anonymous said...

Go Bulldogs! I agree with Andrea, you should suit up for the game. Can't wait to read how it goes! Have a wonderful xmas.

Finally an Abrigg..... said...

Happy Birthday yesterday!!! LOVE YOU!