Jake Delhomme Is My Hero
The Second Installment of the Middle-Aged PoolBoy’s Panther Blog
By DkesThis past Saturday night, my beloved, Carolina Panthers were defeated by the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC divisional playoff game at Bank of America stadium. The largest contributing factor in the loss was six turnovers at the hand of starting quarterback, Jake Delhomme. If you read the first installment of the Middle-Aged PoolBoy’s Panther Blog, you will recognize that this hardly came as a surprise. Many of my fears were justified.
Immediately following the game I, like many of you, began calling for Jake’s benching for the upcoming season. I won’t waste time detailing why I reacted this way, but I will say that it was the result of years of frustration and lofty expectations. I went to bed that evening emotionally crushed. The next day, I found myself predictably depressed and sought solace in sports forums and message boards on the internet. What I found there were many of my compatriots, arguably suffering from the same disappointment and disillusionment. Then something wonderful happened. I remembered.
I remembered an expansion franchise that had no stadium, playing home games at Clemson University. I remembered an early playoff run that energized a fan base. I remembered a starting wide receiver arrested for murder. I remembered a head coach that was emotionless and unapproachable by his players. I remembered a 1 and 15 season. I remembered a rookie punt returner taking one to the house against Minnesota. I remembered a lifeless offense getting a spark from a young free agent quarterback. I remembered that man saving a franchise and leading us to the first NFC Championship in our history. More importantly, I remembered a simple act of kindness toward a child…. an act that I will never forget.
Kitten Meets a Real Life HeroBeing a Middle-Aged PoolBoy has its perks. The greatest of these is my 3 ½ year old daughter. Let’s call her “Kitten”. Aside from being my offspring, she is also one of my very best friends. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her. When Kitten was old enough to appreciate the finer things in life, I began sharing with her, my love for the game of professional football. Very quickly, she identified her favorite Panther as Jake Delhomme. Probably because she thinks he is cute. Nevertheless, I did the dutiful thing and made sure that Kitten was outfitted with her very own, pink, Jake Delhomme jersey. She wanted to wear it everyday. I began taking her to any family friendly Panther related activity that I could. In 2007, we went to FanFest where I participated in the 5K race before practice. As a family, we sat and watched practice for as long as possible before succumbing to the heat. After all, there is only so long you can keep a 2 year old out in 100 degree weather and blistering sun. As we were leaving, Kitten told me she was disappointed that she didn’t get to meet Jake. I promised her that I would find a way for her to see him again someday.
For those of you that don’t know, there is a wonderful secret about Bank of America Stadium….the pathway from the locker-room to the practice facility. On the west side of the stadium there is a walkway that connects a secure entrance on the northwest side of the stadium to the practice field, just about 200 yards away. This walkway winds its way underneath some abandoned railroad tracks, by a lovely shaded lawn and into the practice facility. During regular season practice, the coaches and players walk openly from the locker-room to the field. Occasionally, they will stop to chat or sign autographs. This isn’t a well known location, so it isn’t a madhouse like training camp can sometimes be.
One Thursday morning in September of 2007, I kept Kitten out of daycare and took the day off of work. I woke her up early and dressed her up in her Jake Delhomme jersey. She knew something fun was going to happen and as we drove into Charlotte, she kept asking me “are we going to Pan-fer Stadium”. We stopped by Bojangles and picked up some biscuits (oddly enough she loves Bojangles too. I think the advertisements are working on her) and headed toward Charlotte.
We got there plenty early and sat in the grass while eating our breakfast. Slowly but surely, maintenance staff began readying the field and support staff began trickling out. I positioned us in the perfect area for Kitten to get up close to the players in hopes of getting a few autographs. One very friendly member of the staff, an older gentleman, came by to talk to Kitten. He asked her who her favorite player was. Hardly able to contain herself she shouted “Jake”. He laughed and told her to wait right there. “He should be out soon” he said. While she and I played in the grass (looking for crickets), I could see him step away from us and talk on his radio, presumably to someone at the stadium. A few moments later, he came back and told us to have a good time.
Within minutes, we saw the silhouette of one lone player jogging through the tunnel which passes under the railroad tracks. As the player approached I saw the red jersey of my Kitten’s favorite player, Jake Delhomme. Without hesitation, Jake had left the training room early for one reason…..to see my Kitten. She bubbled with excitement as he came straight toward us. He teased her a little bit saying, “Have you seen a little girl who was waiting for me?” Obviously, these were the actions of a man who has daughters of his own.
For the next five minutes I played interpreter for the two of them. First I would interpret Jake’s thick Cajun accent for Kitten and then I would interpret her two year old English for him. Like any young girl, she eventually became unusually shy and the conversation dwindled, but not before Jake had signed his autograph and posed for a few pictures. Weeks later I would realize that he had held her with the same arm that threw the longest touchdown reception in Super Bowl history to Muhsin Muhammad….the same arm that threw a last second touchdown to Steve Smith in the 2003 playoff game against St. Louis…. the same arm that was in desperate need of medical attention.
Jake Delhomme Is My HeroLook, I’m not saying that Jake Delhomme is a Hall of Fame quarterback. I’m not even saying that he always gives us the best chance of winning. I’m definitely not saying that his six turnovers on Saturday night didn’t cost us the chance at another NFC Championship. What I am saying is that I am glad Kitten was already sound asleep when I said those horrible things about him on Saturday night. If she had heard my reaction, I might have lost my favored status as hero to her. I will pay my penance the only way I can. When Jake Delhomme takes the field in September of 2009 as the starting quarterback of the Carolina Panthers, I will cheer the loudest. I don’t care if we never win another ballgame, this is the type of man that I want leading the team that I support.
For all that Jake has done for this team….for all that he has done for our community….for all that he has done for my Kitten…..Jake Delhomme is my hero.
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