At first, we went to every game because he has asthma and we were afraid that somebody wouldn't have an inhaler. We stopped carrying the inhalers when he went to college because the training staff took care of that, but we've kept following him from coast to coast every step of the way. |
But we kept following him, back and forth across the country, every game, every year. It was hard, but it was a routine we started and stuck with. The years, the miles - nothing separated the family. |
He wanted us there, and as parents, it was something we always wanted to do. It took a lot of arranging, a lot of schedule-changing, and a lot of planning to make it all happen, but my husband and I felt like we should be there for Jerome. So we went to his games - all of his games. |
I am so elated. It took this boy 13 years to make it back home. Those guys brought him home. He motivated those guys and they played for him to bring him back home. |
It's almost indescribable. To come home, and to see the people treat him the way they have, it just blows me away. The people have shown him that he's still No. 1 in the city. It was just heartwarming. |
My husband would get the hose out to make that rink every year -- it even had nice banks made of snow. |
Oh no. ... He said that? Oh, my God. |
Personally, I would be happy if this was his last game. I want to see him go out on top. |
She almost died. She had to wait until they came back to find out if he was OK. I couldn't go through that. |
That's his football family, so we were proud to have them here. They've been a part of our lives, too. |
There's nothing I want more for Jerome than to see him win the Super Bowl here in his hometown. It would be the perfect ending for a young man who has given his life to the sport of football. |
We donated it to a church and had it fixed up, but we don't know what happened to it. I didn't even know it caught on fire. |
We thought that when he was drafted that that was it, that was the top. But this is even better than that. We worked hard right behind him, and this is just icing on the cake. |
We went to every game because we were afraid that somebody wouldn't have an inhaler there when he needed it. |
We've probably experienced it all, at one time or another. It often wasn't easy, but it was important enough to us to make it happen. And we don't regret a single trip - especially not now. |