For a man who�s a sports fan and loves football immensely, it doesn�t come as a surprise that I was thrilled when our first born was a baby boy.
As a father, you can�t help but dream of gridiron greatness even when your baby still doesn�t possess the motor skills to hold their own head up.
Let�s face it, us men out there want our boys to be football stars.
Whether or not that happens is another story entirely.
I�ve previously stated in this column that I don�t care what Griffin does sports-wise.
I�d much prefer him be a happy, healthy, well-adjusted child and teen than a high-school football standout.
But secretly I root for the latter.
Now that he�s getting old enough to understand what football is, I�ve found myself talking about it more and more with him.
Whether it�s taking him to a game or watching it on TV, Griffin�s becoming increasingly football savvy by the day.
If Griffin eventually plays football for a team, I�m placing my bets that he will be a defensive lineman.
You might be asking yourself what signs I�ve seen to make me proclaim this.
Well, judging by his interest in tackling his daddy whenever we play, I�d say I�m making a good guess.
Even when we go outside to throw the ball, Griffin much rather tackle me than catch the ball.
Recently, Griffin has started to put it all together.
Once seated, he proceeds to go to the other end of his room and take off like some sort of possessed warrior eyeing the goal line on the final play of a game.
His technique is great, head up, arms outstretched as he plows into me.
Better yet, Griffin doesn�t hesitate when running toward me, and he finishes every tackle with 100 percent effort and enthusiasm.
Oh geez, I�m starting to sound like a coach or something.
But hey, I can�t help but be excited at the prospects that await Griffin in the coming years.
What began a few months ago has taken on a life of its own.
Now Griffin makes a mean face and extends his elbow in front of him as he rushes toward me.
While he�s strong and doesn�t let up when he tries to knock me down, I often give way a bit before toppling over to his delight.
But the other night, something changed.
Griffin ran at me full speed, caught me off guard and I fell over � I mean I really fell over.
Needing an injury timeout, Griffin laughed and said, �tackle daddy� and lined up again for another try.
All signs are beginning to point to my son loving football, so of course I�m elated.
But as a father, I can�t help but think what it will be like when he reaches the age when he can actually compete for real.
I wonder how much anxiety I�ll feel before the ball is snapped or what I�ll do if he gets hurt.
I look at other father�s at football games, and I know they go through this gambit of emotions.
I�ve been at games involving serious injuries where kids were brought off fields in stretchers.
Because of this I have to temper my excitement since I know football, although exciting to watch, is a dangerous sport.
Now that I�m thinking more about it, maybe I should start watching golf with Griffin or encourage him to kick a football instead of tackling the person holding on to it.
But who am I fooling, my young lad is destined to be a big bruiser.
Any way, for all you high-school coaches out there, we haven�t made any firm decision on where Griffin will go, so you�ll just have to hope for the best � ha, ha!