Ryan Longwell's Cousin

I was the Back Judge in a 6th grade LYA football game this last Saturday morning when a kid subs in to the defensive huddle with "LONGWELL" on the back of his jersey.

I said, "Hey, Ryan Longwell is in the game on defense."

"He's my cousin," the kid proclaimed.

Sidenote: Ryan Longwell was the Green Bay Packers' kicker from 1997-2005. Clutch kicker. The good news is that he had just beat the Bearettes with a last second FG. The bad news is that he now kicks for the ViQueens.

Anyhow, Ryan Longwell's cousin and I chatted a little here and there between plays, as he was playing Safety back there with Yours Truly, the Back Judge.

After a few short conversations, Ryan Longwell's cousin's team scored. As the teams were lining up for the ensuing kickoff, I went to give the ball to the kicker, and I see that Ryan Longwell's cousin is on the Kickoff team--but he's not the kicker.

After I hand the ball to the kicker, I turned to Ryan Longwell's cousin and said, "Wait a minute, you're Ryan Longwell's cousin! You're not the kicker?!?!"

He explained that he was one of the best kickers on the team, but he was also good at a lot of positions and the coach wanted to give other players a chance to play.

"Ya," I reassured him, "that was my problem, too." Too good for my own good.

The story of my life. :-)

Great kid!!! Hope he does well and keeps after it.