I’ve owned the hoodie since eighth grade. It’s black with two strings to tighten the hood, a large pocket in front, and the words “Property of Richardson Rampage Hockey” written on the front in large white letters. The hoodie itself is nothing special. It’s rather old and torn up, actually. It’s what it symbolizes that means something to me.
I joined the Richardson Rampage hockey team in eighth grade. It was my first ice hockey team, consisting of players from all four high schools in the Richardson school district. When I joined the team, I did so only knowing two other people on the hockey team. After five years, I could recite nearly every player in the organization and tell you about their friends and family.
What the hoodie represents to me is a family. I grew up with the other players on the team, playing a few years in JV and a few years in Varsity. We went through the lowest of the lows and the highest of the highs in our years together, culminating in the ultimate achievement our senior year of high school: becoming the Texas State Champions.
I can say with certainty that if I were to list my ten best friends right now, at least half the list would consist of players from my high school hockey team. Although we’ve each gone our separate ways, we still try to get together every break to say how much worse we’ve gotten since our last day together on the ice. Until then, my hoodie reminds me how much fun I had with them throughout our time together.
That is an awesome thing to have around you Brian. I know that I personally have a similar football jersey that I love, but nothing that dates that far back. I am sure that it means the world for you to keep. Friendships being formed during competition can be some of the most rewarding and strong because they were formed with pressure and a common goal. Hopefully those bonds remain true for years to come.
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