When the temperatures start to drop and the leaves start to change color, Shannon Chappell knows her life is about to change too – and get a lot more busy. Football season is approaching, and Shannon is a football mom.
Actually, Shannon is a football mother hen. Her nephew Chase, 15, is a quarterback on the Warren Mott junior varsity team. Her niece Caylee, 14, is on the varsity cheer team, and her son, Nathan, 13, plays middle school football. He will be on the Center Line High School team next year. And her oldest nephew, Connor, 18, graduated last year after starring on the Warren Mott squad. She’s been there to watch every game.
And, as if that’s not enough, she also serves on the board of directors for the Eastside Eagles Football and Cheerleading Program. Suffice to say, once football season starts, Shannon Chappell has very little free time.
“It all started with Connor. He’s super athletic, he’s played every sport there is. And he started in football,” Chappel said. “We started Nathan in soccer, but he was running for the ball, and he picked up a kid, moved him out of his way, set him down and kept running. So we said, ‘OK, you need to play football,’ and he’s been playing football ever since.”
So with her own son playing the game, her 12 years of being a football mom/football aunt has become even more personal. She’s seen enough injuries to know her son can also get hurt. But she tries to keep it only in the back of her mind.
“It’s different being the mom though compared to being the auntie. When you’re the auntie, you just go to the games or occasionally you drive the kids to practice,” Chappell said. “But when you’re a mom, you’re in the trenches. More responsibility, and you’re there every day. The fear of him (her son) getting hurt is scary. But because of the position he plays (offensive line), nobody’s coming up to hit him. And he can hold his own. So it’s a little bit easier for me.”
Like many of us, Shannon holds on to the end of summer because she hates cold weather. But football makes the cold weather bearable. And the friendships she’s made with other football parents, sharing the endless hours in the stands with them, warms her heart throughout the fall.
“Honestly, the other families are my favorite part of football season,” she said. “You get so close. You start practicing in July, five nights a week. So from July to the end of August, you’re there five nights a week, two hours a night, sitting out at the field together. So you can’t help but get close. And watching the kids develop, it’s fun to watch and be a part of.”
On the other hand, the extreme time commitment needed to support her extended family and the Eastside Eagles program leaves little time for anything else during fall. Family trips to Cedar Point are put on hold.
“Since I’m on the board, we have to be there all day – so 10 hours on Saturday. Your kid doesn’t have to be there until two in the afternoon, but you have to be there at 8 a.m.,” Chappell said. “The smell on the car ride home is also pretty terrible, too. After the last game of the season, it’s time to burn the cleats.
With her youngest son entering high school next year, Chappell admits she can see the end of the road for her life as a football mom. But she has other younger nieces and nephews who may soon join the family tradition of playing football or joining the cheer team. And she will be there to watch them, too.
“I’ll be watching after he is done. Once a football mom, always a football mom.” she said.
Watching, playing and/or supporting a football team is just one way to mark the season. To find more ways to fall in love with Macomb, click here. From trails to apple orchards to spooky frights, Make Macomb Your Home has all you need to enjoy this festive time of year.
Don Gardner is a communications specialist for Macomb County Planning and Economic Development.
