Have you ever wondered what a football player thinks of the sport that takes up so much of their time? Really, the  raw point of the game is to chase a ball around for over a mile in fairly intense heat whilst tackling sweaty players in order to score touchdowns. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not an easy sport, I just don’t see the appeal to it; however, these three guys do. I along with two of my fellow reporters, Jayleigh Draper and Mia Townsend, interviewed three Dyer County Choctaw football players; Josh Stewart, Darius Lovins, and Dain Patterson. After having to wait three long weeks to nail down a date, we finally got our interview. On Tuesday, October 3rd, Jayleigh and I pulled these three out of weight-lifting and conducted our interview. The following are the questions the three were asked along with their replies.

Josh Stewart: 

Q: When did you start playing football?

“I started in third grade.”

Q: What fueled your interest in football?

“Hitting and scoring touchdowns had a lot to do with it.”

Q: At any point did you think about quitting football? What made you want to quit?

“No, never.”

Q: What do you think is the hardest part of playing football?

“The heat and Tuesday practices. Make sure you put Tuesday practices because those are the worst.”

Q: What injuries have you gotten playing football? Which was the worst? How long did it take you to recover?

“I’ve sprained my ankle a whole bunch of times. I mean I’ve recovered, but I still have problems with it, it still hurts sometimes, and I have to wear a brace.”

Q: Is it difficult to manage football and school?

“Kind of, but I’m used to it.”

Darius Lovins

Q: When did you start playing football?

“I started playing football in sixth grade.”

Q: What fueled your interest in football?

“I just liked throwing the football. Where I lived we would stand outside and toss the football around and I thought it was fun so I started playing.”

Q: At any point did you think about quitting football? What made you want to quit?

“Sometimes at practice, when it’s really tiring.”

Q: What do you think is the hardest part of playing football?

“Tackling, I’m not the best at tackling.”

Q: What injuries have you gotten playing football? Which was the worst? How long did it take you to recover?

“I hurt my shoulder, and that’s the only injury I’ve ever gotten. It took me about three months to recover.”

Q: Is it hard to manage football and school?

“No, not really. I mean, I’ve got good grades.”

Dain Patterson:

Q: When did you start playing football?

“In fifth grade.”

Q: What fueled your interest in football?

“I just wanted to play.”

Q: At any point did you think about quitting? What made you want to quit?

“I quit after my sophomore year. The coaches wanted me to be a starter, but I didn’t want to be a starter, so I quit.”

Q: What do you think is the hardest part of playing football?

“Probably the adversity you have to go through.”

Q: What injuries have you gotten playing football? Which was the worst? How long did it take you to recover?

“I’ve sprained my ACL and fractured my ankle. Spraining my ACL was the worst. It took me about four to five months to recover.”

Q: Is it difficult to manage football and school?

“Not really.”