I experienced a modern-day, true version of the old Clint Eastwood western at the VooDoo game in the Arena on March 9th.
The
VooDoo homecoming game was pretty special for my son, my husband and
me. We're big VooDoo fans! Before Katrina, we bought our young son an
AFL football so he could get autographs from players after the games.
He brought his football to the home-opener to get players to sign it.
After
holding the football for a while, I took the suggestion of the nice
lady sitting two seats down and set my son's football in the spare seat
between us.
There was a group of well-mannered
teenagers sitting in the row behind me, and there were two young men,
sitting on that same row, a few seats to my left.
I recognized these same two men who stopped me near the food concession earlier in the evening.
My husband left his seat for a moment to answer a phone call.
I
noticed out of the corner of my eye, those two guys had moved closer,
now positioning themselves directly behind the spare seat. A few
minutes later, I noticed the football was gone.
So,
here's the "Good": One of the young ladies behind me alerted me she
witnessed those same two guys "steal the ball and hide it under their
seat".
Without hesitating, I jumped over my own
seat like it wasn't there, determined to get back my son's football
from the thief who stole it from him. And, I'm grateful the Good
Samaritan who saw it happen had the courage to stand right there with
me.
Here's the "Bad": What kind of punk would
steal from a child? The same punks who didn't have the guts to admit
they just robbed a little boy, and the same punks who made no apology
when caught red-handed.
The "ugly" surfaced when
the thieves refused to give back my son's football. I must apologize
to those who witnessed the use of some ugly, unlady-like language in my
anger and disgust.
The football was right there
where the Good Samaritan said it would be. Make no mistake, I got the
football back. How do I know it was my son's football? It had his
name on it written in permanent ink.
Thank you, to the young lady sitting behind me for doing the right thing. For being a Crimestopper!
I
hope her actions will be a lesson for all of us. We have to look out
for each other and have the courage to do the right thing.
Next time, the football stays home.
- Kriss Fairbairn / WDSU NewsChannel 6 Anchor
