As I started to put the pieces of the puzzle together work mode completely took over, but now that the Hammerheads are no longer a franchise it’s starting to hit me.
THE HAMMERHEADS ARE NO LONGER A FRANCHISE.
And while those words have different meaning for different people for me, a significant piece of what made my family my family is now gone.
You see, the Hammerheads are the reason that I found Kelli.
I opted to work one Saturday, which at the time was normal for me because, well, I didn’t have much of a life. So instead of taking the day off I decided to put a wireless microphone on David Irving who’s known to let the expletives fly.
He didn’t disappoint that night.
But that story was not THE story that night. The story ended up being about a guy and a girl who stood on the field in a downpour and talked, oblivious to what was happening around.
That was the first night of the rest of my life.
That night led to us dating which led to Kelli not moving to Atlanta which led to us getting married which led to Madison and Kaitlyn. That night led to us purchasing our first home, and so on and so on. If you want to keep playing the six degrees of the Wilmington Hammerheads I guess you can include the team is also the reason Kelli’s grandmother and parents now live here.
I haven’t even included how Bill Rudisill acted like a second father to Kelli while she was attending UNCW.
Now all that we’re left with are the memories and friendships. Perhaps I’ve crossed a journalistic line, but I’m proud to say David Irving and his wife Pam are friends. They’re the kind of friends who were at the hospital waiting on me when Kelli was in a car accident. They were holding our children after they were born and they cooked us dinner when we arrived home from the hospital. Their friendship goes beyond a working one.
Sadly we don’t get the chance at creating new memories. We won’t be able to take our children to the games and tell them how mommy and daddy met. We won’t be able to watch them stand on the field to get an autograph, or to look in amazement at Sledge.
Or will we.
There’s a chance a team could resurface in Wilmington. There’s even a chance it could be the same team, ownership and all. Either way I’m hopeful the name remains the same. The Hammerheads mean different things for different people, and for me it means family.
