By BRIAN NOSTRANDT
Special to the Record-Eagle
May 07, 2008 04:00 am One of my favorite memories is a night at the football field in the fall of 1997. I was at my brother's playoff football game. I was out on the field with my mother waiting for the players to be announced. I was looking down the tunnel, which seemed to stretch for miles. Everybody was hooting and hollering and getting impatient with having to listen to the Beal City Aggies starting lineup being called onto the field. "And now, tonight's starting lineup for your Frankfort Panthers!!" The sea of purple and gold faithful erupted with anticipation. As I was listening to the players being called out, I stretched my arm out and tried to touch the monstrous players dressed in the purple and gold. One by one the players were announced as they would run through the tunnel, knowing it was their time to shine. Finally the name I was waiting for to be announced was spoken over the PA system. "At left guard a senior, Charles Nostrandt!" Filled with excitement I leaned in even closer so I could see him running through the tunnel. Thinking he was going to be running fast through the tunnel like everyone else and barely being able to get a glimpse of him, to my surprise he wasn't running, he was jogging, and slowly at that. Once he got right in front of me he stopped and leaned down and picked me up, carrying me on his shoulder pads through the rest of the tunnel and into the huddle with the rest of the team that had already been called out. He set me back down on the ground as he and all the other players patted me on the head and he leaned down and said to me, "This will be you someday." Never feeling more proud to be his little brother, I ran back to my dad and listened to the rest of the players being called out. Even though we lost that game that night, I had never wanted to be more like Chuck than I did that night. That's why, to this day, I wear the number 64. Brian Nostrandt is a junior at Frankfort-Elberta High School.
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