Eric Weddle and Me

This is a guest post from my son, Cole. I am trying to encourage him to write about certain experiences in his life so that he will be able to remember them down the road. I promised him I would post this if he took the time to write it.

Earlier this year, my Grandpa Bill made my dreams come true by giving me tickets to watch the San Diego Chargers play. We went to the game on November 25, 2007. My cousins Riley, Matthew and Nathan and I all wore our Weddle #32 jerseys to the game. When we were walking into the stadium, some guy yelled out "Are you guys Eric Weddle fans?". We all nodded. He told us that Eric Weddle Headquarters were around the corner.

We headed over to Weddle Headquarters and found his family and friends tailgating. We saw about 20 or 30 Eric Weddle jerseys: white, dark blue and light blue, all kinds. Since we were the youngest kids there, everyone was noticing us. This lady who looked to be in her late 50's came to us and told us she was Eric's mom. We were all surprised. We introduced ourselves and told her we were from Salt Lake. She introduced us to Eric's family and then we got to ask her a lot of questions about Eric. Here are some of the questions I asked:

1. Does Eric like the NFL? Yes, but he still wishes he could play for the U.

2. How much money does he make? $99,000 per month, plus he received a $2.5 million signing bonus.

3. When is Eric's baby due, and is it a boy or a girl? The baby is due on January 5th and is a girl, but they are hoping it is born on January 4th, because that is Eric's birthday.

4. Where is Eric's locker? It is next to LT's, Shaun Merriman's and Antonio Gates'.

5. How many days a week does Eric practice? 6 days a week, 12 hours per day.

Eric's family was so awesome! They let us sign a banner that said "Go Eric Weddle #32". I wrote "Good Luck!! Your #1 fan Cole Parkinson P.S. Go Utes!"

Eric's wife told us that Eric always comes back to Weddle Headquarters after the game and signs things and visits with his fans. I asked Dad if we could come back after the game and he said "We'll see". So Eric's mom suggested that we give her our address and she would have Eric send us autographed pictures and stuff.

We went to the game, which was awesome. The Chargers won 32 to 14. Eric made 5 tackles and knocked two passes. After the game we went back to Weddle HQ and met up with Eric's family. After about 10 minutes Eric's sister came over and said "that's him" and pointed to a guy in a beanie about my dad's size. We went over to him, and yet again, because we were the smallest, all eyes were on us.

I asked Eric to sign my white Chargers hat. I told him that we were from Salt Lake and came all that way to see him play. I also told him that I followed his entire college career and that he was my favorite Ute player. He thought that was great. We got a couple of pictures with him, and then my cousin Riley started singing the Utah Man song. To my surprise, everyone, including Eric and his family started to sing it too.

After that a guy who said he was from the Deseret News interviewed Erick and took a picture of Eric and anyone who was wearing a Weddle Jersey.

It was a great experience going to a Chargers game. Did I mention that Eric makes $7 for every Weddle jersey that is sold? So my cousins and I made $28 for Eric Weddle. What a Great Day! I will never forget my day with Eric Weddle.