A Special Thank You to Some Special Indians

[CrazyHorse]

My 6 year old son had a birthday party on Saturday. When I asked him what kind of party he wanted, he said " I want a PNG Indian Party" . All 3 of my boys are like me and my wife, bleeding purple. Anyway, I asked Caleb Harmon a few weeks ago if he'd mind coming to my sons party to make it special. I asked him to invite a couple of friends if he felt like it. He sounded excited to do it. But, in these days and times what people say and what people do sometimes differ. On birthday day Caleb showed up with Nathan Raggio, Greg Lunceford, and Brennan Doty. My kids were jaw-dropped because they equate these guys as equals to Tony Romo or Peyton Manning. The guys played football with my kids but that was not the end of the suprise....Guys from the team kept showing up.
By the time we were opening presents, eating gumbo, and singing, "Happy Birthday!" the folowing Indians had made it to the party...
Caleb Harmon
Greg Lunceford
Nathan Raggio
Brennan Doty
Kyler Segura
Aaron Brandom
Matt Desmond
and Amir Jalali

Let me tell you that these guys must have some very good parents, because they were completely engaging and perfect gentlemen. I don't know that it is common for teenagers to really care about a six years olds birthday, but they seemed to and made the day special. They signed footballs for kids, and played catch among other things. After the guys left all the parents and kids could not stop talking about what a great party it turned out to be.

Thanks guys for making the party a success.
arty:
Indians all the way to state!

Pictures Below...

 

[warpaint101]

That is special ,and i am sure that your son will not forget that !!!! They are a truly special class of young men this year.......I hope they all get the reconition this year that they deserve.....Hopefully a parade or something will be dedicated to this 2009 team....

 

[NDN79]

What a great story, thank you for sharing that with us ! Great job to the young men that showed up for the party!! :clap:

 

[pngfan66]

Great young men ! You know besides their parents, I would almost have to say that the coaches have instilled into these young men what it means to have integrity and committment. way to go guys. you probably made that boys year for him. I am so glad to see that someone who kids look up to show up and spend time in a great way. Hard to put into words, but from the entire Indian nation, thank you ! This whole story should be a news paper article !

 

[CrazyHorse]

 

[ndn78]

This needs to be put on southeast texas sports website so maybe other schools will understand why the NDN tradition is so special! Good job guys!

 

[NDN4Life]

That is something your son will remember forever....That is Awesome to See!!!

 

[IndianFan]

This needs to be put on southeast texas sports website so maybe other schools will understand why the NDN tradition is so special! Good job guys!

It's already where it needs to be. :thumbsup:

 

[akifan94]

Crazyhorse....My girls were there.....This is your in-laws neighbor to their left.

They had a great time.

I was going to post about the party but have been outside entertaining kids all day.

 

[PNG Proud]

Great guys, no doubt.

Not trying to steal the story, but only to reiterate...
A few yrs ago, I was coaching YMCA football, and we always practiced by the band hall field, at PNMS. I had met a player, on this board only, and asked him if he'd come talk to the players at the upcoming practice, that was scheduled on the same day as the Homecoming parade. He said no problem.

Now, you should have seen those little Indians eyes when about 6 football players and the Indian Spirit (fully donned in his attire) came walking up to our practice. Those kids were mesmerized! Heck, I was just as excited!

That's just the kind of kids we have representing PNG, and I couldn't be prouder!

 

[Cheermom4]

How cool is that, what a great bunch of young men. :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[Former NDNette]

This is GREAT...I'm a softie about stuff like this. Sat here and the more I read the more the tears came. I'm so happy for your little guy and so proud of these boys. Good job!!

 

[NDNmom91]

Man...how AWESOME is that! My son had a PNG NDN party a few weeks ago, and I thought about seeing if I could get some of the players to come, but I talked myself out of it because I thought they would be too busy....guess I should have done it!! He would have LOVED that...he played flag football this year and several of his team mates were at his party, and they would have flipped for those guys to be there! I am really dumb for not doing it, especially because we have a dear friends son who is on the team, and I have known him since he was in diapers, I'm sure he could have gotten several of the guys to come! It's so great to know there are still awesome, well mannered kids out there these days...kudos to the parents for raising such fine young men!

 

[NDNfan#1]

I am glad to see that we have kids that understand what being an athlete is all about. We were told when we were kids, that when you play football you are a pillar of the community. These kids have taken that to heart and it is awesome to hear about.

 

[indianalways]

Amazing story. Can't help but get teared up

 

[NDN Meaux]

This story made me run for the box of Kleenex too! That is EXACTLY why we moved here.

Several years ago my husband and our family lived in a neighboring city. I did not grow up in this part of Texas, so I was unaware of the Port Neches-Groves Indian reputation. We were watching the high school sports section of the local news one night and I saw all those kids from PN-G having a great time at their football game. I looked at my husband and said, "THAT'S the kind of school our kids need to be in!"

We met some folks from PN-G through my husband's work and they invited us to a football game not long after that. We were totally intrigued. I can't remember who played, but I'll never forget the ride home. I told my husband I wanted to get our kids into PN-G. Within a year we were living here. That was two years ago. My parents drove five hours to watch a game this year and they had such a blast. My mom said, "Wow...Everybody has something they can do to be involved here."

I am so proud of this school district, because they made room for our family. My kids have great friends and I feel like this is such a great place to raise a family. At last week's game in Zaharias I met someone who claimed to be a 3rd generation Indian, and by the end of the game we were hugging each other and exchanging numbers. I want to be that kind of Indian.

This story isn't just about football. It's about the spirit of this community. Honor, pride and tradition only skim the surface of what's going on here in Port Neches-Groves!

Kudos to all of you for keeping these values alive in your community...in our community!!! ;D

 

[squaw]

Finally, someone gets it! We are so glad you moved into this community. Also, when we were in the ER family waiting room early Saturday morning with Bobby Davenport's wife, a family I'd never met showed up, children and all, to offer prayers and condolences to the Davenport family. The father, Ed Sims, had met Bobby at the JV ballgames and cared enough to come to St. Elizabeth's Hospital with his family. They recently moved into Port Neches and are looking for a home here to buy. They want to be here. What a great role model these parents are for their children! Glad they're here, also.