In 1940, Thomas Wolfe said, "You can leave, but you can never go home." When I was a mere 14 year old freshman at West Branch High School, life was a bit more simple. I did not have to pay my own bills. I did not have to worry about taxes yet. I did not have to worry about much more than waking up, going to school, going to practice, and going to bed. Rinse. Repeat. Or so I thought. My father began interviewing for jobs - or promotions, if you will - that were available within his company's infrastructure. Well, I should say 'job' as in singular. Because, he interviewed for one and was offered (and accepted) the position. It was to be located in Peoria County, IL. He dropped the bombshell on the family one January evening. I will never forget what he told us. "I accepted a job in Illinois, we are going to be moving." Very poignant, eh? :) To a 14 year old, who was entrenched in the community and friendships, that is pretty devastating. I did not want to move. I did not want to ever leave Iowa. So, what is the only alternative? I ran away from home....for all of about 2 hours. I made it a whole two miles before I realized that I was going to have to walk to get anywhere I was going. A ride was not going to be readily available for me. This was in the year 1988. I figured that once I moved, people would forget me. It would not be the same. We left West Branch on May 27, 1988. We moved to Princeville, IL. It was a town much like West Branch. When we arrived, all we heard about was "the Princeville football program was awesome" or "just wait until football season around here, you will love it!" Long story short, here is the 1988 tale of the tape: Princeville: 4 wins, 5 losses. West Branch: 7 wins, 2 losses, first playoff berth in school history. For Bear fans, we all know what happened in 1989. It was a magical year. A championship year. A season that will never be duplicated, because it was the first of its kind for WBFB (West Branch Football). In 1989, in Princeville, IL, they cancelled the varsity season because not enough kids made the decision to play football. We actually had an all boys meeting one day so the administration could try to convince kids to go out for the team. So, here my family was 144 miles away from West Branch. 144 miles away from my 'home'. 144 miles away from football that meant something to me. My father, ever the fan of WBFB, would make a big financial decision that year. It involved a car, a family, and the wishes of a 15 year old kid. That decision was to drive to every single West Branch game, 288 miles round trip, because we wanted to see our friends (my friends) play football. Roundtrip gas: $30 Tickets/food at the games: $30 Memories of a season: priceless The Bears would play 11 games that season, winning 10 of them. But, they would win a single game, on a Saturday morning, with the whole town in attendance. A second UNI-Dome game. A championship season. I was in the fifth row, wearing my favorite faded jean jacket. Sitting next to my friend Jason Clayton. Who was sitting next to about 20 of my other friends. Nobody looked at me differently, or treated me differently. Fast forward 12 years to May 2000. I was on an internship in the Chicago suburbs. It was not going as planned - or should I say it was not going how I was told it would. So, I emailed an old friend/coach named Butch Pedersen. I said (paraphrased), "Coach, I am wondering if you know of any job opportunities available in Eastern Iowa? I would really love to move back." His response, 20 minutes later, "if you get here, we will take care of it. You can coach softball with me this summer. We would love to have you back in the area!" I moved to West Branch. Within a week, I had found a job. One of my friends allowed me to live with him until I got my feet under me. That took a month. I was coaching in the school district I loved the most. I was back in football-ville. The day? May 27, 2000. Exactly twelve years from the day my family moved from WB, I was back in WB as a resident. In 2000, I was there when the WBFB squad would win 10 games. I was back home when the 2003 team would lead the community back to the Dome. I was back home when the 2008 and 2009 squads would play the 20th, 21st, and 22nd games we have ever played in the Dome. On Monday night, the Bears will take on North Cedar for the second time. This time for the right to play in the UNI-Dome. For WBFB, it would be game number 23 under the bubble. It will be a game that Bears play for a team. A passion. A goal. A community. They will play it for Warren Pierce. Chief Thomas. Wayne Rummells. Bill Krall. Bob Kessler. Chad Gates. Ryan Burton. Brad Bartelt. Bob Peak. Brent Donohoe. Rich Stout. Tony Senio. Niko Senio. Traci Fryauf. Matt Wheeler. Aisha Jones. Bob Finnegan. Sandra Gates. Jarod Tylee. Caleb Walter. Mitch Moon. Norm Moon. Butch Pedersen. Larry Rummells. Some of those people have passed on from this Earth. Some of them no longer live in West Branch. They all (would) want the Bears to win. They (would) all want to be at the game to see it through. In West Branch, you can leave and then come home. For WBFB, you tend to go h(d)ome more often than most. And there is no running away from that.