Grandparents Help Make Sports Events a Special Time

One of the most poignant moments after a high school football game is seeing a player embrace his grandparents.

They’re the ones who think their grandson can do no wrong. They’re the ones willing to travel long distances over congested freeways to provide unconditional support.

Last week, 68-year-old Joan Bighead got into her 1994 Cadillac with 108,000 miles on the odometer and started driving on a 250-mile trip to Orange County from her home in Parker, Ariz.

She made it 35 miles--just below Parker Dam--before her car broke down, depriving her of the opportunity to watch her grandson, Fountain Valley High quarterback Casey Clark, play in a game against Trabuco Hills.

During the summer, Joan hosted Casey and more than 20 of his senior teammates at her home along the Colorado River.

By the time they departed from their three-day trip, everyone was calling her “Grandma.” Joan Bighead adores Casey, perhaps because he reminds her so much of her late husband, Jack.

“He’s physically so much like his grandfather,” she said.

Jack Bighead was a Euchee Indian who starred in football at L.A. Poly High in the 1940s and went on the play for the Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams.

He was a junior high teacher who once coached Heisman Trophy winner Mike Garrett.

Jack died in 1993, but Casey hasn’t forgotten him.

“I have great memories of him,” he said. “You think of him as this big football player, but he had this soft side, talking about manners and being polite.”

Casey, 18, has his grandfather’s determination. Last February, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee playing basketball. There was speculation the injury wouldn’t be healed in time for football season.

“No one thought I was going to be back,” Casey said.

“I was determined not to let it stop me from my senior season. I didn’t have a summer. It was [physical] therapy four hours a day.”

Casey, 6 feet 2 and 215 pounds, not only is back playing football, he has led Fountain Valley to a 5-1 record, passing for 1,188 yards and nine touchdowns.

He and his brother, Jackson, a sophomore basketball player, receive lots of support from their parents, aunts and uncles. But there’s something special about having grandparents.

They’re the ones who slip you dollar bills when Mom and Dad aren’t looking. They’re the ones willing to buy you ice cream before dinner. They’re the ones who take you on exotic trips to places you didn’t know existed.

“Whenever she comes to one of my games, it gives me that extra incentive,” Casey said.

“She’s someone I can talk to. My grandma is always there to give me encouragement. Even when she’s far away, she’s a phone call away.”

Joan is so loyal she gave Casey a credit card to use on special occasions. That led to a strange bill two years ago.

There was a charge of $59 from a florist shop and another charge of $5.64 from the same florist.

“I called Casey and told him, ‘I don’t understand this bill,’ ” Joan said. “He went, ‘Well, grandma, I never knew a dozen roses cost so much.’ ”

The $59 roses were for his girlfriend and the $5.64 rose was for his mother, which didn’t go over well in the Clark household.

But grandma didn’t mind.

The other day, Casey sent his grandmother an e-mail about all the family members who come to watch him play.

“It’s special to have someone there who cares about you more than just as an athlete but as a person,” he wrote.

Sometimes players embrace their grandparents a little firmer than their parents after games because they understand they might not be around much longer.

At Newhall Hart, quarterback Matt Moore spent each weekend during the summer visiting with his grandfather, Don Sr., who’d come down from his home in Oregon to watch Matt compete in passing tournaments.

Don Sr. boasted how much fun he was going to have watching Matt play quarterback for the first time at Hart this fall. But in August, while attending an American Legion baseball game in Oregon, he died.

Matt has gone on to spark Hart to a 5-0 record and emerge as one of the top quarterbacks in Southern California. He wishes his grandfather could be around to see him.

“That’s one thing that’s going to be in my mind forever,” Matt said. “He wanted to see me succeed. It’s inspiring.”

At Fountain Valley, Casey has his grandmother to inspire him.

And although Joan tries to downplay her contributions, she’s a grandparent doing what grandparents do best--teach their grandchildren lessons about life while offering unwavering support.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com