Connection between father and son galvanized through sports, even from Iraq

For far too long, Joseph Germano's connection to his son's football career was only as strong as the cell phone reception in stadiums across southern Colorado.

Sgt. 1st Class Germano, on two deployments to Iraq, would find a Green Zone pay phone in the middle of the night and listen as his wife, Jodi, called play-by-play of the action then held up the handset to let him soak in the crowd and the announcer calling out Nate Germano's name.

"I was always exhausted the next day," Joseph Germano recalled. "But that was my highlight of the week."

That's how things went through two long stretches that ate up most of Nate's middle school and early high school career before one remarkable season made up for all the lost time, saw Nate and his team achieve unprecedented heights and, ultimately, will result in Nate inking his name to a football commitment Wednesday at CSU-Pueblo. Maybe, just maybe, this will mean his father can continue watching from the stands for years to come.

Of course, in the Army, there's never that certainty.

***

For years, the Germano family moved around like nomads. That, in itself, doesn't distinguish the family from thousands of military households in the area.

But through Nate's participation in sports, they found a home.

"Since he was 3 and he could ride a bike with no training wheels, or when he was 4 and he could climb on the roof, we knew something was pretty special about him," Jodi said. "He's always been very athletic."

Nate's older siblings, Jacob and Katie, now in their 20s, never had the luxury of settling in one place. Every two years they'd find a new school. Asked where they were from, they'd usually just mention the most recent place they'd been.

In 2003, when Nate was 9, the family came to Colorado Springs. Instantly, he became a part of youth football programs, played baseball and started to excel, despite always being the smallest one on the field.

His parents couldn't stand the thought of removing him from this environment and negating the strides he'd made.

"We'd have moved a lot; we would have done a tour in Germany," Jodi Germano said. "But we had to keep him in the same spot. Our oldest son had to prove himself every time we moved to a new spot. Nobody knew who he was, nobody cared who he was. And that probably contributed to him not playing.

"We knew that Nate had to stay here."

So the family put down its anchor, far from any extended family, even as Joseph's deployments started. He had already been in Korea for a year, then came Iraq. His role was keep the combat hospital clear for new patients to come in. The doctors would stabilize the wounded and he would take it from there.

His entertainment came from watching his son's highlights online, itching for the day when he could enjoy it all in person.

***

Nate earned a starting spot as a sophomore with the Mesa Ridge football team, but for academic and religious reasons, he chose to transfer to St. Mary's.

"I thought I'd have a better chance of getting into a school academically," Nate said. "I wasn't even thinking about sports to get into college at that point. It was the best decision of my life."

But transferring meant Nate had to sit out half of his junior season in both football and baseball. His father was back home, but watching his son run circles around junior varsity competition wasn't enough to fill that void that had grown for years.

The anticipation for the senior season was building, but Joseph knew he might again have to miss it.

By a stroke of luck, he instead landed a steady day job at Evans Army Community Hospital while his prior unit shipped to Afghanistan.

This was his opportunity, and Joseph seized it.

He became the "Team Mom," cooking spaghetti dinners before every game and doing everything he could to lend a hand (including putting the flag up and down for every home game, as he was the only one who knew how to properly fold it).

He and Nate made it a pregame ritual to hug before every game.

"I'd just look up into the stands and think about how thankful I was that he was there," Nate said.

On the field, Nate's season and that of St. Mary's lived up to the hype. The Pirates, under coach Nic Olney, improved from 1-9 in 2010 to 6-4 in 2011.

Nate was sensational. He led 3A with nine interceptions. He blocked two punts, scored 14 touchdowns and amassed 1,621 yards between rushes, receptions and kick returns. Basically, putting the ball in Nate's hands was worth 20 yards.

Everyone at St. Mary's seemed to take notice ("We were treated like gods," Nate said), and so did colleges. The first place Nate visited was CSU-Pueblo, fresh off an 11-1 season, and he knew he fit. He will redshirt as a freshman and won't initially receive scholarship money, but his father's transferred G.I. Bill will take care of that.

"Once he gets in there and catches up to their speed, money is not going to be a problem," Joseph Germano said. "He's going to be one of the top players in the RMAC."

Nate's best friend, Mesa Ridge's Devante Johnson, is headed to Pueblo as well, and the two plan to room together. Jodi Germano is already planning care packages full of goodies she'll take down each week. That is, assuming the family's situation doesn't change by then.

***

The clock is ticking on Joseph Germano's day job, and he's aware. Part of him wants to go to Afghanistan immediately, get it out of the way so he can return and see his son in action after his redshirt season is finished.

But it's not all up to him, as he knows from a 19-year career in the army.

"We have some big decisions to make," said Jodi, not sure what course the family will take if Joseph is stationed elsewhere. "That's where we're at. It's a really tough spot. I don't want him to be a geographical bachelor, I want to go with him. But I don't want to leave my son behind."

The only certainty is that Colorado Springs has become home. Katie still lives here, Nate will be going to college a short drive away. Even Jacob, now an executive at Coca-Cola, is trying to find a way to move closer to home -- once such a foreign concept -- so he can see Nate's college career.

"Who would have ever thought Colorado Springs would become our home?" Joseph Germano said. "But it is. We plan on retiring here."

There are future details to be worked out, but the next thing on the agenda is for Nate to put his signature on a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday. And if you don't think Joseph Germano will be there to see it, then you don't understand the connection between this father and son.