Green Mountain-Garwin senior, Brock Fisher had what he THOUGHT was gonna be a senior portrait session. But, not surprisingly, it turned into something else.
Sure, we got him some good ol' boy images in his jeans and plaid shirt (and even tossed in a "Team Whitetails" cap). And while Mr. Fisher has a little Duck Dynasty in him, he was much more SportsCenter than he was The Outdoor Channel.
And if anyone knows how I roll around here, it doesn't take much to get THIS photographer talkin' sports... and sometimes what was a senior session, turns into ESPN's The Sports Reporters or Outside the Lines real quickly.
Mix in a knowledgeable mom who is like minded and familiar with the area and its history? Look out, Brock... your session just got hijacked.
Nearly thirty years of area sports history was covered in that four hour session with GMG's senior tailback. Number 31 in your program... but number one in Mama Shannon's heart that day... we covered it all.
Just three Hawkeye fans doin our thing, but mix in a couple former members of the Mid-Iowa Conference, a little sports passion and one of the area's best athletes in the midst of an encouraging rebuilding season, and it was all-sports... all the time at Stewart Photography that morning.
I had done my homework. I knew that Brock had put his stamp on his senior football campaign by bolting for 167 yards and four touchdowns in his Wolverines' season opening 45-28 win against Southeast Webster. But he didn't stop there. A punt return for a TD in game two helped his boys in the black and silver end a 20 game home losing streak against North Mahaska and GMG was 2-0 for the first time since 2005.
Whoa... a far cry from the previous three years of frustration for Brock and Co.
The rest of the season wasn't quite as kind as the lightning quick start, but there was a 27-13 whuppin of long time nemesis, North Tama and a two-touchdown performance in a win over Iowa Valley of Marengo to put a bow on a four win season.
While some may scoff at a four win season, I know Team Fisher won't after what they've endured during Brock's high school years. So, kudos to the Wolverines and Coach Spurlin for putting the past behind them, getting great numbers out for the sport, and taking a big step forward let by a group of gutty seniors this year.
Perhaps one could see the gridiron improvement coming if one was paying attention. How you ask? Taking one look at Brock's track t-shirts that say "Iowa Star Conference Champions" on them. Not just last spring... but the year before that as well. Speed doesn't always translate into football wins in the fall... but it certainly doesn't hurt. One of the reason's that the Wolverines have had back-to-back titles in the Iowa Star was in front of me on this day as well. The 200 meter conference champ (23.4) and a state qualifier in the high jump (14th place at state), Brock wanted to incorporate that into his session and sports collage, and being an old track guy myself... I was more than happy to shine a little light on that sport as well.
So we might have gotten derailed from our task at hand several times that morning. Discussing everything from the top of the mountain (the 1987 Class A State Champs) to the depths of despair that come from long excruciating losing streaks.
Win or lose, I know one thing, Mama Shannon has brought a couple of top notch fellas to me over the past four years (Brody - Class of '11). And while both put a heavy emphasis on football during their session, they both took the time to allow me to photograph them with their mom for a few images. There's an old saying that says if you wanna know what kind of husband a young man will make... just watch how he treats his mother... and if that's true... Shannon seems to have set some young lady up quite nicely someday.
Thanks Team Fisher for all the sports talk... hardly feels like work when sessions go this way. :)
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