A Championship, an Injury, and the Closing of a Chapter

Six years ago, my wife, Emily, played what would become her final season with the Hamilton Wildcats in AFL Ontario, which is the largest Australian Football League in North America (at least according to Google, and I’m not about to argue with that).

For eight seasons, she charged across the field with a mix of grit, grace, and unshakable determination. She earned player awards, made it to the grand final five times, and even represented Canada on the national team for a game in Florida while I held down the fort in Brantford with the kids, proudly following updates from afar.

That last year was bittersweet. Emily suffered her first major injury, a torn ACL, the kind that changes everything. Yet, in a twist worthy of sports movie magic, the Wildcats finally won the championship that had eluded them for years. Emily couldn’t play, but she coached from the sidelines, cheering her teammates through the victory she’d been chasing for nearly a decade.

That moment became the beautiful, if unplanned, end to her footy career. She never officially announced retirement; she just quietly shifted into new chapters: music, theatre, and being an endlessly inspiring mother and partner.

Now, six years later, she’s finally getting the ACL surgery that will repair the injury that ended it all. It’s a strange kind of full circle: not a comeback, but a healing.

The kids and I remain endlessly proud of her, not just for the trophies, the grit, or the championships, but for the way she throws her whole heart into everything she does. Whether she’s belting out a song on stage or helping each of us be our best, she gives it her all.

Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat.