‘It’s exhilarating’: Childhood friends reconnect after 40 years by tossing football in park

Adam finds out how football helped a pair of childhood friends reunite after 40 years apart.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — To appreciate why two men are throwing a football back and forth now, we need to go back to when two boys decided to do the same thing half a century ago.

“We’re just tossing the ball like we’ve been doing since we were eleven years old,” Chris says.

Chris and David met in Grade 5 after realizing they had a couple things in common.

“Music. Football,” David laughs. “What else is there?”

When they weren’t listening to The Beatles, or passing the pig skin, Chris and David were making the kind of choice that got them sent to the back of the class.

“If there was something stupid, we would probably do it,” David laughs.

David and Chris remained friends throughout high school, and became roommates after graduating, before they moved apart and found themselves on opposite sides of the world.

“Relationships. Jobs,” David smiles. “Life.”

But then 40 years later, Chris called David out of the blue to say he was back in town, asked if he wanted to toss the ball in a nearby park, and they effortlessly picked up where they left off.

“He’s got a great taste in friendship,” Chris laughs.

“There’s nothing better than football,” David smiles.

After tossing a football back and forth almost daily since then, what began has a way for old friends to simply have fun has evolved into something more philosophical.

“It’s just a way to really get back to [the idea that] my body knows more than my brain,” Chris says. “It’s really hard to listen to your unconscious until you shut up.”

So, the old friends silently throw the ball back and forth, engaging in a conversation unhindered by words.

“It’s exhilarating,” David laughs. “It feels good!”

Because what could feel better than knowing — now matter how far you and your friend find yourselves apart — you always know how to bring yourselves back together.