Supporting the Law is best for all

They've helped me, so I'm going to do my best to help them.

A long, drawn-out move was looming on my horizon last week when the posse came riding up.

In this case the posse was Justin "Chewy" Spruill, King Jack Washington and Jercorey Quarterman of the Dodge City Law.

Instead of riding to the rescue on horses, these three heroes arrived in the SUV of teammate Mo Young.

"Tell us what to do, we're here to help," came from Spruill, who seemed to have been involved in some moving before. He thought, re-thought, planned, manipulated and puzzle-pieced most of our furniture into a small U-Haul truck.

Spruill is a large cornerback for the Law, originally from Norfolk, Virginia.

Washington, a running back for the Law, spent the entire afternoon with a backpack on. It didn't matter what we were doing, the backpack stayed on.

I wanted to ask what was in it, but I couldn't. I'd like to think he had weights in it and was using the experience to help condition his body for the rigors of professional football.

Of course, he might've been hoarding candy bars donated by a coach for helping. Remember, I didn't ask.

I did find out he was from Dallas, Texas and, while southwest Kansas heat wasn't a problem for him, the difference in living in Dallas compared to Dodge City was.

"It ain't the same," he said. "But, I've enjoyed it here. The people and team have been great, but it's still not Dallas."

I got a chance to bond some with Quarterman, who is a native of Miami, Florida. I'm from Palm Beach County, so we'd traveled some of the same sand on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Sunshine State.

Quarterman originally signed with Sioux Falls, South Dakota, an indoor team in a different league, but they let him go before the first practice.

"They had a guy they didn't think was coming back, but he did," the Law linebacker/safety said. "So, when he resigned, they released me.

"Fortunately, I was picked up by Dodge City."

Spruill caught me holding my back a little and gave me a hard time.

"I've  been in that pose," he laughed. "I tweaked my back last game, but they got me some rehab and I'm good to go now."

Of course, he said this while lifting one end of my couch and smiling at me.

All three football players said they've had a great time playing football in Dodge City and have had very good experiences with the people in the community.

"We play, practice, train and eat," Quarterman said. "We have some free time, but a lot of it we do odd jobs or volunteer to help people.

"It beats sitting around doing nothing."

Now, I met three standup young men who donated their time and work to help someone who needed it.

These young men are smart, they understand the world and they've enjoyed being here in our community.

So, I propose we return some of that goodness to the Law.

Let's fill the United Wireless Arena on June 6, the final regular season home game for the team.

Let's tell these three men and their teammates how much we appreciate them, how watching them this season has been a joy and how much we want them and the team to be back year after year.

Saturday, June 6 is the perfect night to fill the arena for the Law. Dodge City Community College and Dodge City High School both should be done with athletics for the year.

So, what else do we have to do? We can go watch football, cheer on our local team and hopefully lift them to victory in what might be a key game for playoff positioning.

I want to see a full house of bright neon green throughout the arena, even though it will blind me and half the team if we do that.

I will be on hand. I will not be signing autographs. I will be cheering on the Law and, in particular, a few men who went out of their way to help me out.

So, ahead of time, I will issue an apology to the Sioux City Bandits. It's going to be a long, loud night for you visitors.

If we sell it out, I'll dance at halftime at midfield with no shirt on.

Sorry, family game. Sorry. Instead, how about...

If it's a sell out and there's a dunk tank available, I'll sit in it and allow people to try and dunk me at halftime. Maybe the Law can scare up some prizes, like autographs from Spruill, Washington and Quarterman.

Just don't let those guys dunk me, it might hurt.

Roger Bluhm is the managing editor of the Dodge City Daily Globe. Follow him on Twitter at roger_dcglobe or email him at rbluhm@dodgeglobe.com.