I remember nothing of the first conversation I had with Damian Anderson, BK ’25, the night we were initiated into our secret society, except that talking to him felt like talking to a football player from The Game Plan. I was excited to meet a player who would be on the field against Harvard the following semester. But, after a year of costume parties, Florida dance moves, dining hall conversations, Spanish lessons, races on Miami Beach, Damian became one of my closest friends.
I went to the Harvard-Yale Game last year and I made sure to spot Damian on the field. This was also my first time going to a football game—and the first time I ever cared about watching one. It wasn’t The Game Plan; it was about seeing my friend play. I asked him how he felt on the field:
“Going into my last game, I’ll never forget. I was sad, happy to beat the team from up north,” he said. “That last game really put a staple into all the adversities I have gone through and all of the blessings I have received at Yale. It was probably the best feeling after a game I’ve had in my life.”
***
Yale Football was not Damian’s first team. He was around five years old when he joined i9 Sports’ flag football team in Miramar, Florida as a wide receiver. His dad took him to practice, and his mom coached him the moment they got home from games.
“He allowed me to be myself and enjoy the game. It was never a forceful activity,” Damian said. “And my mom wasn’t forceful, but she was very passionate. She would let me know when I came home if I didn’t play good.”
Eight years old. Flag football field. Sunny day. One play: he found himself in the middle of the field, when suddenly, the quarterback did a reverse by faking a handoff to another player before giving the ball to him. Without thinking, he ran with the ball. This is his happiest memory.
“It was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. It was just a bunch of grass and I was just running. I loved this thrill of scoring touchdowns and making plays.”
While he is a passionate person who works on himself every day, people tend to only define him by football.
“If I weren’t an athlete, I would have tried to be a YouTuber.”
This surprised me. Being a YouTuber was my childhood dream as well. We both started watching YouTube when we were around ten years old. While I watched comedy sketches in Spanish, he watched gaming videos in English. In high school, Damian cast football slightly aside to pursue YouTube. But even after a YouTube video of his went viral around his school, he found himself unable to leave football entirely. His biggest dream was still to go to the NFL.
***
Damian would not have admitted this when he was in high school, but he enjoyed playing football partly because of the clout. Being seen as cool got to his head. He said this made him too confident or “cocky,” that he felt like “the best player” even if he wasn’t.
This became especially clear in his junior year when he realized he wouldn’t go to the NFL if he didn’t elevate his game. He wasn’t playing because he was mostly benched. There was a chance he would not get recruited, so he realized he had to become the best player he claimed to be. That is when he started to truly work hard. Instead of just playing around with his friends, he focused all of his time on practice, improving his performance, and maximizing his time on the field. His life became football, but seriously, this time.
Football became so pervasive that it was entering his dreams. Everything in his life became secondary to football: Damian spent most of his time watching game film, reviewing his own plays and the competition’s, always looking for ways to improve. His teammates and coach noticed. Especially university coaches.
“If they had a tallymark of what my dreams consist of, it’s mostly in a football setting” he told me. The dreams accompanied him to college. He made it to Yale’s football team.
Sunny day. New Haven. Freshman year. First day of football practice. And a torn ACL.
“I knew something was wrong because I had never been hurt before.”
After being recruited and feeling like the best player again, his ego was suddenly crushed when he got hurt even before his first game. One moment he was laughing with his new teammates and practicing, the next he was agonizing in pain. Damian felt ashamed and disappointed in himself. The only reason behind leaving his loved Florida was to play football and now he would not have that for a year. He even contemplated transferring. What was the point?
For the first time in his life, Damian did not have football. It was difficult to go down the stairs in crutches, go to class, or just to the dining hall. And even hurt, he was still expected to show up at every practice, which frustrated him.
With more time in his hands, however, all the effort he had put into his physical strength shifted: he started contemplating who he was outside of the sport. He took the time to intentionally reflect, realizing how conceited he could be at times focusing on being the best on the team instead of working hard for the team to be the best. It was a hard truth, but accepting it helped him appreciate the friendships he had cultivated and how disciplined he had become thanks to football. And, slowly, he understood that football was not about himself, nor clout, nor the NFL.
“Up to my freshman year, my goal was to make it to the NFL,” he said. “But when I came back from the injury, my mindset was to play for my brothers and make everybody around me better.”
After he recovered, Damian’s dedication for the game deepened.
***
Today, Damian would still play football even if the NFL “wasn’t a thing.”
“Football is more than just the brand. It is about the game, the hard work, and the dedication. I love being on a team, being with my brothers, and playing the game.”
He defines his life by his connections with people, like the close bond with his sister, the fun times he shares with his best friends in Miami, and the relationship he continues to nurture with God. He also rejects the assumption that athletes must repress their feelings and only engage in surface-level relationships to avoid getting distracted during the season.
“I think the way I am and the way I’ve grown up, I’m not able to turn off my emotions, fortunately.”
I saw myself in his words: it is also impossible for me not to care deeply about people, not to overthink, not to express my emotions for others. And, just like Damian, I have been told that I care too much about my relationships. He admitted that as an athlete, there’s a culture of avoiding self-reflection. To live on autopilot. There were times when a personal problem would arise right before a game, but he had to put it on pause and concentrate on playing.
This changed his last semester of senior year, when once again, Damian was not playing football because the season was over. And, for the first time in a long time, football didn’t fill up his schedule. This manifested in him putting more time and effort into other parts of his life. He did better in his classes, retaining more information, while also attending church every Sunday and joining a Bible study group. He believes he also did a better job prioritizing his interpersonal relationships.
He spent time with his friends without the pressures of football, feeling more present. He cooked the most legendary burgers for everyone at our society retreats, stayed late at our society’s house to play board games, and we danced “Not Like Us” when going out. On our walks back from class, we’d either have philosophical conversations, imitate accents, or compete to see who knew more people on campus.
Senior year was a drastically different time for Damian. Before joining a society, Damian did not truly have friends outside of the football team. He was grateful to have found a new “team” on campus, which allowed him to learn more about himself in the process. And, as he often tells me, we would not have met if it were not for society.
But Damian is not walking away from football—not yet. This fall, he started playing for Bentley University and hopes to earn his Master’s in Finance.
***
During this past year and this interview, I am constantly reminded of how unique it is to connect. Without this society, I would not have been able to unlearn past my initial impression of a football player to get to know Damian, someone with a great heart who always reminds me of how special I am.
Damian describes football as the “greatest thing” he has ever done in his life, but the way I see it, as he continues bringing joy to those he loves, he is working on something far greater.
