“Once we lost Amarr I would say that was our wake up call. Before, our chemistry wasn’t top notch and we weren’t really close like that, but once Amarr passed it’s like we tied a knot around us and we became like a real close family. We became a brotherhood.”
That is Pita Elijah Moi Moi, a captain on the Garfield football team. Following the loss of teammate and friend Amarr Murphey-Paine last spring, Moi Moi, his fellow players, and their Coach Curtis Wells remember Amarr and his time and impact while playing for Garfield. “Spring ball was cool because he started to come out, he was starting to really become that leader. He was getting people excited. He was trying to silence the doubters. So yeah, he was going to be my starting linebacker this year. He was really coming into his own.” Wells said.
Amarr uplifted those around him, he brought new guys out to play, and left a legacy of love behind him. Coach Wells shared, “One of the things that Amarr said is that, you know, he always said I love you Coach, and I’d tell him I love him. So that piece right there has been our go to thing. Hey, I love you, Coach. You know because we say to each other we never know when it’s the last time we might see each other. So we don’t take that for granted. The word love, especially in football, that’s kind of–you know I love playing football, but when you say man I love you as a person outside of football, that’s different. That’s rare. And Amarr made that easy because he meant it”.
Amarr played for Garfield, but he had big goals for his future. “Definitely want him to be remembered as don’t give up on your dreams because his dream was to play in the NFL. Don’t leave your brother behind… He wanted to create this culture of brotherhood on this team of having your brothers back.” Wells said. His passion for football left a great impression on those who knew him, and the team continues to grow because of it. “[Amarr] just loved the game of football,” Moi Moi said. “Nothing stopped him from doing it. I just want people to be like him, nothing can stop you from doing what you love.”
When asked what it was like to be Amarr’s teammate, Moi Moi said, “It was funny, yeah it was funny. I always joked around with him, always clowned him, always made fun of him because he was like a brother to me.” He had a smile on his face when he said this, echoing the same sentiment expressed by teammate Jeremiah Mitchell “Yeah, man, me and Amarr, we just, we used to just have a whole bunch of laughing, man, whole bunch of laughing, whole bunch of jokes. Man it used to be so funny, we used to just crack up at anything. Just him being around. You just know when you’re around [him] you’re going to laugh.” Mitchell continued, “Knowing Amarr, how his work ethic was and how he contributed to the team. He held everybody accountable and was just a friend to everybody.”
Over the summer the Garfield football team met for pre-season practices, increased their roster from fifteen to thirty players, and continued to strengthen their bonds. “My favorite part of being on the football team is really just developing everybody on the football field. You know, the atmosphere, the guys on the team. It’s teamwork you build, chemistry with your friends on and off the field that can help with what a person’s got going on at home or something like that, you know? And just bonding, getting better, of course.” Mitchell said. He continued, “We’ve been together longer than the coaches have been with us you know, we have to hold each other even more accountable and we gotta lead by example.”
The Garfield football team is built around love, dedication, and shared understanding. To the Garfield community, Coach Wells said, “We’re all different, coming from different backgrounds, different cultures, we all have gifts and talents. But the one thing that makes us all on even planes is how we love and care for each other. And that’s the biggest thing that we should be trying to demonstrate here at the school because you never know who is going through tough times. The smartest kid in the school versus the one that’s not doing too well in school all need to be loved. All need a hug.”
