Six bucks: A small cost to show love

When you think about it, the cost of a ticket to a prep football game really isn’t so bad.

For a mere $6 — the cost of admission to last Friday’s Lakewood Ranch High Spring Game — students and the Lakewood Ranch community enjoyed three hours of football, performances by the Mustang band and cheerleaders, a rock wall and more.

As I weaved my way through the hundreds of people who had already filed into the stadium, I couldn’t help but wonder if they realized just how important their $6 would become.

Six dollars might not seem like a lot. It won’t cover the cost of a movie, a haircut or even two gallons of gas. But to a young family with a child who bravely battled cancer, it can mean the world.

Just ask defensive coach Anthony Littlejohn, who, along with his wife, Ivette, spent the past five months watching his 14-month-old son Adrian battle pediatric cancer. There were times when Littlejohn said it took every ounce he had mentally, physically and emotionally to get through it.

So as the mother of a 9-month-old son, I was inspired when I spoke with Littlejohn after the game, and he told me how he paid his way into the game and then some.

He said he reached into his glove compartment and found $14. He could have kept the money and put it toward his own bills or a night out with his wife. Instead, Littlejohn took the money and donated it for the game, which was renamed the Adrian Shawn Littlejohn Memorial Spring Football Game in his son’s honor.

“You just think that $14 bucks could’ve went somewhere and done something,” Littlejohn said. “So I took that $14 and donated it myself. ... Just to get people to come and understand and (show) their support is a big thing.”