Dad of former TCU player in Super Bowl: “Every play could be his last.”
As difficult as it can be to play football, watching your son play football sounds worse, even if it means he’s going to the Super Bowl.
Joseph Noteboom was a starter at Plano before he moved on to TCU where he played as a freshman, and then became a three-year starter in a career that lasted from 2014 to 2017. He was the best offensive lineman during a period when the Frogs were one of the best teams in the Big 12.
After becoming a third-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, he’s now in his fourth season, all with the L.A. Rams, and he’s preparing to play in his second Super Bowl.
For his family, and specifically his father William, this career is a source of pride and enjoyment. For family members of players who make it to the NFL, their careers usually become a positive point of identification, and celebrity.
It can also be positively painful.
“The biggest thing is that you just never know; every play can be his last play,” William Noteboom said in a recent phone interview. “You pray each game that no player gets hurt. That’s the most nerve-wracking part, fearing the injury.”
For William Noteboom, and the loved ones of all NFL players, an inescapable part of the game are those hold-your-breath moments. Sometimes those six-second moments can feel like 60 minutes.
The Notebooms were regulars at all of the TCU games, home or away, missing only one in four years. The family recently moved from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to Atlanta. Now, they go when they can.
But they will be in Southern California this Sunday when the Los Angeles Rams play the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI in SoFi Stadium, on the Rams’ home field. William, his wife and Joe’s sister will all be there.
Even though Joseph Noteboom is 26, and doing fine on his own, for William, the player will always be his son. And he will never stop holding his breath.
“I don’t know what you do, how to change it,” William Noteboom said. “I can tell you what happens during a game. During a game, I don’t have much of an appetite whatsoever.
“When we do tailgating, I don’t eat too much because my stomach gets so nervous. You just watch him, and focus on his technique and hope he doesn’t do anything to get injured. You don’t want false start penalties. Or holding penalties. You want him staying with his blocks, and to keep blocking.
“When the play starts coming back [because of penalty], you don’t want him to be that guy.”
Joseph Noteboom is in a bit of a tricky spot right now. He’s an established, vested four-year NFL player who is in the final year of his rookie contract, and he’s currently stuck behind the offensive line equivalent to Tom Brady.
The Rams starting left tackle is 40-year-old Andrew Whitworth, who is ahead of Noteboom on the depth chart.
Whitworth has played in 239 NFL games, with 235 starts.
Noteboom has played in 47 NFL games, with 17 starts.
He started three games this season, including the Jan. 23 playoff game that eliminated the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and sent the Rams to the NFC title game.
“[Joseph] gets something from that experience because Whit’ is such a great leader. He has a full gym at his house and that’s where the offensive line works out,” William Noteboom said.
But he’s not sure how this is all going to work out. Will his son will remain with the Rams? Will he sign a new contract with a different team? Or, is this it? Noteboom earned his degree from TCU, and is working towards his Masters.
“We have talked to plenty of guys who did three years in the NFL and that was it,” William Noteboom said. “You have to go into the NFL believing that’s a possibility, that there will never be a second contract.”
Perhaps, but it is likely that he will sign that coveted second NFL contract, and continue with his football career. “Things are working out for him,” said his dad, “and we feel good that there will be a second contract but you never know.”
For now, though, the next game comes in Noteboom’s home stadium. And his family will be there, with his dad watching, and holding his breath for all 60 minutes.
This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
