“And call me Bill,” her husband says. “I might be old, but nothing makes me feel it like being called by my dad’s name.”

“Patty and Bill then.” I nod, before gesturing to the glasses. “We have snacks, but would you like sparkling water before we sit?”

“That’d be wonderful, thank you,” Patty says.

Everyone grabs a glass, even Quinton, who said he doesn’t like it, before walking over to the living room. Peer pressure for the win!

Patty and Bill both sit on the couch, and Quinton and I sit in the chairs we set up across from the couch.

“Thank you for coming to talk with us.” Quinton places his glass on one of the coasters I put down beforehand. “I really appreciate you coming all this way so we can work together to hopefully bring more awareness to this problem.”

“It really is our pleasure,” Patty says. “It’s rare that we have current players come to us. Of course, your father played, so I’m sure you’re much more aware of these issues than the average player.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Quinton tense the way he does whenever his father is mentioned. I don’t think Patty or Bill notice, but I wade in just in case.

“If you don’t mind me asking, could you explain a little bit more about what pension parity is? I’ve heard Quinton say it a thousand times, but I’m still a little confused.” At this table, I’m very much the odd one out. Sure I watch football, but I’ve never lived it the way the other three people around me have. If I can understand it, maybe I can help explain the importance of it to other people like me.

“Yes, of course.” Patty looks to Bill and he motions his hand for her to take the lead. “In 1993, the players union and the League reworked the agreement between players so that once players retired, they’d be granted more benefits. These are benefits like severance packages, 401(k) retirement plans, access to healthcare plans. Things that are needed. On top of all of that, the League started to take notice of all of the dangers in the game, changing the rules and trying to make it a safer game for players to participate in.” As Patty speaks, the air of the carefree woman drifts away. She’s all business and her passion for what she’s speaking about reverberates through her every word. “Now, don’t get me wrong, all of that is wonderful and so needed. The problem with this is they’ve completely forgotten about the players who retired before 1993.”

“Okay.” I try to take in the enormity of what she is saying. “So the men who retired before then aren’t getting help from the League?”