DSFL Origins
Episode One: “Play Like A Girl”
By: Hayden Clifton
Introducing a new series where we do a deep dive on players in both the DSFL and NSFL and find out more about the behind the scenes stories that shaped their careers as we know them today. Today we begin with a member of the Kansas City Coyotes. Known for her presence on Twitter and in the locker room, Theresa Gelbman, also known as Tree, is highly regarded as a promising up and coming tight end for the Austin Copperheads. I spent time with her to learn how she became the person she was this very day.
Our story begins as I land in the airport and about 10:00AM and quickly depart my plane to find my ride waiting for me. Standing like a beacon above the crowds is Theresa Gelbman, better known to NSFL and DSFL fans as Tree. She sees me and quickly waves me over to get away from the terminal as fast as possible, “I hate crowds” she says. I climb into her Jeep to begin the drive back to Bayfield to see just where she came from and how her entire story began. I try to lighten the mood with some brief conversation;
Hayden: So, any reason you hate crowds?
Tree: They make me uncomfortable. I’m not a social person.
H: Interesting, I figured that someone with your personality would be more outgoing.
T: Nope.
Getting the sense Tree was done with me for now, and that I had already started this day off on the wrong foot, I shut up and remain silent for the duration of the remaining hour it takes us to get to Bayfield.
We pull up to a rather impressive looking brick house on the outskirts of town. Tree pulls into the driveway and gets out as the front door opens and David and Julie Gelbman walk out to greet Tree with a gigantic hug and a kiss on the cheek while I receive a firm and almost hostile handshake from her dad instead. Once I say that I’m a reporter doing a story and not a boyfriend his demeanor changes dramatically and hugs me instead. “Strange family” I mutter to myself under my breath.
Walking inside there's walls of memorabilia everywhere from all of the Gelbman children. Her brother Jack’s college baseball trophy, her brother Tyler’s goalie helmet from his 60 save shutout in the state championship game, and more. There is a distinct lack of stuff from Tree before her Dad goes “The Tree stuff is in the basement!” I follow them down the stairs and the basement is essentially a shrine devoted to Tree. Photos of her athletic career adorn the walls, ranging from her first day of tee ball to her senior day game in college. I notice a wall with significantly less photos on it that is labeled “Professional Journey” with her draft day photos from both the DSFL and NSFL draft alongside some photos of her in action with the Coyotes. “Family support has never been a concern of mine,” Tree begins, “They’ve had my back every step of the way, the same way they had the back of my five older brothers who all were invested in sports as much as I was. It was kind of nice, even after a shitty day I’d come home and they’d be alongside me telling me I did a great job and that they believed in me, can’t say others are as lucky as I am there.”
Tree steps out to answer a phone call from her agent and I take the opportunity to hear from her parents perspective. “Oh yeah, Tree has always been a warrior,” David started, “She was the youngest of six and the only girl so she’s been scrapping with her brothers and playing roughhouse sports with em’ since day one, I remember one time her brother Travis tackled her really hard in football and she gave him a wedgie so intense he couldn’t sit for a week!” When I ask about football specifically, Julie chimes in. “We got a lot of flak from the parents cause Tree wanted to play football ya know? She was always taller than her classmates so she felt a bit awkward, but on the field she was a warrior. She’d slam a kid down on the field and I’d be in the audience like ‘Ope!’ but she had fun and was the best player on that team by a mile ya know.” Tree ducks back in, awkwardly smiles at me and asks if we’re ready to head over to the high school field where she used to call home. Nodding in agreement, we depart after having a very extended goodbye from Dave and Julie.
Hayden: Your parents are lovely people.
Tree: Yeah that’s the midwest for you, super relaxed and raised polite.
H: Your parents mentioned that you were playing football with your siblings all the time?
T: Yeah that was my oldest brother Tyler’s idea, they needed a sixth person to play three on three in the yard, so I got dragged in. They showed no mercy so it’s where I developed my edge and snark at a young age, I owe it all to them. Alright sweet, we’re here.
We depart from the Jeep as Tree opens up a gate to walk onto the football field. It doesn’t really get more middle America than this, a gigantic high school football field in the middle of somewhat nowhere that would be packed on game nights with supporters screaming and cheering at every play. Gelbman starts pointing out various signs to me and recounts memories about each spot she points to. “Right there, on the 40 yard line is where I got my first penalty for blindsiding a kid on a kickoff return.” When asked if the kid deserved it she smiles and goes, “100% deserved, kid was barking all game and had it coming to him from the opening snap.” She looks towards the endzone and appears a little disturbed for a second, as if remembering something traumatic from her past. I decide to not press at the current moment to be respectful to her and wait for her to continue to the conversation. “Sorry, it’s a little surreal being here now.” She sighs and continues, “Every Friday night this place would be packed to the brim in parents, grandparents, siblings and more. Being here when it’s totally empty and no practice going on, it’s kinda unsettling and I’m not sure why.” Tree walks into the school and I follow behind, slightly running to keep up with her massive strides. We enter the school and Tree leads me right to the trophy case where we see several awards and team photos from her tenure here. Two county championships, several playoff runs and four awards saying “Tight End of the Year: Theresa Gelbman” adorn these walls.
Another phone call comes in, this time from her boyfriend Carter, and as she leaves me I decide to duck into the library to try and find a yearbook from her time to get another peek at the person behind the athlete. One helpful librarian later, I have a copy of the yearbook and I’m searching through it trying to find her yearbook page and any other info about her and after around three minutes of searching I found her page. “Theresa Gelbman, Varsity Football, Winter Track, Spring Track, Newspaper Club.” Her little blurb under her picture was just one simple quote; “You relieve the same day over and over again, you start to see who you really are – Unknown.” Flipping through the yearbook more and more, I see photos of her popping up, usually on the football field or on the track but one photo really stands out to me, Tree at the sideline of her homecoming game her senior year in full uniform with a “Homecoming Queen” sash over it. The little snippet next to it offers a variety of information about the photo in question: Theresa Gelbman, Homecoming Queen and Starting Tight End. She’s beauty, she’s grace, she’ll run you over and stare down into your face. Tree finds me in the library staring at the yearbook and laughs at me and says “You’re such a grandpa. Come on, lets get lunch, I’m starving.” Thankful that I’m only going to be called a grandpa and nothing more, I jump up and leave with her.
We sit down at an Mexican restaurant some 15 minutes from the school and have a brief interview over some nachos.
Hayden: So, Newspaper Club?
Tree: Ugh, don’t get me started on it. I did it because it apparently looked nice on college resumes.
H: Oh come on, you had to have enjoyed it, I know I enjoyed my time in it.
T: Yeah, not surprised by that one.
H: Okay rude. I’m curious, that homecoming queen photo, were you treated differently than other girls in the school because you played football or were you just another one of the students?
Tree pauses, and stares intensely at her nachos before continuing
T: It’s kind of complex, while yes I did win Homecoming Queen my senior year, I also never really fit in with them. No one wanted to really hang out with the 6’4” freakshow that was playing tackle football and one of the most physical positions out there. The worst was that the guys on the team never really cared much for me as well. I had a small group of friends on the offensive line but the rest kind of viewed me as different. I still remember the one day where (Brian Johnson) the quarterback came up to me after a bad practice and said, “Why are you even out here? You should be playing like a girl, the soccer field is over there.” So I straight up decked him and we had a full on fist fight until the coaches noticed us and dragged us apart. That stung, I thought I was out here being cool because I was playing a sport that was male dominated, but nope, to most of the team I was “just a girl.” Although after decking him, that did get me a lot more respect from the other girls in the school so that helped my cause quite a bit. So to answer your question, I was treated differently for my first two years until I decked Brian, after that I was treated well and that’s how I won the homecoming queen.
Tree takes a second to roll up her sleeves and show me a tattoo that has four words written in a basic script font: “Play Like A Girl.”
T: I haven’t forgotten that ever. That was a slap in the face that I use as motivation to keep being better than I ever was. Plus it’s also nice knowing that I managed to become a starter in college and make the show while Brian fizzled out by his junior year and is still bagging groceries in the supermarket nearby. Kind of funny how life works out sometimes. Let’s head over to the university, I’ve got a few people there I want you to meet.
I sense I’m doing something right, Tree has opened up to me and it’s truly amazing to see it. On the field and on the internet she has this personality of a confident and snarky person who won’t hesitate to rub it in your face she’s better than you. But seeing this person who has the same level of complex emotions that you and I experience, it paints a picture of a person who’s not just an athlete, but rather a human being as well. These people we idolize are just humans with flaws as well, and in the case of Tree, it’s people who tried to tear them down years ago and left scars that still exist today.
Bayfield University sits alone in the middle of a ton of fields all around, truly a location in the middle of nowhere. As we pull into the parking lot outside of the stadium Tree opens with “Lots of memories here, the tailgates, the keggers after games, you really got to love this place. Of course, I still swing by here all the time because no one parties like Bayfield, we finished as the #1 party school six years in a row.” Hopping out of the Jeep after we park, Tree rushes over to an older man and embraces him with a gigantic hug. She pulls off of him and speaks “This is Coach Prescott, he was my head coach here and he still runs a tight ship here, I think. If I was on the team it couldn’t have been that tightly run. Coach Prescott laughs and moves us to his office for further discussion.
Inside the office, I see awards scattered all over the place, the focus being the exclusive “Baby Face Trophy” that Bayfield had won the past four years against their rival the University of Brandon. Coach Prescott’s presence becomes him. He stands taller than the average person and despite his age is in great psychical shape. He speaks softly but elegantly, making every word count. “Tree interested me. In my years I never saw someone put so little effort into their work and be so dominant. She kept the team lively but never too rowdy.” Tree blushes at this comment and looks away at the only bowl game trophy that Bayfield ever won, the Tostito’s Booty Bongo Fiesta Bowl, and smiles at it. “That was a hell of a game” she speaks.
“Yes it was. Georgia-Fairburn were no slouch and you worked hard Tree. Of course you did have a few drops I almost killed you for.”
“But you didn’t.”
“Not at the time, had we lost that game? You bet that you’d be running laps till you threw up after.”
“Coach you know laps were never my thing, my motto was Naps over Laps.”
“Of course, I’ll never forget it, the entire offensive line bought shirts with that damn slogan on them and you guys made me miserable that whole year. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Coach Prescott takes us out to the field and sits us down on the sidelines. We breath in the fresh air flowing in from all around and he looks into the horizon as he speaks. “Always thought you were something special Tree. When you hurt your knee sophomore year I assumed you’d be a goner but you proved me wrong. You actually worked hard and rehabbed it to return.”
“I’m not always a slacker Coach.”
“No, you’re not. You just are when it’s most convenient for you, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it.”
The Bayfield Stadium is large. The team itself is not the most prestigious, having produced only one professional quality player, but the fanbase does not care. We attend the game later that night where Tree has her number retired by the university, and spend the rest of the night cheering on with the endless passion that the Bayfield fanbase provides. Bayfield prevails against Newfoundland Tech 49-0 and we depart the stadium for the drive back to the airport to catch my overnight flight back home.
“You know, I never really thanked you for doing this,” she begins, “I’m not one to really open up about myself too much and I try to keep my personal life detached from my football career, but I’m seeing now that it’s not too bad to occasionally have them intermingle with each other. If this article makes me look like a wimp though you’re getting tackled next time I see you. I’m serious.” I assure her that I will not make her “look like a wimp” because she has done nothing to warrant that (also I’m really afraid of her but that’s besides the point).
Tree drops me off at the airport and waves goodbye before peeling away into the night, finishing this really rewarding day with her. I learned about the story behind the athlete and found the human. The human who was raised giving siblings wedgies and had endless love and support from her parents, the human who defied the odds by playing football despite being told to “play like a girl” and showing that she belonged on the field, the human who slacked her way through an amazing college career and a number retirement and becoming the first (and only) member of her college to make it to the big leagues. It shows how having support can make an athlete reach that next level, and it shows how that they’re not just these robotic humans designed to play football or baseball or whatever, they’re people just like you and I. Except they’re really good at football.
2,822 Words
Episode One: “Play Like A Girl”
By: Hayden Clifton
Introducing a new series where we do a deep dive on players in both the DSFL and NSFL and find out more about the behind the scenes stories that shaped their careers as we know them today. Today we begin with a member of the Kansas City Coyotes. Known for her presence on Twitter and in the locker room, Theresa Gelbman, also known as Tree, is highly regarded as a promising up and coming tight end for the Austin Copperheads. I spent time with her to learn how she became the person she was this very day.
Our story begins as I land in the airport and about 10:00AM and quickly depart my plane to find my ride waiting for me. Standing like a beacon above the crowds is Theresa Gelbman, better known to NSFL and DSFL fans as Tree. She sees me and quickly waves me over to get away from the terminal as fast as possible, “I hate crowds” she says. I climb into her Jeep to begin the drive back to Bayfield to see just where she came from and how her entire story began. I try to lighten the mood with some brief conversation;
Hayden: So, any reason you hate crowds?
Tree: They make me uncomfortable. I’m not a social person.
H: Interesting, I figured that someone with your personality would be more outgoing.
T: Nope.
Getting the sense Tree was done with me for now, and that I had already started this day off on the wrong foot, I shut up and remain silent for the duration of the remaining hour it takes us to get to Bayfield.
We pull up to a rather impressive looking brick house on the outskirts of town. Tree pulls into the driveway and gets out as the front door opens and David and Julie Gelbman walk out to greet Tree with a gigantic hug and a kiss on the cheek while I receive a firm and almost hostile handshake from her dad instead. Once I say that I’m a reporter doing a story and not a boyfriend his demeanor changes dramatically and hugs me instead. “Strange family” I mutter to myself under my breath.
Walking inside there's walls of memorabilia everywhere from all of the Gelbman children. Her brother Jack’s college baseball trophy, her brother Tyler’s goalie helmet from his 60 save shutout in the state championship game, and more. There is a distinct lack of stuff from Tree before her Dad goes “The Tree stuff is in the basement!” I follow them down the stairs and the basement is essentially a shrine devoted to Tree. Photos of her athletic career adorn the walls, ranging from her first day of tee ball to her senior day game in college. I notice a wall with significantly less photos on it that is labeled “Professional Journey” with her draft day photos from both the DSFL and NSFL draft alongside some photos of her in action with the Coyotes. “Family support has never been a concern of mine,” Tree begins, “They’ve had my back every step of the way, the same way they had the back of my five older brothers who all were invested in sports as much as I was. It was kind of nice, even after a shitty day I’d come home and they’d be alongside me telling me I did a great job and that they believed in me, can’t say others are as lucky as I am there.”
Tree steps out to answer a phone call from her agent and I take the opportunity to hear from her parents perspective. “Oh yeah, Tree has always been a warrior,” David started, “She was the youngest of six and the only girl so she’s been scrapping with her brothers and playing roughhouse sports with em’ since day one, I remember one time her brother Travis tackled her really hard in football and she gave him a wedgie so intense he couldn’t sit for a week!” When I ask about football specifically, Julie chimes in. “We got a lot of flak from the parents cause Tree wanted to play football ya know? She was always taller than her classmates so she felt a bit awkward, but on the field she was a warrior. She’d slam a kid down on the field and I’d be in the audience like ‘Ope!’ but she had fun and was the best player on that team by a mile ya know.” Tree ducks back in, awkwardly smiles at me and asks if we’re ready to head over to the high school field where she used to call home. Nodding in agreement, we depart after having a very extended goodbye from Dave and Julie.
Hayden: Your parents are lovely people.
Tree: Yeah that’s the midwest for you, super relaxed and raised polite.
H: Your parents mentioned that you were playing football with your siblings all the time?
T: Yeah that was my oldest brother Tyler’s idea, they needed a sixth person to play three on three in the yard, so I got dragged in. They showed no mercy so it’s where I developed my edge and snark at a young age, I owe it all to them. Alright sweet, we’re here.
We depart from the Jeep as Tree opens up a gate to walk onto the football field. It doesn’t really get more middle America than this, a gigantic high school football field in the middle of somewhat nowhere that would be packed on game nights with supporters screaming and cheering at every play. Gelbman starts pointing out various signs to me and recounts memories about each spot she points to. “Right there, on the 40 yard line is where I got my first penalty for blindsiding a kid on a kickoff return.” When asked if the kid deserved it she smiles and goes, “100% deserved, kid was barking all game and had it coming to him from the opening snap.” She looks towards the endzone and appears a little disturbed for a second, as if remembering something traumatic from her past. I decide to not press at the current moment to be respectful to her and wait for her to continue to the conversation. “Sorry, it’s a little surreal being here now.” She sighs and continues, “Every Friday night this place would be packed to the brim in parents, grandparents, siblings and more. Being here when it’s totally empty and no practice going on, it’s kinda unsettling and I’m not sure why.” Tree walks into the school and I follow behind, slightly running to keep up with her massive strides. We enter the school and Tree leads me right to the trophy case where we see several awards and team photos from her tenure here. Two county championships, several playoff runs and four awards saying “Tight End of the Year: Theresa Gelbman” adorn these walls.
Another phone call comes in, this time from her boyfriend Carter, and as she leaves me I decide to duck into the library to try and find a yearbook from her time to get another peek at the person behind the athlete. One helpful librarian later, I have a copy of the yearbook and I’m searching through it trying to find her yearbook page and any other info about her and after around three minutes of searching I found her page. “Theresa Gelbman, Varsity Football, Winter Track, Spring Track, Newspaper Club.” Her little blurb under her picture was just one simple quote; “You relieve the same day over and over again, you start to see who you really are – Unknown.” Flipping through the yearbook more and more, I see photos of her popping up, usually on the football field or on the track but one photo really stands out to me, Tree at the sideline of her homecoming game her senior year in full uniform with a “Homecoming Queen” sash over it. The little snippet next to it offers a variety of information about the photo in question: Theresa Gelbman, Homecoming Queen and Starting Tight End. She’s beauty, she’s grace, she’ll run you over and stare down into your face. Tree finds me in the library staring at the yearbook and laughs at me and says “You’re such a grandpa. Come on, lets get lunch, I’m starving.” Thankful that I’m only going to be called a grandpa and nothing more, I jump up and leave with her.
We sit down at an Mexican restaurant some 15 minutes from the school and have a brief interview over some nachos.
Hayden: So, Newspaper Club?
Tree: Ugh, don’t get me started on it. I did it because it apparently looked nice on college resumes.
H: Oh come on, you had to have enjoyed it, I know I enjoyed my time in it.
T: Yeah, not surprised by that one.
H: Okay rude. I’m curious, that homecoming queen photo, were you treated differently than other girls in the school because you played football or were you just another one of the students?
Tree pauses, and stares intensely at her nachos before continuing
T: It’s kind of complex, while yes I did win Homecoming Queen my senior year, I also never really fit in with them. No one wanted to really hang out with the 6’4” freakshow that was playing tackle football and one of the most physical positions out there. The worst was that the guys on the team never really cared much for me as well. I had a small group of friends on the offensive line but the rest kind of viewed me as different. I still remember the one day where (Brian Johnson) the quarterback came up to me after a bad practice and said, “Why are you even out here? You should be playing like a girl, the soccer field is over there.” So I straight up decked him and we had a full on fist fight until the coaches noticed us and dragged us apart. That stung, I thought I was out here being cool because I was playing a sport that was male dominated, but nope, to most of the team I was “just a girl.” Although after decking him, that did get me a lot more respect from the other girls in the school so that helped my cause quite a bit. So to answer your question, I was treated differently for my first two years until I decked Brian, after that I was treated well and that’s how I won the homecoming queen.
Tree takes a second to roll up her sleeves and show me a tattoo that has four words written in a basic script font: “Play Like A Girl.”
T: I haven’t forgotten that ever. That was a slap in the face that I use as motivation to keep being better than I ever was. Plus it’s also nice knowing that I managed to become a starter in college and make the show while Brian fizzled out by his junior year and is still bagging groceries in the supermarket nearby. Kind of funny how life works out sometimes. Let’s head over to the university, I’ve got a few people there I want you to meet.
I sense I’m doing something right, Tree has opened up to me and it’s truly amazing to see it. On the field and on the internet she has this personality of a confident and snarky person who won’t hesitate to rub it in your face she’s better than you. But seeing this person who has the same level of complex emotions that you and I experience, it paints a picture of a person who’s not just an athlete, but rather a human being as well. These people we idolize are just humans with flaws as well, and in the case of Tree, it’s people who tried to tear them down years ago and left scars that still exist today.
Bayfield University sits alone in the middle of a ton of fields all around, truly a location in the middle of nowhere. As we pull into the parking lot outside of the stadium Tree opens with “Lots of memories here, the tailgates, the keggers after games, you really got to love this place. Of course, I still swing by here all the time because no one parties like Bayfield, we finished as the #1 party school six years in a row.” Hopping out of the Jeep after we park, Tree rushes over to an older man and embraces him with a gigantic hug. She pulls off of him and speaks “This is Coach Prescott, he was my head coach here and he still runs a tight ship here, I think. If I was on the team it couldn’t have been that tightly run. Coach Prescott laughs and moves us to his office for further discussion.
Inside the office, I see awards scattered all over the place, the focus being the exclusive “Baby Face Trophy” that Bayfield had won the past four years against their rival the University of Brandon. Coach Prescott’s presence becomes him. He stands taller than the average person and despite his age is in great psychical shape. He speaks softly but elegantly, making every word count. “Tree interested me. In my years I never saw someone put so little effort into their work and be so dominant. She kept the team lively but never too rowdy.” Tree blushes at this comment and looks away at the only bowl game trophy that Bayfield ever won, the Tostito’s Booty Bongo Fiesta Bowl, and smiles at it. “That was a hell of a game” she speaks.
“Yes it was. Georgia-Fairburn were no slouch and you worked hard Tree. Of course you did have a few drops I almost killed you for.”
“But you didn’t.”
“Not at the time, had we lost that game? You bet that you’d be running laps till you threw up after.”
“Coach you know laps were never my thing, my motto was Naps over Laps.”
“Of course, I’ll never forget it, the entire offensive line bought shirts with that damn slogan on them and you guys made me miserable that whole year. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Coach Prescott takes us out to the field and sits us down on the sidelines. We breath in the fresh air flowing in from all around and he looks into the horizon as he speaks. “Always thought you were something special Tree. When you hurt your knee sophomore year I assumed you’d be a goner but you proved me wrong. You actually worked hard and rehabbed it to return.”
“I’m not always a slacker Coach.”
“No, you’re not. You just are when it’s most convenient for you, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it.”
The Bayfield Stadium is large. The team itself is not the most prestigious, having produced only one professional quality player, but the fanbase does not care. We attend the game later that night where Tree has her number retired by the university, and spend the rest of the night cheering on with the endless passion that the Bayfield fanbase provides. Bayfield prevails against Newfoundland Tech 49-0 and we depart the stadium for the drive back to the airport to catch my overnight flight back home.
“You know, I never really thanked you for doing this,” she begins, “I’m not one to really open up about myself too much and I try to keep my personal life detached from my football career, but I’m seeing now that it’s not too bad to occasionally have them intermingle with each other. If this article makes me look like a wimp though you’re getting tackled next time I see you. I’m serious.” I assure her that I will not make her “look like a wimp” because she has done nothing to warrant that (also I’m really afraid of her but that’s besides the point).
Tree drops me off at the airport and waves goodbye before peeling away into the night, finishing this really rewarding day with her. I learned about the story behind the athlete and found the human. The human who was raised giving siblings wedgies and had endless love and support from her parents, the human who defied the odds by playing football despite being told to “play like a girl” and showing that she belonged on the field, the human who slacked her way through an amazing college career and a number retirement and becoming the first (and only) member of her college to make it to the big leagues. It shows how having support can make an athlete reach that next level, and it shows how that they’re not just these robotic humans designed to play football or baseball or whatever, they’re people just like you and I. Except they’re really good at football.
2,822 Words
"You relieve the same day over and over again, you kind of start to see who you really are."
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