OCD and Football

I promise that my posts won't only be about Jackson - I am the mother of three boys after all (four if you count my husband!); but he certainly has given me the most colourful subject matter the last few days.
I mentioned yesterday that he has Aspergers Syndrome. For those of you who have never heard of this, it is the highest functioning diagnosis on the autism spectrum. He walks, talks, goes the bathroom by himself, ties his shoes, gets excellent grades in school, has many friends - pretty typical kid for the most part. However, another component to Asperger's is significant OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). It manifests itself in various forms - throughout the summer he made lists of things - mostly about sports teams, sports mascots, sports stadiums, sports colours. Did I mention he's obsessed with sports?!
One of the blessings for our family is that he also has a certain degree of athletic ability. We had been told that only 15% of people diagnosed with autism or aspergers had any aptitude for sports. Fortunately for Jackson he is on the higher end of that 15%.
So he had flag football practice last night. Now one thing to note here is that whenever he is actually playing a sport, he HAS to wear a shirt related to that sport AND related to whatever team he is currently obsessing about. Currently he is obsessing about the Chicago Bears
(almost Super Bowl Champs and home of Brian Urlacher, the best linebacker in history).
So he wears a Bears championship t-shirt to his practice last night. I should have known it was a mistake when he comes into the kitchen and he's picking at the front - seeing some imaginary spec that he needs to remove. I drop him at practice then leave to pick up his younger brother. When I return he is standing in the middle of the field, picking at the same spot as his team assembles for the next play. I am thinking of hollering over to him to pay attention but decide to just wait and see what happens next. Here's the amazing part - his coach calls the play, makes the throw and Jackson comes to life; sprinting to pull the flag from the receiver. Next play, picking at his shirt again, coach calls the play, throws to Jackson and he runs the field for a touchdown!
When we get home he takes the shirt off and brings it to me. He asks if I can fix it (I think it's the imaginary spot he's talking about) and find that he has actually put a hole in the shirt from picking the spot.
Who cares?! He scored a touchdown...