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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Tis' The Season

There is no feeling quite like it... You get knots in your stomach as you notice the leaves changing color and falling to the ground.... as the air gets a little cooler and the days get a little shorter, you slowly start to realize football is back. For me there is no greater time of the year than fall... When I wake up early in the morning I get that same feeling I got for most of my life... I always feel as though I should be grabbing my shoulder pads and helmet and jogging out to the field. That's the power the sport has... It never quite leaves you, even when you are done playing. You always go back to the thought of early morning sprints when you walk through the morning dew, Or the great feeling of almost being done with practice when the sun is setting.

At an early age I knew i wanted to play the sport, one of my first words was touchdown and I always had a high interest in everything about the sport; playing it, coaching it, and talking about it.

Some people laugh at the idea that it is more than just a game, but they just don't understand. Football is not just a game, it's a way of life... if you are a part of the game it effects you in ways you can't imagine. For me it gave me some of my best friends, my best memories... and it was a way to connect our family. In high school it brought some of the best times and also some of the worst..

Nothing in the fall makes me happier than driving down the road and looking in the yards as i pass and seeing a father and son toss the pigskin or a group of kids playing a pick up game in a school yard or pee wee football practice...

It's a sport full of tradition... like playing a family pick up game after eating turkey on thanksgiving, or generation after generation rooting for an alma mater... or tailgating in the cold snow of late november..

There is nothing in the world like it... it is more than a game, it is all of these things I have mentioned and more.... to some people and towns it is all they have... it is their life.

I will never be able to explain the feeling the sport gives you to someone who has never played it, but I certainly wish I could.

In the words of Joe NamathFootball is an honest game. It's true to life. It's a game about sharing. Football is a team game. So is life.” That pretty much sums it up... It's not a game, It's life.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Favre Is At It Again.

Twenty years in the Nfl at the most important position in the game. That's crazy. I cannot explain to you how excited I am that Brett Favre is back for his 20th NFL season. The sad thing is I feel as if I am the only one. The thing I don't understand is why?...
Why is it that people have come to despise Brett Favre. People call him a traitor, but was it not the Packers that didn't want him back... I get it Aaron Rogers is the future, you cant tell me that he is a better quarterback than Brett Favre. The Packers made it to the conference finals and were one play away from the championship, why would you not want to give it a shot the next year... I understand that he "retired" but the guy put the Packers back on the map... yet they easily shunned him with no regrets.
So then he takes a little detour threw New York/ New Jersey only to "retire" again, but wait... he decides to wait until August 18th to decide to play for the Minnesota Vikings... (gasp in shock)... is it really that shocking? No, he wanted to be there all along, he wanted to be able to play his Packers twice a year and he wanted to beat them twice a year. So once again Favre puts on his helmet fastens his one band chin strap and goes out to have his best statistical season of his career. In his first game as a Viking he throws a game winning touchdown pass. He finished his 19th season with 4202 yards, 33 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions and a passer rating of 107 that ranked 3rd in the league... oh and he led the vikings to the NFC championship.
The season ended and speculations began... people started saying things. "oh he'll be back" or "there is no way he comes back". But we never heard from Brett, he just continued to ride the tractor down in good ole' Hattisburg, Mississippi. But then he gave a little hint, he was meeting with doctor James Andrews about surgery on his ankle? Why would he do that? Duh! so he could come back and play. But he never said either way and then one day on ESPN it was official Favre was going to retire, he was throwing footballs to high school kids just like he had done the summer before, but everyone was positive he was done, everyone was saying it; except Brett. Then just as it happened the summer before Brett announced he would play one more year and just as last summer he arrived on August 18th in Minnesota...
So people call him wishy washy, a flip flopper... but really did he not do it the exact same way last year? Couldn't it just be that he is almost 41 and doesn't want to do training camp anymore.. I mean in 20 years of playing the game professionally I think you kinda figure out what you are doing. So don't act surprised... Here's to you Brett I'm beyond happy you are back for another.