Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Here's to FOOTBALL!!!


I love Football. What is it about this game that appeals to me? Grown men in lycra-looking tights, with titanium-impregnated helmets throwing themselves at other grown men in lycra-looking ....

It has the brainiac charm of Chess, the brutal elegance of the Gladiators of Rome circa 345 A.D., the complexion of a Soap Opera you hate to love, a million sub-plots to keep you glued to ESPN during the work week, and the subliminal images that bring out the many things that we feel is our birthright as Americanus Red-blodus Maximus.

College was my initiation into this drug-like lock on my mind. The Sooner wishbone, The Huskies of Don James and Warren Moon, Ohio State and Art Schlicter (ok, you can stop laughing now...), the vaunted option-veer of Bill Yeoman in Houston. I remember like it was yesterday watching Tony Dorsett of Pitt mauling Penn State during the 77' season. I'd never seen someone scoot like that. Those late 70's college juggernauts had me hooked.

But then the NFL took over. The "Ghost to the Post" game between the Raiders and Colts is to this day the greatest game I ever remember seeing. Dallas,.. yes Dallas. I admit to being a Dallas freak. Remember that double up-down clutch move their offensive linemen did before they set down?... Staubach, Golden Richards, Drew Pearson, Ed "too tall" Jones?... those were my boys.... that is until Montana threw "the catch" to Dwight Clark and changed it all for me. To this day I hate the west coast offense and every deviation thereof. Bring back Mad Bomber Pastorini, Bring back the tear-away jerseys of Earl Campbell,... bring back Cleveland's Turkey Jones pile-driving Bradshaw into the ground, bring back the Vikings playing outside~!!

I just thought of something,... I think one of the reasons our military is so damn good (that is,...when we let them fight) is because of the culture of football that is part of every training regimen from boot camp to special ops training. Hell, even Stormin' Norman called his strategic west shift of Gulf War One the "Hail Mary". Politicians make use of "football-isms" all the time. Just this week Harry Reid said Bush was "running out the clock". Republicans bitch about the Democrats "moving the goalposts". Are we a football-crazed nation or what? Ain't no Pac-Man, Tank Johnson, Camera-gate or 2-time in jail O.J. gonna' keep us from loving the flying pigskin.
Ok, enough of this crap. You can thank Obob (http://www.obobsworld.blogspot.com/) for getting me lathered up for this non-sensical rant. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

12 comments:

Robert said...

This is anything but nonsensical! Football is a religion in Alabama, and there is nothing more serious this time of year.

I can't get worked up about pro football. These prima donnas get me so irritated with their self serving ....never mind, that was becoming a rant itself.

Now college football is a different story. My Auburn Tigers appear to be completely clueless as to which direction they are supposed to move on the field, but we will get untracked. The ferocity with which an Auburn linebackerlinebacker pummels a (Alabama/Florida/Georgia - you pick) tailback gets my blood racing all year.

Speak of this contest all you wish! There is some merit to your position that the military is so accomplished because of this cultural icon.

Dardin Soto said...

Robert, the other military connection is that most recruits already have a great discipline/sweat-equity ethos imbedded in their brains due to the demands that football camp and the ferocity of the game brings. Football is the minor leagues of the military.... hmmmm....

Dardin Soto said...

Robert,
I forgot to ask you,... does the State (Alabama) really love Nick Saban?.... My Mom is a Miami fan and she despises the man for bailing on the Dolphins.. (Ha!)...

Frank Partisan said...

Football attracts hot babes.

I'm a pro wrestling and mixed martial arts guy.

Robert said...

First, you have to remember that this state is divided in half. The University of Alabama has Nick Saban, and is half of the football faithful. The other half is Auburn University, which has Tommy Tuberville as our coach.

The Alabama faithful love Saban, but only because he is seen as the saving grace for a program that has been in decline for a few years. The once hallowed ground of Bear Bryant has seen Auburn win what ESPN has declared as the top football rivalry in the country FIVE years in a row. That hasn't happened for decades. There is an underlying fear that despite the stratospheric salary he receives ($4 mil a year for 8 years with a 100% buyout) that he won't stay long. He has been pretty transient within the world of football the past few years.

Auburn folks could care less. We have had an incredible run the past eight years, and were it not for a minor probation in 2003 would have had the BCS title.

I am a Dolphins fan from way back. When I was a cub scout, Bob Griese signed by 1976 bicentennial neckerchief. I still have it. The Cohen family is from Montgomery, Al and I know them, as I went to school with one of the Cohen sons. I also have an acquaintance by the name of Jeno James who is an O lineman for the Fins. He is an Auburn man, too.

Too bad Marino never had the support staff to make a Super Bowl happen.

Dardin Soto said...

Ren,

LOL! I laughed when I got your comment,... I guess I have a view of your Blog being so very serious (or maybe of serious content / issues), that it escaped me that you are a person(s) like the rest of us and privy to the flip observations we all endure (or enjoy!)...

Thanks for dropping by... :)

Dardin Soto said...

Robert,
Thanks for the 411 on the whole 'Bama history. I now the south in general treats college FB like a religion,... more so in Alabama where the Bryant Fedora hat is like a cultural icon.

As to Marino?.... he went to the 84' Super Bowl and faced a super-hot Montana.... too bad. It would have been nice for him to have had at least one ring to go with him million records.

Robert said...

It is funny, but also a tribute to the Bear, but houndstooth hats and coats and flags and anything possible made of the pattern can be seen in Tuscaloosa. Lots of women wear a classic Bear fedora and he passed away almost 20 years ago.

Obob said...

Love college football, the passion is unrivaled in the US. Alas, I am a Big Ten kinda guy and it is a rough year. What have learned, a friggin' tortise could run a spread offense and beat any Big 10 squad. I call it an off-year.
As for Notre Dame, this is karma for threatening to sue my old high school if we didn't lose the little Irish guy on their gear. The funny part, the French Jesuits who founded ND didn't want any Irish there as is.
As for the pros, Bear Down. It is in my DNA. I saw a guy with a Packer shirt on in church and almost tackled him; if we hadn't been on Holy Ground, it's a Highlander thing.

Robert said...

ROFL at Obob. If I hear of a man being arrested for assault in church, I won't even have to look at the news to know.

Brooke said...

Football is awesome on a bad weather day, with a large bowl of popcorn and family crowded around!

benning said...

And here's one of the greatest running backs to grace the gridiron: Steve Van Buren in action.
Click!