I'd like to say I know what if feels like to have the ball in my hands and run so fast that no one can catch me. That would be a lie. I have ran with the ball, but just not very fast. When I was really young and played Small Fry football for the Chargers in Fort Walton Beach, I was stuck on the line. I was not put there because I was big and strong, I wasn't, they just needed to find somewhere to put me. As young as I was 9 or 10?, it was a great learning experience. I remember the first time me and Byron Barkley executed a cross block against two bigger defenders. They didn't know what happened. It is amazing how a simple geometrical principal ANGLE can provide so much leverage when blocking. When you can push the rusher even partly in the direction he is already going, you can really move a much larger and stronger opponent. Angle of attack is critical.
Similarly, as an undersized wide receiver in high school, I had the pleasure of executing a "crack back" block on a much stronger and more athletic linebacker. When the man you are blocking is "flowing" with the direction of the play and he does not see you coming, even a 145 pound runt can light up said linebacker. That same savy wide receiver might be well advised to avoid said linebacker for the next few plays :)
Play calling: Another thing I LOVE about football is how you use offensive plays to "set up" other offensive plays. A classic example is a down and out pass. If you can complete a few short (5 or 10 yard) down and out passes, you can set up the thing of beauty known as the down, out and up. What looks like the same down and out pass, has the QB pump as the receiver turns up the field and looks for the long pass while the defender "bites" on the out. The masters of play calling understand this and can create a cadence that is unreal. Spurrier was the the big dog for a long time. Miami's new O Coordinator (Whipple?) is making a huge difference for the Canes. This is where an out manned team can have a chance, if they have the right guy calling the plays of the audibles.
When I was 6 years old ( I swear this is true), I read a little booklet at the grocery store (laundry soap of some kind) by Bart Star of the Green Bay Packers. Bart said two things that stuck with me. First he said that every offensive play is designed to go for a touchdown (not necessarily true, but made a good point). The other thing that made a bigger impression was that on every play the Packers had some sort of deception or fake involved. Again, there are even exceptions to this, but I started becoming a student of the game of football.
How many of you when you were 11 or 12, didn't sit there at school, dreaming up plays for the football game at PE/recess? Yes you did!
Another thing I love about playing football, is making a good throw to the spot where your receiver will be, as opposed to where he is. And how much fun is a diving catch?
A less tangible element of playing football that was so rewarding was when the TEAM pulled together to accomplish what seemed almost impossible. The bond that grows when you work you tails off as a defensive unit is hard to describe. You find that you are willing to give more of yourself than you thought possible, to contribute to the "whole" of the unit.
Who am I kidding? I loved everything about football. The smells, the sounds, the sights, the excitement building up to the game...It is late and the stupid Yankees won in the 12th.
I'll give this topic some more consideration.
Oh, and my Crestview Bulldogs just lost in OT, to my wife's FWB Vikings...:(
But Hey, TOMORROW IS A COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAY!
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