i agree with you. i just ordered the authors newst book from amazon. not football related, but since i like dixieland delight so much i want to give it a shot. orlando has a ritual of reading the chapter on the sec team we are playing in a given week. i think i'll steal that ritual! :thumb: besides turnabout is fair play. she adopted my must have a corn dog on game day ritual..... :grin:
I don't know. I've played sports my entire life and still consider myself an athlete. I'm not happy unless I'm competing at something, whether it's a 5K or rec softball, or beach volleyball, whatever. The absolute worst situation for me now is any injury that keeps me from sports. Maybe I'm just wired wrong. :hihi:
Now that I'll flat out lose. Wanna' race for 10 miles? :grin: Put down the Moon Pies now and get on ya treadmill.
OMG! I havent ran 10 miles in a few years. Uncle Sugar took that ability away, but I will put down the moon pie and long snap the ball to ya! :hihi: How bout a round or HORSE?
I don't think you're wrong....I took 1 form of competition and tranferred it to another...I swam and played soccer from the time I was old enough to walk, but swimming was what I loved. There was a day when I realized I was never going to make the Olympic trials, but I didn't abandon that side of me....I was, and still am proud of what I did. I worked hard and have a lot to show for it....most , as we all know, is not tangible....you can't simply go to the closest and pull it out. So, I don't swim anymore, big deal...but I run..., like you said vball....5ks...10ks.....half marathons....I still compete....I too am NOT a happy camper these days as I hurt my back over Christams and still can not put in the distances that I want/need.... My point was merely that I didn't finish college athletics and all of a sudden become incapable of functioning in society.....I doubt most here did.
[/quote] I won't even qualify that w/ a good comeback:lol: Maybe thats the difference...I swam and we NEVER had a day off....My 1st practice was at 4:45am and finished at 7:30am. got dressed went to school....came home went back to lift weights/condition from 3:30-4:45, then we swam AGAIN....from about 5-7pm....daily... meets on weekends...travel to different areas and such...things picked up and we did more over the summers as we had more time and I would pick up a summer rec league for 'fun"..... I can see how football plays a huge part of your identity....esp as a young man...I remember my friends in high school and how that was WHO they were...a member of the footbal team....and really nothing else...it wasn't what they did, it was their STATUS...it got them better things, better girls...They thought they were "Special"...not ALL of them, mind you, but a lot of them...you take that away from someone...and they you've stolen their identity practically...Kinnda like the pro-athlete who thinks he can break the law b/c he plays "football"....or the LSU athlete who doesn't have to follow team rules b/c he's the "Star"....you gotta have something else down in there too to make you who you are...not just your ability to run, throw and tackle.
Just finished the book myself and it had a very familiar path to my life in certain ways. Not quite as dark and depressing as some of the insights into his soul but i had parts that related to my life. I grew up the son of a Louisiana high school football Coach and as a kid sports were our life. I spent the same time waiting for my dad at practice and remember knowing every player that played for him. Them always messing around with us and we idolized them. I didnt have the gift of athletic talent even though i enjoyed sports alot. But i worked as an equipment manager all the way through college and it payed for my school. Even though after school i sat down and figured for what they paid i could have gone to work at Burger King and made double the money and worked half the time. But it was being involved that is what i loved. I let my Mom and Dad talk me out of being a Coach because of the struggle they had been through in their life with no money. But some of the demons that John Ed faced have come up in my life regretting not becoming a Coach because i miss being involved in the competition and thrill of many people pulling for a combined goal. It is hard to admit sometimes but in those quiet moments i think back to the days of making the decision not to be a Coach and kick myself for not standing up to my parents. But we all have key decisions that effect the coarse of our lives. It scares me to think that i have had some of the same issues to deal with and never really thought anyone would understand. Reading this book was sort of an eyeopener for me. I think part of my love for LSU is it is something that takes me back to being a kid waiting at my dads practices and the feeling of being a part of something bigger than yourself. Being a Tiger is part of my soul and it always will be.
Me too, in a differnent sense though. I get an annual call from friends I went to college with and they ask why I go to Lake Charles (Livestock Shows) and/or Sulphur (In-laws) and don't look 'em up. Those days were surreal to me they were SO fun. Life takes on other meanings after marriage and kids and are also SO fun, different ways though. Strangely, visiting with them would feel like it was a part of me that was no longer. In the last couple of years though, I've called them and we've met at the Burton Collesium for brief visits. Calco, I'm about finished reading Bowls, Polls, & Tattered Souls. Pretty darn interesting if you haven't read it. I'm going to finish this evening so I can start on The Meat Market since if FINALLY came in yesterday.
Keep us updated on those two books. Those two are on my list to read, but I won't be doing any leisure reading until May. Why does school always seem to interfere with my fun? Where are my priorities?
