I like this story. It has the virtue of being true.
In the early 1990's, I was a student at the University of New Orleans. UNO hosts the American Collegiate Intramural Sports (ACIS) Flag Football Championship every January. Teams from around the country fly in to compete. Click here to see past winners.
In college, my friends and I played regular pickup games at the UNO fields, usually 2 or 3 times a month during school. We hadn't formed a single "team" or played in an organized league. We just really liked playing and would invite other players already on the fields to join us.
One January, we were out having fun, just 6 or 7 of us, playing touch football. It was one of those bright days in January. There had been a rainstorm, and the ground was sloppy and soaked, but the rain had scrubbed the air clean. The grass seemed greener, the mud looked browner, the sky bluer. The day started chilled and crisp but quickly got warm, every step squishing up the smell of grass and mud.
Too excited by this "football weather," I didn't warm up my arm properly. After about 10 passes, my arm was spaghetti. And just as I'm ready to pack it in, over walks the NC State championship flag football team, in town for the competition. It was a great opportunity, and we couldn't refuse a friendly game.
Look, these guys were the real deal. The website says they won the Co-Rec Collegiate Division in 1990 and 1991, which wasn't that far removed from thMany of us were physically overmatched by NC State's players. Since I was useless with a bum arm, I watched from the sideline and did my best to "coach." No avail. We didn't practice as a team, so we weren't successful.
The QB we were using was a flashy ball hog who couldn't compete at QB against a real team like NC State. After going down 3 TDs to 0, my guys wanted me in the game. So, bum arm and all, I trotted into the huddle. My main goal was to not let my friends down. My secondary goal - avoid making a fool of myself.
1st Down: I called a Double Outs. Pre-snap, my right WR looked open at 10 yards. Snap was good, my receiver ran a great route, I planted and threw a clean pass, surprisingly strong considering the condition of my arm, and the ball was nearly picked off. Talk about closing speed!!! CB baited me perfectly and nearly made the play. I was disheartened. Here I had made the best read and throw I could muster, and it was almost a pick-6 the other way!
2nd Down: Don't even remember. I dropped back and the rush immediately swallowed me in the backfield. I recall the blocker whiffed and I just curled up in a slide to the ground. To my credit, I didn't chuck the ball blindly into the secondary.
3rd Down: Flood Right. The two previous plays, while disastrous, had clued me in to the defensive rush. I had the sense that they pushed hard on the edges and aimed at 7-10 yards in the backfield. As such, it was difficult to rollout against and impossible to drop deep against. The only solution was to step up in the pocket.
I took the snap and began a deep drop. I could see the rushers aiming for a spot in the backfield. As the rush closed in, I popped forward. The rush whizzed past me, arms outstretched. I was thrilled, but out of sorts - I had been watching the rush the whole time and taken my eyes off the receivers, and now I had no one to throw to. As I scanned downfield I could feel the rush loop around behind me. I panicked, thought about running, then deep in the secondary, behind all the coverage, was my best receiver, all alone and waving his arms. I hurled the ball to him 25 yards downfield, and every cell in my arm exploded in fire and pain.
The ball quietly dropped into his hands and he trotted into the end zone. A 50-yard pass play, like magic.
I told my friends, "I'm done." My arm was shot. I couldn't even lift it to wave bye.
Throwing that TD sparked the team to greater performance. NC State beat us 6-3, but we had spotted them 3 TDs. After I threw that pass, we were playing at the same level with a championship caliber team.
What I learned from that game was:
1. Warm up your arm before you play QB (dummy) and 2. You've got to believe you can win before you can win.
We were intimidated. But after I hobbled out and threw the touchdown, NC State seemed very human and not at all invincible.
In the early 1990's, I was a student at the University of New Orleans. UNO hosts the American Collegiate Intramural Sports (ACIS) Flag Football Championship every January. Teams from around the country fly in to compete. Click here to see past winners.
In college, my friends and I played regular pickup games at the UNO fields, usually 2 or 3 times a month during school. We hadn't formed a single "team" or played in an organized league. We just really liked playing and would invite other players already on the fields to join us.
One January, we were out having fun, just 6 or 7 of us, playing touch football. It was one of those bright days in January. There had been a rainstorm, and the ground was sloppy and soaked, but the rain had scrubbed the air clean. The grass seemed greener, the mud looked browner, the sky bluer. The day started chilled and crisp but quickly got warm, every step squishing up the smell of grass and mud.
Too excited by this "football weather," I didn't warm up my arm properly. After about 10 passes, my arm was spaghetti. And just as I'm ready to pack it in, over walks the NC State championship flag football team, in town for the competition. It was a great opportunity, and we couldn't refuse a friendly game.
Look, these guys were the real deal. The website says they won the Co-Rec Collegiate Division in 1990 and 1991, which wasn't that far removed from thMany of us were physically overmatched by NC State's players. Since I was useless with a bum arm, I watched from the sideline and did my best to "coach." No avail. We didn't practice as a team, so we weren't successful.
The QB we were using was a flashy ball hog who couldn't compete at QB against a real team like NC State. After going down 3 TDs to 0, my guys wanted me in the game. So, bum arm and all, I trotted into the huddle. My main goal was to not let my friends down. My secondary goal - avoid making a fool of myself.
1st Down: I called a Double Outs. Pre-snap, my right WR looked open at 10 yards. Snap was good, my receiver ran a great route, I planted and threw a clean pass, surprisingly strong considering the condition of my arm, and the ball was nearly picked off. Talk about closing speed!!! CB baited me perfectly and nearly made the play. I was disheartened. Here I had made the best read and throw I could muster, and it was almost a pick-6 the other way!
2nd Down: Don't even remember. I dropped back and the rush immediately swallowed me in the backfield. I recall the blocker whiffed and I just curled up in a slide to the ground. To my credit, I didn't chuck the ball blindly into the secondary.
3rd Down: Flood Right. The two previous plays, while disastrous, had clued me in to the defensive rush. I had the sense that they pushed hard on the edges and aimed at 7-10 yards in the backfield. As such, it was difficult to rollout against and impossible to drop deep against. The only solution was to step up in the pocket.
I took the snap and began a deep drop. I could see the rushers aiming for a spot in the backfield. As the rush closed in, I popped forward. The rush whizzed past me, arms outstretched. I was thrilled, but out of sorts - I had been watching the rush the whole time and taken my eyes off the receivers, and now I had no one to throw to. As I scanned downfield I could feel the rush loop around behind me. I panicked, thought about running, then deep in the secondary, behind all the coverage, was my best receiver, all alone and waving his arms. I hurled the ball to him 25 yards downfield, and every cell in my arm exploded in fire and pain.
The ball quietly dropped into his hands and he trotted into the end zone. A 50-yard pass play, like magic.
I told my friends, "I'm done." My arm was shot. I couldn't even lift it to wave bye.
Throwing that TD sparked the team to greater performance. NC State beat us 6-3, but we had spotted them 3 TDs. After I threw that pass, we were playing at the same level with a championship caliber team.
What I learned from that game was:
1. Warm up your arm before you play QB (dummy) and 2. You've got to believe you can win before you can win.
We were intimidated. But after I hobbled out and threw the touchdown, NC State seemed very human and not at all invincible.
RSS Feed