Friday, April 18, 2008

LETTERS FROM STEVO...love for the game (the art of the block)


So I joined a flag football league this year. I wanted to join a tackle football league on the south side of town but Amy wouldn't let me. She told me I was too old to play tackle! What??? I play tackle every Thanksgiving in Farmington with my brother and some other guys and I have yet to get "hurt". I do the hurting!!! And no, I'm not too old! So I'll be 32 in a couple of weeks and most of the guys we play with are 18-25...big deal, I can hang! My knees are only sore for a few days! Anyway, the flag football league is fun, we have a great offensive line anchored by yours truly. I have yet to give up a sack! Our problem is our backs and receivers are all 5'8" and shorter and don't seem to know how to catch passes. Age wise, I'm on the upper end of the scale but I have a niche in that I'm big and I prefer to block whereas the others don't. Last night we played this team that had a player named Walt. I call him big Walt, he's a little shorter than me and weighs in about the 250-260 range. Big Walt is the guy pictured above. He lined up on the other side of the line away from me. On one play he decided he wanted a piece of me so he lined up across from me. He didn't get near the quarterback! That was the last time I saw big Walt, he went back to his other spot. The guy I faced was smaller and quicker and would try to juke me. The problem with this is I don't go after the defender, I let them come to me and I'm quick enough on my feet that I can stay with them if they are trying to go around me. Anyway, I'm probably boring you with the details...the art of the block is to stay in your chair and keep your hands up!

I took Peyton to Farmington over this past weekend to see some family and attend my grandmothers 80th birthday shindig. Amy and Mya stayed home to attend Shirley Carlson's 80th birthday party. Our grandmothers were born a day apart! My grandmother was flown out from her home in Bristol, VA. She is my maternal grandmother and was at one time married to Bud (see post titled "This Bud's for you!) We grandkids call her Memo, a nickname I dubbed at a very young age being the eldest grandchild. She used to live in Farmington and she spoiled us rotten. We would spend the night at her house every Friday and she would take us out to eat at Furr's Cafeteria...we seriously thought that was mighty fine dining! When it was time for bed she would read us stories from a book about some rabbit dude named "Uncle Wiggly". It was pretty awesome! And she didn't put up with any Busch brother fighting...she would take the broom to us!

Peyton was a trooper. He spent the whole time playing with his cousin Gavin. He slept on the flight down and behaved himself on the flight back too. We flew on a puddle jumper and met some serious turbulence on the way down ( I really thought I was going to hurl) but Peyton slept thru it. I made him walk with me through DIA which is no small task and he handled it well. He even behaved himself at the birthday party. I even got to do some weightlifting while I was there, my uncle Bill let me bench press him.


In conclusion, I would like to offer some advice that I offer many when it comes to dealing with the curveballs that life throws at you...stay in your chair and keep your hands up! It's not just good blocking technique, it's words to live by...

5 comments:

Renee said...

Furr's Cafeteria!! I LOVED that place as a kid. It seriously was fine dining, that sometimes ended with a delightful smelling strawberry shortcake doll. Thanks for taking me back stevo :) And thanks for those words of advice!

Jenny said...

that is good advice, and thanks for sharing. Adam needed stitches above his eye after a flag football game one thanksgiving.

The Ravsten's said...

Just so you know, Kedzie looked at the picture of your football friend and said "It's Jesus!" I reassured her that it wasn't and tried to get her attention headed toward your family photo. Any how...interesting.

CraigT said...

You better be careful about dissing on your teammates, it could come back to bite you. Looks like you and Walt are pretty tight! Did you also give him one of your pictures?! Also, are your referring to the easy chair with one hand up telling your wife to bring you a "dew" and the other holding the remote?!

dvecchio said...

So I grew up (more or less) in Farmington, and for the time Stevo was talking about it WAS fine dining - that and Senor Peppers! Thanks for the flashback