Is It Football Season?

For the first time in 12 years, I'm not blowing a whistle and coaching football. I haven't blogged about football because I've been too busy packing, moving, driving, unpacking, studying and everything else involved in moving two states away to an area without front yards and bizarre liquor laws.

I truly miss coaching. I miss working with kids. I miss the camaraderie of a coaching staff. I miss the bizarre excuses players come up with. I miss the parents who think they're son who has only played one year of flag football can come out for the team as a junior and get a scholarship. I miss watching the same play over and over and over to figure out who forgot to block the 6' 4 285 lb. player we spend all week teaching them to block with 2 people. I miss sweating through a shirt by just standing outside during practice. I miss seeing that kid who you never expected to play working hard all season and making a big play late in the year. I miss being on one knee, holding hands in the locker room and saying the Lord's Prayer before taking the field. I miss meeting coaches from your next opponent on a Saturday morning to trade tapes and lying your butt off about your team. I miss yelling across the field to a player to tell him he did a great job. I miss arguing with the head coach about if a play will work or not. I miss standing in the rain during practice trying to not get dirty. I miss being driven crazy because a player can't remember his assignment after we just went through it 30 times an hour earlier. I miss the funky smell of the locker room. I miss waking up a 3 am to turn the TV and VCR on to see if what I the bright idea that just came to me would work. I miss trying to come up with a new way to teach the same thing to a player who just isn't getting it. I miss watching the play that you've been waiting to call go for 6. I miss the excitement that runs through your body during the National Anthem. I miss trying to figure out who to put in a game after 2 players get injured. I miss the pre-game meal. I miss looking a kid in the eyes and telling him that he's GOT to make the play. I miss sitting in one of the coaches' home after the game, having a beer and asking "Why in the world did you call that?" I miss making adjustments during the game. I miss having them hit the sled. I miss looking into the stands, catching my parents eyes and rubbing my head to say "hi." I miss making a player "do it again and do it right." I miss showing the game film and pointing out the lineman who made the block that sprung the back. I miss sucking up to the referees. I miss having the captains practice calling heads or tails. I miss starting the season wearing a t-shirt and shorts to practice and ending the season wearing a parka and long johns (as well as pants). I miss being in a bad mood for a week because of a tough loss. I miss watching linemen run through the ropes. I miss hearing YOUR fight song more than the other team's. I miss quieting the home crowd. I miss hugging a sweaty, smelly kid at the end of a game. I miss being heckled by fans. I miss seeing a player grow up during the season. I miss watching the scores on Friday nights with the rest of the staff and seeing at least one score that quiets the room. I miss handing out game jerseys on Thursday night. I miss finding the tip off that the other team has gotten away with. I miss washing the dry erase marker stains out of my coaching shirt. I miss shaking hands with the other team. I miss the quiet of a long bus trip after a loss and the barely contained joy of that bus after a win. I miss going to church and being asked what happened. I miss a coach coming in with a great idea he saw from a college or NFL game (or Madden 05). I miss going for it on fourth down. I miss the stupid jokes the coaches tell while the team is stretching.

I'm thrilled to be here in Gettysburg. But I'd love to be on the sidelines.

I feel for Lloyd Carr and the Michigan program. I've met Coach Carr and have talked to him in his office. I have met and talked at length with most of his coaching staff. The idiots who are calling for him to be fired have NO CLUE about coaching football at that level, or any level. Did Michigan overlook App State. Yes, but so did every newspaper in Michigan, including the writers who are now calling for Carr's job. App State is a VERY good football team. But Michigan should have beat them. I look forward to what they do the rest of the season.

I'm looking forward to the NFL season. First, no Lions games! In Gettysburg, I'll get to watch 3 or 4 different games each Sunday (if I'm not spending that time studying.) And none of the teams will have drafted receivers with their first round pick 4 out of 5 years. And none have Matt Millen as the "brains" of the outfit.

I'm going to get to watch football as a fan for the first time in a long while. I won't have to spend Saturdays and Sundays watching game films; I can just watch games for the joy of the game. And envy the coaches on the sidelines. Even Lloyd Carr.