You Can’t Go Back

There isn’t enough football in Napoleon Dynamite for it to qualify as one of my favorite football movies, but it is definitely the best movie ever that mentions “delicious bass.” One of my favorite scenes (there are so many to choose from!) is football related. Uncle Rico is sitting with Napoleon and Kip and they are watching a video he made of himself throwing a football. No receivers – just him with that classic headband zipping the ball around the prairie. Kip seems neutral; Napoleon proclaims it the “worst video ever;” and Uncle Rico is almost mesmerized with his performance when hearkens to his high school playing days and pines, “Ohhhh, man I wish I could go back in time. I’d take state.”

This is especially hilarious to old(ish) guys like me because we all have a little Uncle Rico in us. There isn’t an ex-high school athlete (except for those very few who went onto greater athletic glory in college or the pros) who hasn’t thought back to their playing days and wondered what could have been. “What if I could go back and play that game (or season) again?” I admit that I’ve done that plenty of times – I just never filmed myself as a 30- or 40- or 50-something wannabe athlete re-enacting my youthful sports life.

Here’s a memo to current high school athletes everywhere: you can’t go back. Do it now. Whatever you have dreamed; whatever you have worked for; this is your time.

Especially you senior football players. Forget your first three years. Maybe you played a lot; maybe not. Your team may have won tons of games and maybe they have been terrible. It doesn’t matter now. All you need to care about is the now.

Don’t worry about next year. Maybe you’ll be in college this time next year and maybe you’ll have a job. Forget about it. All you need to care about is the now.

What you and your football team do over the next few weeks is all that matters. From the starting quarterback to the freshman on the end of the bench, now is the time to grab the glory. Make the memories you will never forget.

Week 9 will be a beginning for half the teams that move onto the playoffs while it will be the end for the other half. A lot of seniors will play their last game ever on Friday. That may not dawn on you right away, but it will soon enough. So if you were ever going to play like it’s your last game – you need to do it Friday night. Don’t waste this opportunity to be great. Even you underclassmen. Your last game will come sooner than you think, so make the most of week 9 – and every game – while you still can.

Only six teams will raise championship trophies on the floor of the UNI-Dome. Every other team will end their season with a defeat, and it will taste bitter. If your team isn’t one of fortunate few that will be celebrating, just make sure you go down knowing you gave it your best shot. Don’t be Uncle Rico 20 years from now saying, “Yeah…if Coach woulda put me in fourth quarter, we woulda been state champions. No doubt. No doubt in my mind.”

Woulda, shoulda, coulda doesn’t cut it. Do. Leave the field with no regrets. Because you can’t go back.

Favorites Playing

Some favorites are easier to pick than others. I have favorite NFL, MLB and NHL teams; a favorite brand of running shoes; a favorite toothpaste; and even a favorite coffee mug. But as far as something like a favorite band or favorite beer – I could never pick those because there are just way too many good alternatives to choose from.

And there are favorites that you can never pick – like a favorite parent; or a favorite child. (Though all three of our kids would probably tell you that one of the others is the favorite.)

People have asked me which team was my favorite when I wrote my book, The Fields of Fall. I bleed Cardinal red, so of course my home town team, Earlham, is the team in which I have the most rooting interest. But of the other teams, it’s kind of like picking a favorite child – I just can’t do it.

If I absolutely had to pick a favorite, however, Decorah and North Fayette would be top contenders. And these two teams just happen to play each other in week 1 this year.

To get an idea as to why I have such warm feelings for these schools, here are excerpts from the book.

From a trip to Decorah (at a post-game gathering at Coach Post’s house):
“I was invited to start in on the food, but what little social decorum I do possess told me to hold off until some other guests arrived. It was torture, but folks started showing up quickly and soon the house was nearly full. But even though I had met most of these folks last time, I didn’t want to be the uncouth stranger, so I only filled up about half a plate with some chips and a couple of sweets. I was thirsty, too, and the beer I quickly consumed hit my empty stomach with a vengeance. Somebody asked me if I wanted another and I said, “Yes.” Maybe not the best idea; until the rest of the party food showed up—about a dozen pizzas from Mabe’s. The pizza and beer combination temporarily made the impartial journalist in me disappear and the fan and admirer in me emerge, and I found myself hoping that these folks would win the high school football championship of the world and never lose another game—ever.”

From a trip to North Fayette:
“The staff and their significant others usually get together after home games at the home of volunteer coach Gary Bemiss. When Jennifer and I arrived, there was already a healthy mix of celebration and preparation going on. Assistant coach Heins was already breaking down the game tape in between slices of pizza, while Bemiss, who runs the local beer distributorship, made sure everyone was properly supplied with libations.”

These stories may give you the idea that I’m easily won over by beer and pizza. Well…yes, I am. But it goes much deeper than that. Decorah and North Fayette play an old-school, run-first, slobber-knocking brand of football that I really enjoy. Passing teams are great, but watching these two teams’ o-lines work their magic is inspiring. The over/under on total passes attempted by both teams on Friday is probably around nine – which is just the way I like it.

But besides having football teams that win year after year, Decorah and North Fayette have a lot of really nice people in and around the programs. I got to know several of the coaches and fans pretty well that fall – thanks in large part to the terrific fare and beverages – and I enjoyed conversations about football, education, and life in general. Good people build strong communities. And strong communities tend to have consistent, excellent sports programs – which lead to quality kids. Which leads to…well, you get the idea.

Friday, my feet will be in Woodward as the Cardinals take on Woodward Academy, but a piece of me will be in West Union as the TigerHawks take on the Vikings. I’m not a big fan of ties, but…