Football (American Football)
For some of you your obsessions may be computers, psychology, history, the complete history of the automobile etc- ,mine is football.
ever since I played football in high school 4 years ago, ive been in love with it. This is partially due to the fact that my teammates and coaches were more impressed by my determination, heart and the fact that I 'understood' the game. i had a unique feel for the game that allowed me to make great plays even though im 5'8 185 and not overly fast.I never started (though I rotated in) -that team was talented when i was there- so many d-1 players. (2 at usc, 4 at hawaii, 2 notre dame, 1 san diego state, 1 uconn, 1 colorado, 2 washington, 1 utah state, 1 Arizona,and a few more as walk on) They respected/liked me for that rather than my social skills. im 20 now and am not big, fast or strong enough to play college ball which depressed me but I still love it to death. Not to mention being obsessed with football gives me a lot of 'ins' with NT guys my age and conversation topics.
Does anyone else love football, high school-college- nfl whatever? I'm an absolute nut when it comes to football, I have studied the advantages and disadvantages of most offenses and defenses and always ponder about different formations and plays or when to run certain plays....in a way you could say im like bill belicheck,, who i believe to have some mild aspergers himself (hes not socialble on camera, comes across as indifferent and mean, but a a borderline genius when it comes to football)
Last edited by tangomike on 20 Nov 2010, 1:50 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Do you go to UO?
Even though you're not a fb player, have you considered being part of the team, like being an assistant to the coordinators/staff members? I know it's probably difficult to even get that position, but it's not impossible. You should try asking around and network if you really are interested in pursuing fb as a career. Also, the fact that you've had prior experience and you're pretty analytical with regards to plays will give you an upper hand and help to convince them why they should let you be a team member.
I'm not as obsessed as I used to be, and most of the blame falls on Pat Bowlen and Josh McMoron for screwing up my Broncos. But every so often I'll watch a few NFL games, and I'll watch bowl season because those are the guys who end up in the draft, and Denver's getting another high-level pick this year, :p .
However, I did used to be super obsessed. I dreamed of becoming a head coach or at least a DC in the NFL. I followed Arena all I could. Came up with a huge playbook just for kicks in 7th grade.
I played and enjoyed it, but that has been some time ago now. If you are into strategy and game planning maybe you should get involved like Beau said. If you're in college go and check out the athletic department and ask to volunteer no matter what the task. Pay attention and absorb everything like a sponge. After you graduate, you should have an excellent chance of becoming a graduate assistant since they already know you. If someone on staff gets his own chance, he will often hire grad assistants and there you have your start.
Yeah I went to U of Oregon for 3 years but I just moved back to Hawaii because I didnt like it in Oregon. Once I get back into college sometime at the Univ of Hawaii next year I'll definitely look into volunteering for the team. I actually have an in already, the head athletic trainer is a friend of my dads. I'll know some of the players too, I played HS ball with one of the QBs, an offensive lineman and a slotback and played AGAINST a bunch of the other players too. it might feel weird haha.
My dream a few years ago was to be an offensive or defensive co-ordinator and to just focus on making the ultimate offense or defense. Its still in my head but I need to focus on finishing my education first and get that ball rolling by volunteering.
Thanks guys!
btw did any of you ever catch on Bill Belichecks aspieness? i thought he had it from the day i learned what AS was
Last edited by tangomike on 22 Nov 2010, 12:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
Stone_Man
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That's a good dream to have. Don't give up on it! Plenty of coaches started out at the high school or JC level.
Yep, the thought has entered my head. He's a curmudgeon, but I don't think he's an Aspie, to tell you the truth. Head coaches in the NFL are more like managers in a business ... most of them have moved beyond X's and O's and their primary focus is managing people. Of course, they're supposed to be able to manage the news media too, and he's not so great at that. But I'm guessing he's more of a "manager" behind the scenes than he appears.
Sheesh, lissy if that is you in your avatar you've got beautiful eyes.
Good to hear tangomike. Sounds like you have your in.
Belichek is different, isn't he? I don't know if it is aspergers, but he is very focused and pays attention to every detail. Dealing with the media or anything else other than weekly prep seems to annoy him.
I play on a female full contact professional football team in Portland Oregon. I too am not exceedingly fast but am respected for my work ethic and ability to understand the game as well as my ability to stay fit at my age (I am the oldest player by average of 15 years)
http://www.fightingfillies.com/
I have been an athlete my whole life due to the fact that I was so uncordinated as a child that I always worked on my motor skills. Now (at 47 years of age), I am above average athletically for my age bracket. Goes to show you that hard work and stubborness will outlive natural talent and no work any day.
whoa, I have heard of you guys before, the FightingFillies I mean. I used to live in Eugene, Oregon for 3 years and I played briefly with a semi professional team called the Eugene Outlaws and loved every minute of it. I had to discontinue it because I couldnt balance my studies, social life and admittedly had a drug/alcohol problem which together was too much to handle if kept playing football. Anyway thats great you play full contact PRO ball and female league at that....Im kind of curious to see how women play, no offense, becuase I have a very hard time imagining linewomen or a lady QB. Do you guys have some games online or some footage because it would be interesting to watch! And what position do you play?
Your totally right, hard work goes a long way whether of not you have Godgiven talent or not. I wasnt blessed with 4.4 speed or a amazing body frame but diligent workouts, runs, drills and memorization of playbooks made me pretty stout on the edge as a standup D-end or outside lb. I took a licken from those 300lb hogwallies on the line on some plays but I could waltz around them or thru them on others which led to sacks and ints.
I'm australian, but I really like american football.
I've played a lot of field sports (soccer, Australian rules football, and Rugby union at club level for 4 years), but gridiron is my favourite. The best thing about it for me is that I know exactly what to do each play. I'm pretty terrible at making snap-decisions, so I was not that great at rugby outside of set pieces (like scrums and lineouts).
Anyway, I follow the Packers, and the NFL needs to ban hard-shelled helmets & other 'safety' gear.
That is all.
Your totally right, hard work goes a long way whether of not you have Godgiven talent or not. I wasnt blessed with 4.4 speed or a amazing body frame but diligent workouts, runs, drills and memorization of playbooks made me pretty stout on the edge as a standup D-end or outside lb. I took a licken from those 300lb hogwallies on the line on some plays but I could waltz around them or thru them on others which led to sacks and ints.
Have you thought about playing rugby? There is more opportunities to play as an adult than American football, and people play it even into their fifties (there are old boys tournaments where people even play in their seventies). It is similar and very different at the same time. It is a very social sport where players from opposing teams are good friends off the pitch. Nobody is going to think of you as being weird (or too weird at least). All rugby players are a little bit weird. Rugby clubs are fraternal. Player remain friends even years after they have ended their playing careers. It's kinda like, one a member of the club, always a member of the club.
Anyway, something to think about.
I've played a lot of field sports (soccer, Australian rules football, and Rugby union at club level for 4 years), but gridiron is my favourite. The best thing about it for me is that I know exactly what to do each play. I'm pretty terrible at making snap-decisions, so I was not that great at rugby outside of set pieces (like scrums and lineouts).
Anyway, I follow the Packers, and the NFL needs to ban hard-shelled helmets & other 'safety' gear.
That is all.
Hey, I follow the Packers, too.
(Of course, it comes kind of naturally when you live 25 minutes' drive time from Lambeau Field and your family has had a season ticket subscription for nearly 50 years!)
That said, I wouldn't mind seeing the NFL adopt the yellow card/red card rules of soccer ('Fútbol') - personal foul = at least a yellow card, a second one in a game or if the foul was bad enough = red card, with all of the same effects as in soccer (disqualified from game, cannot be substituted - team must play a man short and you miss your team's next scheduled game). Also, a yellow card in two successive games = you can keep playing, but you miss your team's next game.
Mike
Playing a man down (especially on defense) is a massive penalty. They've already made it ridiculously difficult for defenders to do their job. You would just throw 7 yard passes all day long.
The umpiring over holding and unnecessary roughness is far to arbitrary.
The problem is the equipment. Just watch rugby union, league & Australian rules football videos on youtube to see how big men can lay on big tackles, just without the permanent brain damage.
Amen to that.
I had an idea for another "high octane" football version. It's seven-on-seven, forward passes are always legal, and the ball is in play at almost all times, almost like rugby but with forward passes and a few other tweaks I made. Maybe I'll have a blog post on here about it sometime.
