Telephone Polls and Dust Eaters

Initially I didn't want to play, but I was to passive to tell my Aunt Brinda no. She wanted me and my cousin to play football. He was the overly aggressive kid that liked to fight and I was the shy kid that ran like a deer. She thought it would be great for us. I thought otherwise, because I was perfectly fine playing t-ball and soccer. I was a whiz at both. As many "used to be athletes" would tell you, if I would have made it to the MLB if I stuck with it. Why did I not stick with it, I fell in love with the gridiron.

I was a linebacker and running back for Viking Purple. I was far from a star. I had no clue what I was doing. My first play in the game I was supposed to block someone(I still can't remember who) and got my QB killed. However when we got home, my cousin told my Aunt Brinda I scored a touchdown, so I had no choice but to improve. The season got funner as it went on, I stil had no clue what I was doing. I just knew that if I knocked the man down in front of me, I would get slapped upside the head and told "ata boy". Those slaps upside the head were not comfortable but they were better than scoldings from our coach who somehow forgot this was pop warner and not the NFL.

I was ready for the season to be over until one day. I was watching football trying to learn how to get better. A man by the name of Eric Metcalf captivated my young soul. He wore the number 21, which is why it is still my favorite number to this day. No one could tackle this man, and he made people look stupid who tried. His "jukes" "shakes" "moves" whatever you wanted to call them were so very graceful and exciting. I wanted to put him in a bottle and drink him in hopes that his style of play would be all mine.

During the same game, when Eric Metcalf wasn't on the field, a man named Barry Sanders was. I wrote him off as soon as I heard he was an Oklahoma State alumni, but much like when my mother forced me to take Children's Tylenol. I thought the cold medicine was going to be as horrible as that damn Robitussin, but she forced it down my mouth and it tasted great, so great sh had to hide it from me because I wanted to drink it all. Barry Sanders had moves and great runs more dramatic that Eric Metcalf that I had no choice but to become a fan.

I felt a rush as I watched these two titans virtually replicate the NightCrawler. The next game came on and I was sold on my love for football. Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson went head to head. The Los Angeles Raiders were already my favorite team, not because I watched them on TV but I controlled their every move in Super Tecmo Bowl. Marcus Allen, Willie Gault, and Bo Jackson were all my guys. When I watched Bo in the flesh for the first time, I was amazed at how this huge specimen could move so fast he was Adrian Peterson before there was Adrian Peterson. Bo was caught from behind twice however, by one Deion Sanders. This skinny overly flamboyant defensive player got my attention from his sheer swagger. The fact that he backed it up was only icing on the cake. Pop Warner taught us about sportsmanship and being respectable on the field. This guy was a rebel. He taunted, danced, and danced some more all in his opponents face. He was cool. I asked my older cousin why they didn't have moves like Barry Sanders and Eric Metcalf and he simply replied, "Look how fast they are, they don't need moves." I was in complete awe.

Needless to say, that next day at school a star was born. I had all the tools, I was fast and agile and I had the blueprint from these four superstars. I was untouchable and feisty. Since then I've fallen in love with the Mel Gray's, Dante Hall's, Devin Hester's, Ted Ginn's, Randy Moss', Fred Taylor's, Reggie Bush's, Mike Vick's, and other electrifying players. I have a pension for freaks of nature such as Randy Moss and Sean Taylor (God rest his soul). I loved the athletes more than the game, and once I got to high school and fell in love with the camaraderie, which I still miss to this day to be honest.

My favorite team is the Oakland Raiders and Atlanta Falcons for obvious reasons. My favorite college teams are the Seminoles, Wolverines, Sooners, Longhorns, Hurricanes, Gators, Buckeyes, Volunteers, and LSU Tigers. I could go on and on about the memories and players that are stored in my elephant like memory. My point was to tell you that when I feel in love with Primetime, Bo, Metcalf, and Barry little did I know it would be football that would actually steal my heart.