Skip to main content
...Full of Grace

I think I have started to realize why I'm such a sports fan, especially NFL Football. People with absolutely nothing in common can come together for three hours in front of the TV and high five with each other like they have been lifelong friends.

My first memory of being a fan happened on December 28th, 1975. I was eight. That day my grandfather was over watching the big game with my dad and myself. My fathers side of the family was always distant. I really didn't know my dads dad. He wasn't around too much. He didn't take an interest in his own kids, much less his grand kids.

But Dallas Cowboys football? There some common ground for you. It was playoff time, and the Cowboys were in Minnesota to face Fran Tarkenton and the Minnesota Vikings. Being an eight point underdog at the freezing Metropolitan Stadium (the friendly indoor confines of the Metrodome were not available for another 7 years) was not a promising situation.

The game was a classic defensive struggle with the Cowboys dominating everything but the scoreboard. With time, and the season slipping away, the Cowboys faced a 4th and 17 on their own 25 yard line. Staubach hit Pearson on the sidelines for 25 yard and a first down right at the midfield stripe. 36 seconds remained in the season, and they had no timeouts. What happened next has gone down as one of the most stunning plays in NFL history. Roger pumps left then heaves it deep to Drew Pearson, who catches it at the five yard line and strolls in for the touchdown. I had just witnessed "The Hail Mary". When a single play gets its own "name" over time (see "the immaculate reception" and "The Catch") it has cemented itself in NFL lore, an all time classic. I, of course, didn't know this, and was actually too busy watching my grandfather leap out of the recliner and run around our living room literally yelling "were gonna win!!" over and over. Hugging anyone he could. This person who was usually so grim and uncaring, transformed into a different person that afternoon. By a simple football game.

Too bad they only play 17 weeks out of the year...

Comments

Anonymous said…
Dam right it's too bad.

If we had my way, we wouldn't have to suffer this NFL crap for ONE week, let alone 17! ;^)

i.
9:04 AM
Anonymous said…
Hi, Nice blog you have here. Lots of great info on chicago bear schedule. I have a chicago bear schedule related site. It has lots of information, discussion, stats etc. on chicago bear schedule. Please check it out if you get a chance.
7:44 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"..for it takes irony to appreciate the joke which is on oneself." Jessamyn West I have raised a retard. I swear to God, the things he says and thought processes that flow through his brain never cease to amaze me. Early on in this Blog, I promoted the idea of trying to give your kids more than you had. Don't force them to work during their early high school years and instead let them enjoy their summers unencumbered. As that dickhead Dr. Phil says, " how'd that work out for ya?" I have ended up with an unappreciative individual that is not even remotely ready for the real world. What a slap in the face that will be, standing on his own two feet. I know, I know, I reap what I sow, but that what blog is for isn't it, anonymous venting?? His outrageously expensive school, has a relatively relaxed cel phone policy. You can have you phone, and actually use it in between classes. Just don't use it during class. Kinna obvious don't you think? He come
2 comments
Read more
Ralphing Kisses After reading my buddy Escapes post about his faithful dog Maynard, it seems a good time for a dog story. The day before Christmas Eve, we had decided to go out to eat. I had started gathering the candy that I was going to put in the stockings and had left it on the corner of the end table out of site. Or so I thought. When we returned from dinner, I notice little bits of what looked like aluminum foil around the house. I followed the trail until it ended directly under the Christmas tree. There sat an empty bag ( a ONE pound bag mind you) of Hershey Kisses. Shaye the Weenie dog, well into her 10th year had eaten a pound of chocolate in our absence. She was also nowhere to be seen. Anytime we return to the house and she didn’t greet you at the door wagging her tail is a bad sign. It usually meant she did something she knew she would get in trouble for and was firmly entrenched under the back corner of the bed, her favorite hiding spot. She was there,
5 comments
Read more
" And summer's lease hath all too short a date. " William Shakespeare Where did the time go? I have a 14 year old in the midst of enjoying his summer break, and it makes me pine for that two month vacation of youth. Why couldn't someone have sat me down and said, "look, these summers don't last forever. Savor every single care free minute of them. Stay up until two in the morning every night. Get up and ten. Enjoy it every bit, because once they are gone, they don't come back. You will never again experience these days unencumbered by pressure. Sure, you'll take vacations, and if your lucky, you won't start worrying about the real life traumas that await your return at least until the second day of your so called vacation. But this, you will never experience again." But no one told me that. Instead my asshole father wondered why the hell I was sleeping all day, and why I didn't do anything he considered productive. Only wi
4 comments
Read more