Rejuvenate Your Fandom

The NCAA tourney is upon is so you can tune out your craving for football for a few weeks and then get ready for the draft. As Winter fades and Spring blooms, take a pause and gain perspective on your fandom. Read a few books on football. My favorite one is the Paper Lion, though George Plimpton was sort of ruined for me by Good Will Hunting. But there are a lot of great reads out there. There are many excellent sources of information online now, check out the links on this blog, if you can't find time to read books. If you don't want to buy them, get your library card and roll out to the library. Better yet, take your kids with you (if you have them) and spend some time together at the library. Speaking of kids, check out USA Football. Can you get involved with local football programs?



While you are on the reading kick, get smart on the rules. What is challengeable and what isn't? Get smart on schemes and strategies. Why is a 4-3 front better against the run than a 3-4?


If you have Netflix, check out their collection of NFL Films DVDs. I just watched "Eyeball to Eyeball". The title refers to a documentary on lineman. There are some other great shows on there - a documentary on Vince Lombardi and the original "6 Days to Sunday" with the 1976 New Orleans Saints leading up to their game at Green Bay (Milwaukee County Stadium, actually). 6 Days to Sunday has Hank Stram in his last coaching job, Chuck Muncie (pre-Chargers obviously), Sam Rutigliano (WR coach), Jim Garrett (father of Jason and John), and Archie Manning recovering from arm surgery. There is also the DVD "Big Game America" which has a documentary on Don Meredith's last game in the NFL and a wonderful documentary on the Pottstown Firebirds. A must see for any football fan.



Review this history of your favorite team. What was their starting lineup in 2004? In 1991? How many Hall of Famers do they have? Learn about them. Look at their record the first year you remeber following them - do you remember any of those games? What memories do you have of them? What events or friends or family do you associate with those? (Hopefully, all good memories). For me as a Cowboys fans, I looked at the starting roster of the 2005 Cowboys (9-7) and thought, how did they ever win 9 games with those guys? I remembered Solomon Page, whom I had buried in the depths of my memories. I forgot Larry Allen was a LT for a few years before going back to G. I forgot Dexter Clinkscale. I was painfully reminded of Phil Pozderac . . . wait . . . somewhere, he just stopped what he was doing, stood up, moved five yards backwards, and started again. I forgot Mike Hegamin, Crawford Ker, Tim Seder, Eric Bjornson, the Hambrick Brothers, and the seemingly endless train of smallish but quick linebackers ushered in and out under Jimmy Johnson until Parcells stopped that foolishness and brought in faster defensive linemen to be linebackers. But good and bad, these are the memories I have as a football fan and a Cowboys fan in particular. Strip away the marketing, the hype, and the instant gratification that marks our society and our love of football will be there, like Ray Nitschke standing with quiet, steely resolve in the mud awaiting the next paly. Because, if you're like me, you have experienced pride or dejection, unbridled joy and crippling grief from your favorite team over the years and these emotions are what shape you as a football fan.



So by now after St Patricks' Day (also known as the middle of March), the quiet solitude of February has given way and the echoing verve of April and May increases. The month off after the Super Bowl has provided sufficient respite to build up a healthy jonesin' for football, then get ready for the draft. Whom has your team signed - how may this affect their draft strategies? What overall picks (the 7th, 40th, 67th, etc., not just "a first, second, and third rounder, etc.)? Are your team's scouts going to any pro days? Check out mock drafts online. Try one yourself.



Oh - don't forget to get your brackets ready.