Treeanoh (Contined)

As promised, I'm back now with a more thorough recap of yesterday's victory. I must point out though, that as I was actively participating in the game itself, it's a lot harder to keep track of all the smaller details I was able to mention in previous summaries. Honestly, those things just don't stick with you when you have the pads on, so I'm not even going to bother piecing them all in order. Well, anyways, here goes:

The weather held up as usual yesterday, with temperatures in the low fifties (Fahrenheit), very strong winds and a steady downpour of rain. While lacing up my cleats, I thought to myself it sure had been a long time since I last played a game in the rain on a grass field; three-and-a-half years was my best estimation at the time (October 28, 2006 - a Saturday night home victory against St. Peter's at the Old Leonidoff Field). Since that time, I've played plenty of games in rainy conditions, but always on the comfort of FieldTurf synthetic grass and ground-up sneaker soles. While warming up and feeling pieces of the earth move around and fly up under my feet, I couldn't help but wonder how the hell I used to do it before artificial turf. Even the smell of it all triggered memories of high school and earlier years in college; I was quickly brought back to the present as water rapidly drenched my feet with each step.

The game began and my personal conquest to avenge the good name of the Tomahawks was underway. As coach of the offensive line, it's my job to manage my positions during play and today I experimented with something new. Typically (Stateside, that is) the OL is the only position other than the quarterback to not substitute in and out of the game regularly. However, in the interest of keeping the bodies that I had at my disposal fresh (and given the fact that I had said bodies), I elected to rotate seven guys through the five OL positions all day. This, of course, included yours truly making his first appearance in uniform for the Tigers. I started the game out at right guard and cycled through all the other positions throughout the day, while also keeping track of the other six guys.

Early on in the contest, the weather conditions showed us that it was going to be a sloppy day and this would ultimately hold true for both sides. Our defense managed to keep CPH on our side of the field in the opening quarter and we capitalized on this, scoring first to take a 7-0 lead. We continued to have success on O into the second frame as My Fellow American, Brian Woodward notched his first TD on the year; a circus catch in double-coverage to put us up 13-0. The PAT sailed wide and there the scored would remain through the half deep into the third quarter. Both offenses were quite literally stuck in the mud, as positive rushes and receptions were soon nullified by turnover upon turnover.

Things got interesting late in the third when a Copenhagen long snap from the three-yard line soared over the punter's head out of play, resulting in a safety that put us ahead 15-0. On the first play of the ensuing Tigers' offensive possession though, an interception returned for a touchdown turned the contest into a one-score affair, 15-7. The opposition would get no closer though, as late in the fourth, Jesper "Psycho" Christensen returned the favor with a Pick 6 of his own (plus his own PAT) to close the game out, 22-7. Another one in the books and your Århus Tigers are 3-0 on the year.

After speaking to the other OL guys, they were quite pleased with my rotating scheme. They felt fresher and more rested throughout the game; something that was a deciding factor as many of our opponents had to play both offense and defense. As far as my performance was concerned, it was great to be back out on the field. For my first game in just under a year, I was certainly a bit rusty (considering how little I have practiced for this compared to games in the past). However, you have to start somewhere and I must say, it was great fun to play five different positions in one game. That certainly wouldn't have flown in any past incarnations of my football life and I'm glad I have that chance now.

And now for the unveiling of this week's "Welcome to Danish American Football Moment." At first, I was looking back and trying to pinpoint something that actually happened while I was playing the game, but I must say that things were pretty much on target with what I expected out on the field. Before the game though, I was talking to our Head Coach about the game plan and what we expected to do offensively. We like to run an uptempo style of no-huddle, meaning we don't huddle together before plays. Instead, we just get right up to the line and call our plays there. This is a good way to keep the defense confused and also worn-out, as they are typically unable to make substitutions to match up against certain personnel. As we were discussing this, Coach mentioned that we should be fine, as long as the referees don't tell us to slow things down. I was puzzled by this and asked what he meant and he replied that sometimes if we are moving too fast, the officials can't keep up with spotting the ball and they will instruct us not to go so fast. Very amusing, indeed. Luckily, it never came it that as we must have drawn an officiating crew with superior cardiovascular fortitude. Thank goodness.

Here's another scary image on the way out:


I selected this number for two reasons:

1) To pay tribute to my Partner in Protection, roommate of three years, mathematical mastermind, Guitar Hero, Brooklyn's finest, NTD reader (I'll stop there) ... Coach Jason Tillery, who proudly sported the same digits for forty-four consecutive starts for the Red Foxes from 2005-08.
2) It was the only jersey that fit me.

That's all for now. Be back soon.