| Authored by Jeff Risdon - 24th January, 2009 - 12:08 pm
 Friday is essentially an off day for the participants here in Mobile, as well as for us media covering them. Each team did a one-hour walk through this morning and had short meetings, nothing strenuous or demanding. I didn’t even head to the stadium for the walk throughs, choosing instead to tuck in my media credentials and play tourist for a day.
It was a beautiful sunny day, so I took a long, leisurely stroll up Government Street and over into the area just north of the downtown hotels. Coming from the frozen shores of Lake Michigan, just sitting on a park bench reading the paper while wearing shorts and a t-shirt was a real joy. I wandered into a local restaurant for lunch and took up conversations with several folks. The people of Mobile are very courteous, hospitable, and willing to chat. When you pass someone on the sidewalk, they nod or even say hello. That just doesn’t happen in Michigan, or Ohio, or Virginia, not where I have lived anyway.
I spent most of this week examining the players here with a hyper-critical eye, looking for the slightest flaws that might impact how they perform in the NFL. I met many of the players, and I’m not wowed by the experience of meeting any of the coaches or prospects anymore. While I try to focus on positives as much as the negatives, it’s so much easier to nitpick and grade harshly. But this afternoon was completely different.
The Senior Bowl Experience for the fans took place Friday afternoon, and being there was totally invigorating. Watching these throngs of people waiting in line for nearly an hour, just to get into the Convention Center to stand in line for another hour, just to meet their college football heroes, really struck me. Seeing the kids romp through the Saints' youth experience, full of inflatables and interactive activities, brought back the fond memories of growing up as a rabid football fan.
While waiting in line to get into the Convention Center, the players snaked across the street below and entered the building. Hundreds of kids sprinted to the railing and called out to their heroes, primarily Alabama QB John Parker Wilson. The two 10-year old girls behind me, Kasey and Ashlynn from nearby Theodore, reacted as if they’d just been kissed by Justin Timberlake simply by being in J.P.W.’s presence. And it hit me: these people here don’t care that he’s not a very good NFL prospect. They don’t care about Eric Kettani’s slow 40 times or Phil Loadholt’s poor knee bend. They love what these guys do in the jerseys that bear the colors they bleed. It took me back to when I was a youngster, standing in the cold rain outside the Horseshoe for what seemed like hours after a game just to glimpse my boyhood hero du jour Art Schlicter (yes, I’m dating myself). I remember the excitement of meeting Heisman winner Charles White in a hotel restaurant right after the Browns drafted him, of how I was in such awe that I barely whispered “thank you” when he signed my kids' menu. Contrast that to my plane ride here, where I was surrounded by NFL royalty, and it wasn’t awkward or really exciting at all.
There is a very important lesson there for those of us who spend our time arguing the minutiae of skills and flaws on message boards and in our columns and radio spots. I know many of my readers crave the dirty details, but sometimes it’s imperative that we remember the spirit of youth, the excitement of being a die-hard fan and being rewarded by meeting the young men you worship every Saturday and Sunday. For most people it’s a genuine treat to shake the hand of the Alabama QB or the Virginia TE, to get autographs, and to shyly make eye contact with someone you have only ever seen on TV. Seeing young girls get weak in the knees just with the thought of meeting their favorite man in uniform is so refreshing and fun.
I sought out Ashlynn and Kasey after they met J.P. Wilson. They waited over an hour to spend 15 seconds with him, and they didn’t get autographs or meet any other players. Kasey’s mom told me, “She thinks she’s in love”, to which Kasey responded, “I don’t think, Mom”. Being older, I know that she’ll move on to other crushes, whomever the next Crimson Tide QB might be or to her favorite singer or teen idol. But this afternoon, her dreams came true here in Mobile, thanks to the good folks at the Senior Bowl, some truly well-groomed young athletes, and a very patient, indulgent mother.
I miss that thrill of youthful naiveté, the innocence of not caring how fast a running back runs or if a wide receiver rounds off his red zone routes. The escapism that draws millions of fans to football is lost to me, I’m sad to say. But for one afternoon, I was pleasantly reminded why I love football, of my warm memories of cramming into the Horseshoe to watch the Buckeyes with my dad, of how we always stopped for ice cream at the same little roadside stand on the 2-hour drive home and how he enthusiastically recounted stories of the old greats he grew up watching. It warms my heart to see that, here today with thousands of young kids and their crimson-clad dads and moms. Sometimes football isn’t all about the X's and O's and zone blitzes and arm strength and blocking technique. Sometimes it’s about unfettered love, about the bonds between both family and complete strangers, about the spirit of why we play games and why we care about them.
Thanks for that, Mobile!
- Jeff Risdon is RealGM's senior football writer and draft expert. He may be reached at Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com |
