Game Day: Week 5

The alarm clock screaming at me to wake up at 8 A.M. and telling me that I should’ve went to bed a lot sooner than I did. That seems like it happens a lot through my football career. I get out of the shower like I always do to wake up for football. I start making my way to campus for devotional and rubbing my eyes trying to focus on the road also pondering why I put myself through this were every other college student is sleeping as late as they want on a Saturday morning. But in a few hours it will be all worth it when the ball is kicked off.  We all pile into the chapel on campus for our devotional from Pastor Greg who always reads scriptures that relate to everyday life and how it will help motivate us throughout our game that day. After singing our signature song “I Believe I Believe” we head to Hein dining hall where we are served the usual average breakfast that I try to eat as little as possible so I’m not still full during the game.  Putting up my dishes it’s time to go to the field house and start mentally preparing for the game today. As I get to the locker room I put all my gear together and lounge around watching other college football games that are on TV. The worst thing about playing college football is that you don’t get to see all the big games that happen in division 1 football because we usually play. During this time the team messes around making jokes and pulling little pranks that won’t attract too much attention from the coaches but enough to have a good time. But sooner than later it is time to go to position meetings to make sure that everyone knows what team they are on and where they are supposed to be. Then the coaches and captains try their best to pump up the team the best they can before the “battle”. When the meetings end it is time to load the trusty Yellow dogs (buses) and go to the field. Arriving at the field it is our first time seeing a little bit of the other team that we will be going head to head against for the next 60 minutes. While we are sitting in our other locker room it is pretty much silent just guys mentally getting ready mostly listening to music or just sitting quietly. The loudest thing is one player who thinks he could pursue a rapping career but he doesn’t sound as good as the professional quality that he hears through his ear phones which is pretty distracting. The coaches come in periodically to yell how much time each group has until they need to go out while we are all putting on our gear. Finally we are all out on the field for stretch and warm up and this is when we all start getting hyped up and feeling the butterflies in your stomach. We do the usual drills to get loosened up and get the head thinking about football. When stretch is over we head in to get a little water and pray together just to head back out to line up for the national anthem. “O say can you see ……” and soon enough after the coin toss we are lined up getting ready to kick the ball off. The nerves pulse through everyone’s veins until you hear the first thud of the kick then the fight begins. It is a pretty jumbled up time coaches yelling and people going on and off the field waiting for the coach to yell for you to go in. When you’re on the field everything is so fast you line up across from a guy about your size and react when the center snaps the ball. You work across the guys face and all you see is blurred until out of nowhere you see the ball and make a break for it to wrap up the running back and drag him to the ground. Then the buzzer sounds and we head into the locker room for half time. The next half is the same thing except even more intense when we are battling for the win right down to the very last second. Buzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!! Everyone is smiling patting each other on the back and coaches telling the players good game. Then the whole team gathering together on the 50 yard line to thank God for allowing us to play the game and come out victorious this time. Then we make our why back to campus to ring the victory bell to signal our victory and let everyone know that the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs won their game that Saturday.

Quarterback- Brent Peavy 

 

 

Road Trippin’

The alarm clock screaming at me to wake up at 6 A.M. and telling me that I should’ve went to bed a lot sooner than I did. I knew I would be going through it in the morning of our 12 hour bus ride but who cares I’ll have that time to sleep on the bus. Crawling out of bed thinking to myself “No I won’t have the time to nap the whole trip because I have a big paper due that night at 12. Yay! I can’t sleep on the bus anyway what am I talking about. “Anyway I shuffled to the shower so that I may wake myself up to make it to the bus. After the shower scrambling to find my travel suit that also could’ve been found the night before thinking again to myself “I need to quit being so lazy.” But looking around the baskets of clean clothes that have gone unfolded for weeks I struck oil finding the suit. Throwing it on I hurry to my truck because I took a little too long in the shower so now I’m rushing out the door to make it just in time, but forgetting my computer that I will need for that paper I run back in to grab it and head off to the school. Getting the locker room I’m running early enough to be late I start packing my travel bag with all my gear that I will need to play my football game. I just scoop my whole locker into the bag so I don’t forget anything then throw my bag under the bus to go claim my seat.  I’ve sat in the same seat for three years and still a first time traveler tries putting their carry-on bag in my seat but I politely relocated it in another seat I always get the seat that is just the right distance from the TV. Yes, this may be rude but I have earned my stripes through my years of hard work and effort through the program. So now we are departing and I get ready for the cinematic adventure that the student coaches have chosen appropriate for us. I should get cracking on finishing my paper but aaaaaaahh it can wait. This is the best time passer for us football players on these long bus trips just relaxing until we stop for lunch. When the first movie ends we are still a couple hours from our lunch stop so I get out the old computer and start working on my paper. With papers and my computer spread out across my two seats flipping back and forth looking through it all to find enough information to pack into my paper so that I can make the grade. Teachers should commend us student athletes because it is something difficult to ride a bus full of guys making noise and trying to write a paper. Taking breaks in between the paragraphs to watch the next movie and listening to the funny guys on the team just talk about guy stuff to put it lightly I try to enjoy to bus ride and actually get stuff done at the same time. Finally we get to the restaurant for lunch and I’m starving. Waddling on the bus after eating too much I decide to enjoy the ride until we get to the hotel. Several hours later getting to the hotel the whole team is trying to make it to get their cards at the same time (Gosh I hate that). When I slide the door my roommate and I look through the room and compare it to the rooms that we’ve had weeks before then settling down on the bed and wait for supper that night. The best part about the trips are going to the movies and seeing a free movie but the trip to and from the movie theater the upper classmen harass the freshmen about the “experiences” they’ve had in college already it is all in good fun yet very funny. But after the movie and good times it is time to get serious because we have a meetings that are intense times talking about what is needed to happen during the game to come out successful. Getting back to the room it’s back to work on my paper until 12 A.M. then after struggling down to the last minute I finished it and it’s time for the Domino’s pizza ritual that  we have every time we travel. Eating the pizza we call the girlfriends then turn out the lights and prepare for the game. Once again the alarm clock, shuffling to the shower and getting out we head down to breakfast then to a meeting. Getting back to the room we throw on our uniforms and make our way to the buses to go to the stadium. When the game is over we throw our bags back on the bus and climb on the bus and get ready for the long ride home and it will be a long one after losing a close on in overtime to an opponent we were beating for majority of the game. I am worn out from the game and after eating my food I crawl onto the floor and try to get some sleep. Yea the floor is nasty but after 3 hours of a football game you don’t really care. I wake up for every bump the bus hits but for the most part I think I got 3 hours of sleep over the course of a 8 hour straight shot home. Waking up from the worst sleep ever I get my things together and grab my bag from under the bus. I get into the locker room and pour my bag out, turn in my gear I checked out and hurry to my truck to get home. When I get home I fall into my bed and wait for the alarm clock again.