The Good, The Bad, The Really Bad, and The Grumpy

Classify me as all four this past Saturday. My first football practice.

The Good.
I did okay in all the drills they would let me participate in. I couldn’t do everything because I didn’t have any equipment yet. Yes, I’m coming into this a little late, but they pick people up throughout the pre-season and even into the regular season. So, it’s not a big deal. I even dove on the ground a couple of times for loose balls. The head coach called me Pig Pen a couple of times. I figured that was actually a good thing. LOL!! I ran a pretty decent time in the 40 as well. I could run it in 5.0 seconds when I was 16 years old. Now, twice that age and about 100lbs. heavier, I’ve only picked up a second on my time. Pretty cool. I also discovered that I wasn’t in nearly as bad a condition as I thought. Yes, I feel like I’m behind some, but their first try-out was way back in January. I thought most of these girls would be in a lot better shape than they are. Either that, or I’m farther along than I realized.

Let’s go with option two, shall we?

The Bad.
Can you say disorganized? I thought ya could. The owner kept saying she wanted to get me fitted for some equipment and give me paperwork for health insurance, but she never got around to it and then had to leave early. That really aggravated me. I have shoulder pads and should have a helmet by the end of this week, so I can practice next time if I have insurance. She said she would email me the paperwork, but a friend of mine that played for them last year said she is STILL waiting on that email and has been for nearly a month. Not good. The owner also informed me that this was their last Saturday practice. Huh???? I was under the impression they practiced EVERY Saturday until the season started. VERY not good! Now I have to schedule one evening off a week to haul my ass up to Toledo.

The Really Bad.
I blew up my calf running the 40 the second time. I was wearing my cleats, which was a bad idea since they aren’t broken in very well and just don’t flex as well as they should yet. I felt it pull about 6 or 7 steps into the sprint. I’ve never felt something pull that bad. I was almost afraid to look because I thought I had torn it. So, practice was over for me. I got to sit and watch the defensive coordinator show his ass. What a moron. That’s a really bad too. I guess he used to be an offensive lineman, so what he’s doing coaching the defense I’ll never know. He wasted a lot of time with drills that weren’t worth a shit. I’m gonna have to bite my tongue a lot around this half-ass. Really, really bad.

The Grumpy.
That’s all me. I got sun burnt. No, I mean I got COOKED. That just pisses me off. So, by the time I drove the 2+ hours home, my leg had tightened up until I couldn’t really bear weight on it, I was burned to hell and back, and I was sick and completely exhausted. I had been up since 2:30 that morning and had thrown up a couple of times. Can you say head cold? I knew ya could. What next? Sheesh! I took a shower and the business partner wrapped up my leg so I could walk on it and we went to an indoor football game. I’m sure it was really good, but I really can’t remember a whole lot of it. Or the pizza afterward. I do remember taking the wrap off at the pizza place and watching in horror as my leg swelled up. I couldn’t bear much weight on it again after that. But, I went home and iced it and the business partner massaged it and got some of the fluid out and I slept with it elevated. Two days later and I can walk on it, but I still have a pretty pronounced limp. The good news is that we don’t practice again until June 5th. Plenty of time to heal.

Now wasn’t that a hell of a day.

When do I get to go again?