2005.05.02
Football - This was hands-down the most humiliating and disappointing football game to which I have ever been associated. We were crushed on offense, defense, and special teams. It was bad. According to the preliminary statistics, we rushed the ball 20 times for 1 yard. Just to be perfectly clear, we did not average 1 yard per carry. We gained a total of 1 yard on 20 carries.

They rushed the ball well. They - as a team - averaged over 11 yards per carry. They amassed close to 400 yards rushing. They had speed and attitude. They got it done. They won 76-0.

As coaches, it was a helpless feeling. You can't be too mad at the players who are leaving it all out on the field. You can't be mad at the opposing team - they were just playing good ball. They did not seem malicious or dirty. They acted like professionals and kept focusing on their own play.

You learn a lot about character and heart during a game like that. It was interesting to see how players handled this level of adversity. Some players cracked under the pressure and pulled themselves from the game. Other players refused to come off the field - determined to fight until the end. A few players begged for the opportunity to take the field.

As a coach, the fan questions and comments made after a game like this are of basically the same ilk...
Why didn't you try (fill in the blank) play?
Man, you should have tried (fill in the blank).
I don't know what you were thinking with that (fill in the blank) play.

On Saturday night (Sunday morning), after the game I managed to sleep about 5 hours. The following night (Monday morning), I was awake and restless by 4:30 AM. At 5 AM, I decided to go to the gym to release some of the pent up frustrations.

Faberville - A new episode of Faberville is online. Another episode is shot and in the post-production phase. It was a lot of fun to work on the 2 new episodes. It was great to smile and laugh our way through the process again.

Tommy Chill has lost a lot of weight. He is turning into a lean mean bruising machine.