#luball

So...I decided to do a fusion of Oddzball and Lulu, this is what I think they would look like as a fusion, it took me the whole day to sketch out and color ^^

this is top to waist.

Needless to say, there was a sour taste in my mouth when i left the building yesterday afternoon. There were a lot of bitter pills to swallow: the finality of the loss, the penalties, the fumbles, coming inches short several times and the agonizing decisions that accompany those situations, the hurting kids in the locker room, etc. It was tough, and no way to kick-off the annual Homecoming festivities. My head was pounding, I was hangry, and I was bitter.

On the walk over the bridge to the park, I realized that I had to put my money where my mouth is and live in the moment. The game was over, we weren’t getting it back, and all I had was what was in front of me. One step at a time. And what I realized was that, in that moment, I was exactly where I was supposed to be, surrounded by family, then old friends, and former players, and classmates, and fellow employees of our University, and it picked me up. 

I’ve spent a lot of time in my life lamenting over lost football games, rehashing calls and decisions and plays, sometimes throwing a one-man pity party, and definitely not much of a companion to be around. Probably worse than you can imagine. But over the course of these past 10 months, I feel like the Lord has given me perspective like I’ve never had, and yesterday, in my lowest moment, He reminded me to live in the moment. And I am so thankful for that, because, in spite of what the scoreboard read, I was surrounded by love, and I want to thank my family and friends for helping me move forward. Bitterness and pity can cause us to go blind to the beauty of our surroundings, and I am happy that my eyes were open.

I just finished a post about our upcoming game, read it, and hated it. Very blasé. I basically took two years off from blogging because my whole schtick was to have some fun with other teams and universities for a laugh, but then we weren’t winning enough for me to be able to do that respectfully so I kept my mouth shut. I adjusted my life’s focus recently, and honestly, I don’t feel like taking shots at anyone anymore. Not even Chapman. I just don’t feel it. Same with everyone else on the schedule. But I’m having more fun coaching this season than I have in years! Go figure. If you’re reading this to get some laughs about my thoughts on Whittier, or to get fired-up and find something you can put-up on a bulletin board, you will be disappointed. Here’s the Cliff Notes version of that post, I need to re-think this whole blogging deal:

As exciting as things were in T.O. a week ago Saturday night, they got interesting in Salem, Oregon this past Saturday:

First and foremost, a big THANK YOU to the following for making our trip to Oregon smoother and more comfortable than it’s ever been from a team travel experience: Denise Schaefer, Patti Turner, the staff at the Red Lion Hotel, and Alaska Airlines. Zero hiccups, great rooms and food, easy on-and-off of the planes, and an upgrade to first class on a flight that arrived 30 minutes early to top it off!

Speaking of hospitality, the guys at Willamette were awesome. Coach Fowles and Rob really do things right. I have nothing but compliments for the people on that end, from stadium access to locker rooms (more on that to follow) to getting the film to us, thanks and nice job;

The old baseball clubhouse beneath the Willamette baseball stadium is, hands down, my new favorite visiting locker room on the West Coast. It felt like we should have been playing cards and smoking cigars in there, it was awesome! Great throwback feel, and if you’re building a clubhouse for your baseball team, that’s the gold standard. Mix and match sofas and chairs, big lockers, it was just old school baseball through-and-through in there;

Tip of the cap to our opponents, they competed to the final whistle;

On the field, we played a pretty solid game but have a lot of room for improvement in every aspect. I love the fact that although we came away with a win, nobody was satisfied and everyone that I spoke with on the ride home and into today is excited to get back to work. I like our mindset.

The dust has settled (literally, it has been wet down here!) after Saturday night and it’s time to move on to the next one. I’m looking forward to hitting the practice field today in preparation for our next opponent, the Bearcats of Willamette University.

Willamette is traditionally a physical football team and the 2015 version is no exception. They like to get in there and mix it up, so I’m expecting a physical battle this Saturday. We get an early crack at Homecoming (theirs), which is no big deal, and hopefully McCullough Stadium will be rocking. One of my favorite things about this venue is the soap box derby track behind the stadium. You don’t see that every day and it is a slice of Americana that I love!

Like we thought PLU would do (and they didn’t), Willamette employs a base 3-4 defense. They don’t pressure you a lot, they just take large humans and place them over your guys and say, “let’s see who is tougher” and hold their ground. They will bring a variety of pressures, and they have good football players in every position group. Typical NWC team with good speed on defense.

Offensively, they are led by a veteran QB and like to get after opponents with an up-tempo offense. They still employ variations of the Fly Offense that really put their program on the map in the late-90s and early-2000s. They ran a pin & pull sweep last season that I’m sure we’ll see a heavy dose of, and they have big receivers that catch everything.

Let’s start the season by not sugar coating anything, no fluff, just the honest-to-goodness truth about what I think of our first opponent, Pacific Lutheran University out of Tacoma, Washington. The fact is, I know very little about them coming into this season! Sure, I can get on a board and draw their schemes in my sleep, I could tell you what they like to do and when they like to do it based off of historical analysis, but when it comes to the guys that we’re going to play against, I don’t have much to tell you because there are a lot of new faces putting on those white helmets.

Here’s what I do know:

#32 Kyle Bennett is a returning starter on Defense that was the third leading tackler on their 2014 squad;

#12 Ben Welch is an outstanding receiver and I thought I was close to convincing him to attend CLU until his dad and his buddies, who all played at PLU, strong-armed him into becoming a Lute. I’m just kidding. Ben is a PLU legacy, his dad was an outstanding player back in the 80s, and Ben’s doing a great job and will be a major factor in their game plan;

There are a few other returners, but I don’t know enough about them to say anything. 

So there you have it... Expect a 3-4 with lots of 5-man pressures and movements. Expect an unconventional offense, with unbalanced formations, option football, and some fly sweep plays and interior traps. Watch out for play action pass. And that’s all I can tell you. 

It is pretty amazing, now that my football season has come to a crashing halt, how autumn-like it has become outside. Leaves are blowing all over the place, it gets dark shortly after lunch, the trees are bare and my yard is full of weeds, and there is an ever so slight chill in the air (anything in the 50s is a chill for us in SoCal). When I returned from Brandman on Saturday, my son got into his pajamas and curled-up on the couch with me and put life into perspective; "Dad, football is fun to watch.  Sometimes it makes you happy, and sometimes it makes you sad. It's like a movie. I can't wait to tackle people, to really crunch the quarterback."

Speaking of Brandman, I had a nice laugh with several kind fans after the game that said they read the blog and were looking for ways to get even with me. I was greeted with several "welcome to Brandman" screams from the bleachers, which provided some levity as I took the field with the team. I told the people that spoke to me that they won the game on the field, and that's all the payback they needed to get under my skin. They had some creative ideas, but it was all in good fun. You see, I am a fan of the SCIAC, and of all the teams. As much as I want to beat you all (badly), it won't happen all the time, and I do respect you all. Teasing you about your names, or not acknowledging your existence or real names, that's just me being me and I appreciate you playing along. I will never get personal, and if I do, I will own it and will say it to your face. This is college football, played by a great group of young men at nine different but very similar colleges and universities across SoCal, and I appreciate them all. I'm even pulling for that team from east of here in the playoffs and would do anything in my power to help them win that game. I will vote for the best players to be named to the all-SCIAC team because it's the right thing to do, regardless of wins and losses.