Respect

 

The reason for playing football?  “I’m a really aggressive person, and I thought, ‘I can hit. I’ll just start coming out here.' “The first time I got hit, it was unexpected. I’d never really been hit that hard. But as soon as I got used to it, I was ready. I was ready to hit everybody.”

These comments are from Olivia Jeter, a defensive end and offensive lineperson for the Bladensburg High School junior varsity football team.

Yes Olivia Jeter. As in the female gender. And no, not soccer. American Football.

Ms. Jeter had been trying to play for two years. She was rebuffed totally her freshman year by the head coach at the time. This year, when new coach Lester Overton saw her at the initial informational meeting, he thought that she wanted to be a manager. When he found out that she wanted to try out for the team, he said that as long she didn't expect any special treatment, he was ok with it.

It was also ok with her father (Walter), who played football himself in high school and college. But not without apprehension. “I’m a little nervous. I want to protect my girl, but she’s all right. She’s strong. She has heart. I’m very proud.” said Mr. Jeter.

She then earned the respect of her teammates, by putting in the work like Tom Joyner. This includes work in the weight room. She can bench 225 pounds and squat 250 pounds. “I don’t have any pity for her, because she’s on the football team. Everyone gets treated the same, but I see her as a leader. She never gives up,” senior captain J’Waun Gallman said. “If she didn’t work so hard, it would be just like she was putting on a jersey just to say she’s on the football team. But that’s not the case. She got sick a couple times, and she kept coming back.”

Part of her outfit includes lipstick. She wears a different shade for every game. She told her coach, “I’m going to knock guys out and wear lipstick doing it." 

Like Aretha  Franklin sings, "All I'm asking for is a little....

Evolving

I have had conversations with my boyz about how this generation wants to be, to put it lightly, noticed. A friend of mine has coined the phrase "The Age of Attention." Well, it looks like I have joined the ranks.

I recently opened up....a....Twitter account. My handle (I think that's how you say it.) is @breezysportpage.

Why did I do this? It's like a lot a lot of my relationships; it's complicated. While I did not open this account for personal attention, one of the reasons I did open it was for my blog page. The thing is, I consider my blog page personal. But I do want to share it with others. See what I mean?

I think another reason I opened my account is to feed my addiction for sports. While I have already have admitted my addiction in the past, I think this will take it to another level. I fear that I will be one of those guys who is ALWAYS looking at his phone. Let my boyz tell it, I'm already that guy.

If it seems like I have trepidation about this, I do. While I don't "tweet" in general, I just don't want get caught up in a love affair like the song by Inner Life. While I don't like the term "followers", if you're interested, I thank you for your interest.

I just don't want to be found in my recliner with my phone in my hand staring blankly at the screen.

Clinch Night

For regular readers of my blog (all seven of you), you know about my dream of having either a Washington/Ravens Super Bowl or a Nationals/Orioles World Series. This desire comes from "growing up" in both cities and having love for both. While the football part will have to wait for a few months, the baseball side is on and crackin' like the sound of a walk off grand slam home run.

My Nationals won their second National League East crown in the last three years after shutting out the Atlanta franchise 3-0. What makes the winning even more sweeter was that it was Atlanta who shut the door on us last year, winning the division by ten games. We also have recent beef with them because they have had our number. In fact, even if we close out the season series with a win tonight, they still win this year's season series (10-9). By clinching on their home field, we exercised one demon out of our baseball soul. Next on the list are the St. Louis Cardinals. Two years ago, we won 98 games and had them down to their last out when they rallied to boot us out. This year, we have only won two of seven regular season games against the Cards, scoring only twelve runs in the contests.

Speaking of birds, the Baltimore Orioles won their first American League East crown in 17 years, beating the Blue Jays 8-2. The streaking Birds are on a serious roll themselves, winning nine of their last ten games. They have a 91-60 record on the year and are making their own second playoff appearance in the last three years after a 14 year consecutive run of losing seasons. Last night's winning pitcher was Ubaldo Jimenez, who signed a four year, 50 million dollar contract. Jimenez, who has only won five games this year due in part to injuries, was pitching for the first time in a month but managed to close out the Jays by retiring the last 10 batters.

Last night was only the third time since baseball went to divisions in 1969 that two teams from the same metro area clinched on the same date. This was the first time that two east coast teams have done it.

While this is the time that I should show my journalistic impartiality....FORGET THAT !!! GO NATS!!!

Eagle Power

I like KoolAid. Especally sports Koolaid. It's just that while it tastes good at first, my KoolAid always seems to have a bittler aftertaste. From the recent Wizards success this year (which didn't taste that bad) to the cherry washington football flavor, I can't seem to find a good batch. I've had to go to Baltimore to enjoy their Ravens grape flavor, which tastes great every year.

Well, it looks like I've found my own homegrown version of grape Koolaid to enjoy this year. The Gonzaga Eagles, ranked #2 by the Washington Post in the high school rankings, staked their claim to the #1 spot by defeating #1 Centreville out of Virginia this past weekend in front of a national ESPN audience 31-14. The  Purple Eagles, under new head coach Randy Trivers, rolled up more than 400 yards of total offense enroute to their second straight win of the young season.

Gonzaga will always have a special place in my heart. I was a kid from the hood who didn't even interact with other races until I got there. I didn't have great grades. The school just decided to give me a chance at excellence. Aside from the college prep knowledge, the knowledge I got on a human level helped me to become a more well rounded person. My classmates also helped me to prepare for the college-level partying that was to come.

Now being a graduate from the 70's, you have to understand where I'm coming from. Back then, we weren't even on radio. While we had occasional star pop up every once in a while (for my era it was Tom Sluby, who later starred at Notre Dame), we were not a sports juggernaught, except in tennis and golf.

Now we're a top 20 team nationally. Nationally. In our conference (WCAC), we are on a par with the historically great sports schools such as DeMatha. Our recent success has made my alumni maginzine reading more enjoyable.

To paraphrase a Baltimore saying. " Ain't the Koolaid cold".