Hail to the Redskins: # 2 in the US Football Trilogy

After a delightful breakfast at McDonald's early on a Sunday, my friend and I caught the Washington Metro red line, then transferred to the blue line as we headed for FedEx Field. A trans planted Brit talked our ears off and guided us to the stadium, a half hour hike in the searing heat from our Metro stop.

My friend took a run through the tailgating parties while I continued on to our stadium entrance. I was anxious to take in the warm-ups and to see the pre-game presentation to Joe Theismann, a Redskins hero from the 80s, and a college star I had followed in the 70s while he attended Notre Dame University.

Washington Redskins were playing host to the Miami Dolphins that opening Sunday of the NFL season. I know that I looking a little odd wearing my New Orleans Saints' Deuce McAllister jersey that day, in contrast to the sea of bright red Redskins jerseys and the occasional teal of the Dolphins' fans who were present. I was mocked by a few fans because of my choice of attire. However, when I passed by security to enter the Redskins store inside the stadium, the guard looked at me and matter of factly said: "That's the best damn jersey I've seen today."

I was fascinated by the Redskins Wall of Fame located inside the souvenir store. It brought back fond memories of the over the hill gang teams coached by George Allen in the early 70s. I also reminisced of the glory days of the three Super Bowl winners in the 80s and early 90s. This is truly a storied franchise.

I then made my way up to the highest possible level of the stadium, clutching my free USA flag and Redskins history DVD. I passed through a tunnel where a pair of fans were loitering in the shade. I realized later how wise they were. I ascended to my seat as soon as possible, so that I spent more than four hours in the blistering 90 plus degree heat, in direct sunlight. It was worth it to go early to see the warm ups and Joe, but the problem came later when the perspiration saturating and burning my eyes became constant, such that I couldn't really see the game all that well.

Nonetheless, I was taking in my first ever live NFL football game. The marching band playing "Hail to the Redskins", a tradition kept alive since the team's inception in 1932, was marvelous. Then, when the flags and the team came roaring out of their tunnel to the roar of a rousing contemporary song, I was just thrilled. It was truly superb.

I was also thrilled to see some well known stars playing and to get some zoom camera shots of them. My favourite plays of the game, oddly, were the punts. It was hilarious watching the outside tacklers of the punting team being run out of bounds at high speed by their corresponding blockers on the other team, in an attempt to make the speedy tacklers ineligible to be the first player to touch the ball if the punt was fumbled by the punt returner. It was like a game of cat and mouse with two players with track star speed trying to evade one or two fast men on the other team, and often ending up way out of the play.

Watching the fans around brought me great amusement. There were the three 20 year olds directly in front, two guys and a girl. The young woman managed to remove her undergarment from under her jersey without removing her jersey, which she then gave to a male friend to cover his head in the hot sun. They took turns going downstairs to the concourse for food, and in the process two of then missed most of the second quarter. Then, later in the game they had obtained some bottled water from downstairs, as the vendors in the aisles were only selling beer. These three young people then proceeded to pour the $5 a bottle water on their heads and attempt to throw it on each other's groin area.

Another funny fan was a middle aged man who sat about 15 rows directly down from me. Wearing a Redskins worker's hard hat, he rose every time the Redskins scored, turned around to face the rows behind him, extended his arms horizontally with palms up, and just barely lifted all his fingers into the air, repeatedly. He had this blank, but satisfied look on his face, as he seemed to fancy himself leading the crowd in a cheer. As it was, every happy fan at that moment was cheering quite nicely without his supposed leadership. He was just too funny to watch.

The game itself was exciting. Not a high scoring affair, but a hard fought match which the Redskins managed to tie and send into overtime. I couldn't believe it; my first live NFL game and it goes into overtime. Actually, I was kind of dreading the overtime because of my discomfort in the extreme heat. But, the Redskins pulled it out in the end, in exciting fashion to win by three points. It was exciting for my friend and I that the game winning kick was made by a Canadian.

Sitting in the heat for so long was something short of torture for me, but I am glad for the experience. To be lost in a crowd of 90,000 football fans was a great feeling. The home fans love the game and they love their Redskins. It was really neat to be on hand to witness that love affair. My own love affair with the New Orleans Saints and NFL Sunday Ticket in my own living room will have to wait.

Thanks Redskins and Dolphins for the great spectacle, a hard fought game. Good luck to both of you this season.

# 1 in the US Football Trilogy

My friend and I got some notion of the "Friday Night Lights" experience. We attended a local high school football game between Rockville High Rams and the Northwood Gladiators, in Rockville, Maryland. The final score, 21 to zero, appeared lopsided, but the game was actually closer than that, and hard fought.

I was impressed with both football programs. There was plenty of intensity, but it seemed that everyone involved was having fun. I am particularly impressed with the Northwood program.

A mom at the game informed us that Northwood High had closed, but came back into existence four years ago. For this school to put together a competitive team (the half time score was 7-0), is a wonderful accomplishment.

I am looking forward to # 2 in the Trilogy, the NFL game this Sunday.

Missing Arlington National Cemetery

"I am too tired to go; you go without me." So, off went my friend, without me.

The JFK Memorial was alright, but my friend walked and walked much further than that. He managed to see a couple of major funerals with the casket in a carriage drawn by six white horses, with military accompaniment in full regalia.

The first was the commemoration of a mass grave from a US plane that went down in 1942. The second was for Brigadier General Jackson. My friend got fairly close, sitting in a tree at one point, before security asked him to give the families more privacy.

It was an amazing experience for him. I felt a little bad for missing out, but apparently I helped give him the idea to search out the military funerals when I first showed up in DC wanting to visit the cemetery. Probably my staying home to sleep this morning made it possible for him to keep walking all morning and seeing the most amazing funerals he had seen.

An evening at RFK

My flight into Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, DC whetted my appetite for that evening's activities. On my plane's descent, I had a lovely bird's eye view of RFK Stadium in east DC. My friend and I quickly revamped our plans to attend the Washington Nationals' game that evening against the visiting Florida Marlins. The reason? D-Train.

The Washington area Metro system is outstanding, allowing my friend and I to take the train to RFK, only a few minutes' walk from the Stadium-Armory stop on the Orange Line. The ticket scalpers were out early and some sidewalk vendors offered cheaper souvenirs to early bird fans. There was a buzz of excitement around RFK. The reason? D-Train???

All right, let's get to D-Train. I really wanted to see Dontrelle Willis pitch. He is one of the top young talented pitchers in baseball today. His appearance is almost comical, with his hat cocked a little to his left and with his arms flailing in recoil after the delivery of his pitch. His high leg kick during his windup is reminiscent of some of the old flame throwers like Gibson and Marichal. And D-Train has remained a star since his exciting debut with the Marlins four seasons ago.

He did not disappoint me in this game. He threw heat. He pitched himself into and out of jams. He flailed the air with those long arms as he threw his body off the mound, giving it every effort he had. I was also impressed with Willis' at-bats. With a .235 season average, he is not an easy out at the plate. Each time he batted, he made good contact and showed great speed running to first. He left the game in the mid-eighth with the lead, after throwing over 100 pitches.

Alas for D-Train, the Nats stole the show and the ballgame from Florida in the bottom of the ninth. A timely double that bounced around the left field corner by young Jesus somebody brought in two runs for a walk off win. I had been cheering for D-Train. I had been cheering for Miguel Cabrera of the Marlins when he batted. And I had been cheering for several of the Nationals at various times during the game, especially for first baseman Dmitri Young, who once led the major leagues in home runs (it was only once, for a day or two, when he hit three on opening day, then was passed and never led again).

But this game ended so suddenly and with such excitement, I just cheered and cheered. Our tickets were only 5 bucks. But the experience of seeing D-Train in action, Dmitri at the plate and witnessing a walk off finish made for a very entertaining evening at RFK.

PS: What's with those racing and dancing Presidents?

The final watershed

It was a good thing for the pumpkin custard. My tears had dried by then. Earlier on in the Thai meal across from the GoTrain Station in Oakville, Ontario on Labour Day 2007, I had to shift my thoughts a bit to keep from blubbering all over the fine linen.

This was, after all, the final instalment in taking daddy's little girl to school. And the term "final" has such a finality to it. First, a very brief history.

Instalment one was Labour Day Sunday 1998 when my wife and I dropped off our eldest daughter at a college 4 hours away from our home. I quite literally wept all the way home that day, not really out of sadness, but more out of the realization of the watershed moment, that our family would never be the same from this moment forward.

The second instalment was kind of an odd situation. The respective daughter had not moved away from home (well, not really). Actually, I was saying goodbye to her at her new home, while my wife and I were leaving town for our new home, with our collective prior residence being occupied by tenants. I will always remember the look my daughter gave me just before I closed the car door. During the six hour drive that ensused, whenever I revisualized my daughter's loving gaze, I just cried.

Which brings us to the current daughter leaving home. She actually was on her own last year with daughter #2, but she had come to live with her mother and I this summer to work in the big city. It was tough to say goodbye to her now, but I was so excited for her that she had thrown caution to the wind and moved wholesale to Ontario.

Now that I have left Oakville, I really miss her, but I know I will be back again to see her, and to try some more of that pumpkin custard.