Guts vs Glory

by Jason B. Osoff

  I went through many experiences as a high school football player, and it was fun to go through those experiences with my best friend. That Saturday, I was able to enjoy a new experience with my dad. To enjoy the full experience, my dad and I parked in the shuttle lot. The shuttle lot was a parking lot used for partying and tailgates prior to the game. Buses would run every few minutes to take fans from the parking lot to the game at no charge. It was fun to park with the other fans and ride to the game in a bus full of rowdy college kids.

  When the bus dropped us off, we were standing in front of Becker County Stadium. I’ve seen it on TV numerous times, but in person, the stadium was the biggest thing I had ever seen in my life. The walls were so tall that my neck hurt as I was attempting to look up to the top. Once inside the stadium, we were greeted by a sea of fans traveling from left to right. We had no idea where we were going, but it was so busy that we didn’t have time to stop for directions. We simply jumped in with the crowd and looked to the ceiling for our section number.

  The stadium held nearly 60,000 fans, 10,000 less than Southern Michigan’s stadium. About 50,000 of those fans were wearing the colors of Northeastern Michigan. Spread throughout the crowd were the other 10,000 fans wearing black and red. UNM had a record good enough for a post-season game, but it wouldn’t be a very prestigious one. However, it was a rivalry game, so the fans were going to support their team as much as possible to beat their cross-state rival. I chose to be unbiased and wore my college uniform to the game. I wanted to root for Mike as a player, but I wanted to root for Northeastern as a team. Either way, I was just glad to be there.

  As we were looking for our section number, I couldn’t help but try to understand the layout of the stadium. The only time I had been to a large stadium was as a player on the field. We were walking down a large indoor tunnel that seemed to go straight for a while then make a sharp curve. I realized that the tunnel went around the stadium in a large circle and allowed fans access to the section they were assigned to. In the long tunnel were vendors, traffic directors, and rowdy fans. While in the sea of fans, we felt closed in and seemed to move like a herd of cattle. Once we found our section number, we were free!

  Our section number took us to a smaller tunnel that led inwards towards the field. As I looked ahead, I could start to see the field. The more we walked up the tunnel, the more I could see. Finally, we were at the end of the tunnel and I could see everything. After finding our seats, I got a chance to soak it all in; It was breath taking. The scoreboard was crystal clear and had a large television built into it. It allowed the fans to watch the game, while keeping track of game statistics. The grass was bright green, and the field well maintained. Once the overwhelming feeling was gone, I was ready to watch a great game. A few minutes later, that overwhelming feeling came back.

  As both teams made their way on the field, I was able to see how much bigger, and stronger, major college football players were. On television, they seemed like they were the same size as the guys I was used to playing against, but in person they were much larger. As I sized up my future competition, I saw a familiar face. There he was, in his red and black, the future star of the team.

  I had seen all of his season games on TV, but that day was his best game by far. I don’t know if it was due to the post-season being on the line, the energy of playing a rivalry game, or the fact that we were there in his corner, but something gave him extra fire power. That performance gave USM their 11th win of the season, and a ticket to play on New Year’s Day.

  Chapter 50

  Once the game was over, I was able to meet up with Mike. He was about to board the team bus when he saw his parents, my dad, and I coming towards him. He was bragging about his game, but he was even more excited that we showed up as promised. He boasted that he stepped up his game because he knew we were there. He also wanted to show the University of Northeastern Michigan that they made a mistake in not offering the both of us scholarships. After our very brief conversation, we wouldn’t see him again until Christmas break.

  While he was home on break, we spent quite a few days hanging out together. Both of our schools gave us three weeks off, but Mike was only in town for a week because he had to get ready for his post-season game. One of those days, while hanging out at the mall, I was able to share my grades with him. I made it through my first semester of college and had just finished my final exams. When all of my grades were in, my transcript was sent to my house. I had managed a 3.75 grade point average. He enjoyed my surprise, then smiled because he had a surprise for me too; an all-expenses paid trip as a recruit to watch his post-season game in Wyoming. I could hardly wait for that day to arrive.

  On the day of the journey to the Wyoming game, I was asked to first check in with the recruiter at the Southern Michigan stadium. From there, I boarded the team bus with a small group of high school students. The USM recruiter we met the previous year was on the bus and explained to me that the reason I was being treated as a new a recruit was that they were still interested in me playing on their team in a few years, so they wanted to give me the same experience that they would give any other high school recruit; a trip on the luxury bus, a plane ride with the team, a bus ride to the stadium, and a field pass to watch the game on the sidelines. While on the plane, I felt like Mike must have felt when he was being recruited by those numerous universities. Although he was making the same trip I was that day, we rode on different buses, and I was in a different section of the plane. Even on the field, I was in an area reserved just for recruits.

  Watching the game in the stadium was similar to the time I watched it with my dad. I wasn’t too overwhelmed by being on the field because I was used to that. I was, however, amazed with the Dragons’ entrance. For all New Year’s Day games, both teams were allowed to enter the stadium the same way they would as if they were playing at home. Maine State University simply ran onto the field as soon as their fight soon began to play. The dragons’ entrance was different, though. As soon as they were ready, the indoor stadium went dark. I could barely make out a large statue being dragged out from the concourse and placed in front of the player’s tunnel. The statue then lit up and looked just like the head of a dragon. The dragon was black and had bright, red eyes. The eerie dragon opened its mouth and a large ball of fire came out, soon replaced by smoke. From the smoke emerged the University of Southern Michigan dragons. My heart was pounding.

  Chapter 51

  They ended up losing their post-season game and eventually became the number nine team in the country. Even though Mike was disappointed, he was looking forward to the next season because he would be the clear starter. Just like me at the end of my season, he found more free time without football. He would have two months to himself before spring practices began. Unlike me, however, he used that time to let his body heal. He was already on a major college team, and was sure to get the starting position. He didn’t want to risk injury by pushing it too much. He also didn’t worry about his grades because he was maintaining a 2.5 grade point average, which was just over the 2.0 average needed to stay in school as a student-athlete.

  During the spring, his team ran a team scrimmage. At the scrimmage, their potential starting offense, with their potential backup defense, would play against their starting defense, with their potential backup offense. This gave their coaches a chance to run new plays and see if they felt comfortable with their proposed starters. Mike was on the starting offense during the scrimmage, and the coaches seemed happy with their decision.

  Our team couldn’t run a scrimmage because our team was too small. We would only be able to scrimmage with the guys returning to the team from the previous season and couldn’t use our high school prospects. About half of our guys were leaving that year, which left us with 30 players for the new season. Mike’s school, on the other hand, had a four-year program, so they had about 60 returning players.

  Because we had the spring off, the coaches allowed us to practice on our own. They
didn’t have enough players to run official practices, but we were allowed access to the field, use of the weight room, and use of any of the team equipment that we needed. Those practices were fun because we ran them as players, and there wasn’t any pressure. The level of intensity was lowered because no one wanted to risk injury, but the level of activity was consistent with regular practices. Those practices allowed me to settle down and actually enjoy playing for once, rather than stressing out about starting. That would wait for a few months once the summer practices began.

  After the spring, my second semester of school was over. We both had maintained the same grade point averages we’d had in our first semester. I was proud of my grades and knew I was definitely going to be able to transfer to USM as a student. With school over for the year, Mike was able to enjoy a two week summer break before jumping back into practice. We spent that time just like we did at Christmas break. As Mike left for his second year, he pointed out that I was already halfway done with junior college. That season would be my last season to display what I had learned at the college level. He would continue to sell me to the recruiter, but it was up to me to improve as a player.

  Chapter 52

  We were given a long time to recover, but the time still went by fast. After the short summer break, it was time for our hot August practices to begin. When the bus dropped me off, I felt more at home than I had the year before. I even laughed at myself when I remembered how I had felt the previous season. As I walked onto the field that time, I saw many familiar faces. I knew what the summer practices had in store for me, and I knew that the first day of practice would be my last day to actually enjoy myself until the season concluded.

  As the coach called us over for our first team huddle of the season, I expected the same lecture he gave us the previous year. Again, he told us how junior college worked, the schedule for the season, and his personal philosophy. This year, however, he wasn’t going to leave it up to another team to decide our playoff fate. He, instead, wanted us to make it to the playoffs on our own by winning more regular season games. For most of us, we were fired up; for the new guys, they were still anxious and didn’t know what to expect. They seemed to relax when the coach gave us the rest of the day to meet and greet.

  Unlike the previous year, I used that day as suggested by the coach. I already knew who my competition would be and I knew what I would have to do to become a starter. Even though I was next in line to be a starter a season ago, I realized that I was entering a new season and I would have to start all over in proving to the coaches just how valuable I could be to the team. My memorization skills improved, I had the strength needed to stop defenders, and I had the speed to keep them from eluding me. But, this season, I had one big weapon that I didn’t have the previous season; experience in playing college football.

  I spent the next two weeks with the team working on strength and endurance. That year, I was able to begin the season with the same intense workout routine that I developed halfway through the previous season. I could tell that my speed and strength had increased. I felt as if I was standing out a bit more than the other guys.

  After two weeks, we tried out for our positions. I already knew my role on the team, so I didn’t hesitate in walking over to the line coach once we broke from team huddle. That season, one of the new guys wasn’t yet ready to make it as a lineman. He was too slow to get off the line so he was given the option of trying out for the special teams or leave the practice field. He never came back.

  Once in our groups, I learned that we would be running the same plays as the previous year. That gave me the advantage of already being familiar with the plays. It finally made sense why last season’s starters consisted of guys who had played the previous season; practice was much easier the second time around. That meant that all I had to worry about was increasing my strength, my speed, and my ability to compete against the other linemen.

  During summer practices, we spent two months working as a team to get ready for the upcoming season. We were all in great shape, we had our positions, and we had most of the plays memorized. Our team was ready for the regular season. We were playoff bound.

  Chapter 53

  As summer practice ended, the intensity increased in season practice. We went back to those practices with pads and vengeance; 55 players had to fight their way to fill 22 roster spots. In our offensive line group, eight players would be fighting for five available positions. Even though three of us were returning from the previous season, we still had to earn our place. It was time to use my weight room time, my treadmill time, and my study time on the practice field to my advantage.

  As a group, we pretty much had the same athletic ability. None of us were overly faster, or stronger than anyone else. Once again, I would not be able to stand out athletically. My biggest weapon, for a second season, would have to be my ability to memorize plays. Only three of us were able to run most of the plays flawlessly.

  As the two weeks of pre-season practice went on, my uncertainty began to increase. I could feel myself improving, but I wasn’t sure if the coaches noticed. I knew that I couldn’t spend another year as a backup lineman because I would then end up with very little playing time over two seasons and would not be able to impress the University of Southern Michigan. In an effort to calm my nerves, I gave Mike a call.

  He was waiting to hear the official word on his starting status as well. Even though he had an impressive run the previous season, and the running back that split the work load with him had graduated, he still wasn’t sure if he had done enough to impress the coaches. After hearing his news, I got even more depressed. I was hoping for a pep talk to cheer me up, but instead, he was going through the same emotions I was going through. I encouraged him to look at his situation from a coach’s point of view.

  Last year, he came to the team as a freshman. Right away, he earned his place as a backup running back. As a backup, he earned himself more playing time and scored the most touchdowns on the team. A season later, he was coming back with a year of experience, and without in-house competition. The coaches would be foolish to start someone else.

  As I heard the words coming out of my mouth, I realized that they also applied to my situation. Somehow, counseling him calmed me down as well. I was right, though; the coaches would be foolish if they started someone over me. I fought hard for a season, and was fighting even harder for another. I was ready to give it my all for the next few months.

  The next conversation we had a few days later was much brighter. As expected, they made Mike a starter. He would be the only starter in his position for the team and would not have to split carries with anyone else. I, too, was named a starter. After a season of hard work, my short-term goal of starting by my second year was achieved; I was the starting right tackle for Whitaker Junior College.

  Chapter 54

  The following week in practice began like any other week. After our daily huddles Monday and Tuesday, we went to work in our small groups. In our linemen group, we continued to work on our plays and our timing off the snap. I didn’t feel any different as a starter and continued to target the game at the end of the week. Practice later in the week, however, changed.

  Wednesday was a day used to work with the whole team. On those days, we scrimmaged against each other in preparation for the upcoming game. During those scrimmages, I worked with the starting offense. It finally hit me that I was really starting, and I suddenly had a different feel for practice. In the first two days of the week, I was so used to our schedule, that I got too comfortable with practices. However, once I remembered the position I was in, I snapped out of it and began to block like a starter. On a scale of 1-10, my intensity went from 8.5 to a 10.

  As practices went on that week, our defense found it hard to get by me. Though they weren’t the same big bruisers from the previous season that I struggled against, they were just as tough. Even in practice, I made sure that no one got past me because I knew I needed to protect no
t only my quarterback, but my starting role as well. I hadn’t had the easiest time so far in my football career, so I didn’t want to lose my starting spot two days before the first game.

  I felt more relaxed once we made it to our final Friday practice. It was a practice used mostly to make sure our special team guys knew what they were doing, and a practice where we didn’t have to wear pads. More importantly, this practice meant that nobody else had an opportunity to take my spot; it was mine alone. My name would be in the program and would be announced over the loud speaker during the game, assuming our out-of-date field still had a working loud speaker system.

  As practice let out, I was flagged down by the head coach. He congratulated me on earning my spot. He wanted me to know that he knew about my long-term goal of playing professionally, and how hard I had been fighting to make sure I achieved it. With that in mind, he wanted to reassure me that I had earned the starting spot on my own and his decision wasn’t biased towards me. After reminding me that the opportunity to be a starter was mine to lose, he informed me of the proud tradition of sending players on to major colleges from junior colleges. At the junior college level, coaches weren’t just judged by records, playoffs, and post-season games; they were judged by how many players they sent to the next level. He insisted that if I continued to fight hard all season and never slowed down, I would end up giving him his next bragging right.