Thursday, February 28, 2008

Definition Day

… and how would you EXPECT a small heavyweight to fight ..?

When I get my hair cut, I may try to get a picture here of myself. I don’t know, I am not what I would consider ‘photogenic’. Besides, I don’t feel comfortable with ‘advertising’ myself as I never have before. But since I am talking about losing weight and all that, I kind of feel that I should show what it is am I working with.

If I had to describe myself, it would be a young Mike Tyson. I am a tad taller (I know this because I was in a training camp with him) and my chest and arms are a little more ‘cut’ than his. Other than that, people often would tell me how much I reminded them of Mike.

Being a ‘small’ big cat, I have always found myself in a mismatch of sorts. There weren’t many 178 lbs kids for me to box with, so often I was 15, 16 yrs old fighting against what my Mom said were ‘grown’ men, as they would be 20, 21 years old. I had the skills, but as important, the confidence and belief that I could do what it took to win the fight.

That is why I remain optimist first, everything else second. Most of my life has been one where I have found myself swimming against the stream. If you are doing that, you have to believe that you are going to get to where you are going, otherwise it is a lost cause.

I use sport analogies a lot, because whether you want to believe it or not, sports contain the essence of life. I do think that man has developed against all odds, and that sports are the measuring stick that we need to remind ourselves to survive, we must remain competitive. Don’t laugh, I had written a sociology paper with elements of this theory and got a super funky cool ‘A’ on it!

Also, I can tell someone what is on my mind, with just enough ‘Don King’ threw in to where they are confused and don’t quite understand. I sometimes have to apologise to my friends and talk with them ‘straight away’ because that is just how I am. I use different things to symbolize for me at least, the frame of mind that I am in, to help me better understand what I meant to say! That is why you will find pieces of songs, quips, and general comments strewn about in my entries. You may be reading this, but I am talking to myself!

Today, I am going to try to explain what ‘the run and shoot era’ meant and why I use that term instead ofthe current football strategy name, ‘the spread offense’.

THE RUN AND SHOOT

I had married essentially the first girl I saw when I got home from the service. Why not, I figured. I ALWAYS WANTED to get married young, so that we could have all that ‘marriage equity’ and still be young enough to have fun and good times with each other. I chose an older girl, thinking I would flip the script on the ‘women being more mature than men’ and make it work for me. If my wife did have an advantage in maturity, it would be cool, because I would let her take the wheel until I ‘grew up’. Sound theory, provided that woman you pick ACTUALLY is mature! So that was an experiment of unstable elements that blew up in my face, and my first wife became my ‘starter wife’.

Barry Sanders had been drafted by the home team, and along with his dynamism, the then new coach took a risk and brought in what was then considered a ‘gimmick offense’, the run and shoot. In its purest form, the philosophy allowed teams with less talent to ‘spread the field’ (which is why the ‘spread offense’ is now in vogue) and force the opposing defense into personnel mismatches … and if the offense makes the correct ‘read’ on the play, then it could be a REALLY BIG gain. It is a high risk/great reward style of football.  The 'spread offense' incorporates a lot of the run 'n shoot, but saying I am working out of the run 'n shoot connotes more fun and ease of spirit than the more offical sounding 'spread offense'.

I have never really shook my ‘nerdy’ insecurities, even though I had begun to ‘attract’ as much if not more than I was ‘attracted to’. So I have always been the one cat who tried to figure out what I could do FOR a lady before I figured out what she could do for me.

Now I wasn’t too worried about the female insecurities that society infects their personalities with. After all, I was a nice looking bloke, and if I was willing to ‘drink their bath water’, they would be able to get over that, right?

After my starter marriage, I was watching ESPN and they showed highlights to a A&T and Carolina Central basketball game. Because my friend Hutch is an alumini of Michigan, he was going to see if he could get me into UM- Dearborn. But after I saw those highlights, of all those young black kids having fun, I wanted to go to A&T. In the service, at least while I was there, it seemed like every soldier had went through Ft. Bragg, and I had always thought I should have got ‘wings’ instead of a ‘parachute’. So I packed up and to Greensboro I went!

Having been through the service, though I was still young, I thought my college mates were ‘kids’ though we were separated by only a few years. I would tell them little things, like there only really needs to be two rooms in the house that are kept immaculate, and that is the kitchen and the bathroom … people can understand messy living spaces, since they are in school too. But where you eat and where you crap, those are character places … keep them clean! And of course, from being the big brother, I didn’t mind cooking if they would buy the food … and anyone who has been to college can tell you, being able to have a decent home cooked meal is like gold!

If it is a broken record, sorry bout it. Maybe people who get tired of hearing how much boxing and the service did for my self esteem need to find something to hang THEIR hat on. I mean, flat out I can say that I reasonably can whip anyone I see, and that I can take a M16-A1 and drop you from three football fields away … because I have DONE IT. What every you know you can do, make sure YOU celebrate it. It will lift you up when life knocks you down.

OH … THE RUN AND SHOOT

Like I said, high risk, high reward. Other than the confusion with Nixxie and Pecan Sandie, I never ‘juggled’ women. Didn’t have to, because I am kind of a sweet guy and can attract women because I am just a nice guy. Period. Nothing else to it. My approach has been great risk to see if I can get the big reward. If you can complete a 15-yard pass, says the run and shoot, why not get a little fast guy in an open spot and see if he can RUN past 15 yards and maybe score a touchdown!

So I try to give the object of my affection ALL of my attention. Why not? After all, what is the worst thing that could happen? She isn’t interested? News flash to those who let themselves get caught up in that kind of rejection … there are BILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO AREN’T GOING TO LIKE YOU. So that the one you like doesn’t like you isn’t a surprise. To me, the surprise is when you don’t go and find someone who does like you. I make sure that I recognize someone who likes me, who is putting out the ‘vibe’ so that I can either be interested in them, or make them discover that they are interested in me.

Sometimes, it has been unrequited affection. I saw on someone’s page the phrase “… for that totally wonderful person in your life who completely ignores you.” Powerful words, but now you see why I liked trying to find love out of ‘the run and shoot’. It helped to compensate for things like that. Sure, you may not THINK you like me now, but I am gonna do what I can to get you to see that I am special, and if you don’t … oh well, SOMEONE is going to want me!

… and now, the BIG FINISH

Sage Steele, who reads sports news for the ESPN networks, is HOT! So is Vivian Brown on the Weather Channel and Suzanne Malevuax of CNN. What does this mean, along with the swing manager at the nearby McDonald’s?

First, that I feel like I am alone. I would like to share more of myself with someone, anyone almost. I don’t want to seem like I am bragging on myself, but I am charismatic, and getting over myself allows me to find someone who not only is a neat person, but thinks I am sorta cool too.

Second, is that NONE OF THE FOUR are in line with my historical ideals of what I like in a potential partner. In fact, they all comprise something unique to themselves, something I can’t identify. I wonder what that  means …

And finally, I am going to be alright. Whatever you want to call ‘it‘, I can still feel ‘it’. I had been worried that it was gone, but though I may have forgotten some things, I haven’t lost track of the ‘je ne sais quois’!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like reading your thoughts, Mark; like I said before, they give me thinks to mull over in my days; I can see why you would be more mature than the average college student with your military career behind you even though you might have only been a year or two above them in age; but you lived more than them in circumstances/situations they can only imagine, but did not experience

betty

Anonymous said...

I truly do believe we harbor those things about ourselves that we enjoyed and appreciated. Sometimes in life we lose those pieces of ourselves only to get them back later , when they may mean more to us. At least in the sense we learn to hang on to those favorable parts of us, instead of spreading them thin amongst people who don't appreciate those qualities....Yes, dear friend you are going to be alright...Your in the process of finding yourself again, the best parts of who you were. (Hugs) Indigo

Anonymous said...

As always, well said.  You are in touch with who you are, and can articulate your needs and desires well.  Should you settle for less than you deserve?  No.  Life is a work in process...always changing, evolving.  What you feel today, may not what you feel next year, or five years from now.  Its just how you feel.
xoxo ~Myra