Friday Morning Football: The Calm before the Storm

I have been fortunate enough to have been either a player or coach for over 20 years. To this day one of my favorite parts of being involved in the game is pregame. That last hour or so before kickoff. As a player, you are dealing with those butterflies; trying to focus and work yourself into a frenzy so that when you hit the field you are in that zone where you aren't having to think but rather just hitting and playing. A players pregame ritual is sacred and very individual. Some guys prefer it quiet and just spend time visualizing themselves making great plays. Many players prefer to have their headphones in listening to music that gets them going. In my day that included a lot of AC/DC or Guns N Roses. Again, what you listen to is a very personal choice. One of my favorites lately is 'Til I Collapse by Eminem. Even as a coach, I have my own pregame ritual. I try to eat the same meal, wear certain things, do certain responsibilities in a certain order because the fact of the matter is, it all matters. If a player or coach feels more confident because he does things a certain way or wears certain things, then they will most likely play or coach more confidently.

Then it is time to get out for warm-ups. Each team has their own methods for warm-ups. The idea is to get the body warmed up and ready to go along with giving the team time to focus on details and build their intensity. To me, these are the moments. Out on the field on a Friday Night under the lights there is nothing better. You can feel the electricity in the air. The energy carried by each player and coach and the restraint and focus to maintain that energy to the point you get to unleash it on the opponent.

For us, where I coach, we come out to do warm-ups and then go back into the lockerroom for one last review of details and then comes the pregame speech. Our head coach might be the best I have ever heard during a pregame speech. It has been more than once where I have left the lockerroom fired up enough to run through a wall myself after one of his speeches.

Then, with all that energy and intensity, just about every team enters the stadium (mostly at home games) with a last ritual. At Clemson, they enter through the crowd and touch a rock; at Nebraska they have the Tunnel Walk which very much involves the crowd; at Notre Dame they tap a sign that says, "Play Like a Champion Today". (Despite the fact I hate Notre Dame football, I love that sign) At the high school where I coach, we tap a sign above the door that says, "48 minutes to play, a lifetime to remember".


And then its on.