THE DRAMA KEPT OUR SEASON OPENER IN DOUBT UP UNTIL 48 HOURS PRIOR TO KICKOFF..ORIGINALLY, OUR GAME WITH PARMA WAS SCHEDULED TO BE PLAYED IN PARMA; HOME TO THE WORLD'S FAMOUS PROSCUITTO HAM AND EVEN MORE FAMOUS BECAUSE OF JOHN GRISHAM'S NOVEL, "PLAYING FOR PIZZA" TOOK PLACE IN THE HAM CAPITOL..
BUT BECAUSE OF TEMPO BRUTTA AND 3 STRAIGHT DAYS OF NEVICA, THE TAPPETI D'ERBI IN THE COMMUNE DI PARMA WERE OFFICIALLY SHUT DOWN..NO AMERICAN FOOTBALL GAMES WOLD BE PLAYED AT LANFRANCHI STADIUM OR ANYWHERE ELSE IN PARMA..AND ALL OTHER ATHLETIC CONTEST WOULD BE CANCELLED AS WELL..WORD LEAKED OUT WEDNESDAY THAT OUR SEASON OPENER WOULD BE CANCELLED. OK!
BUT WHOEVER RUNS THIS FUN LITTLE LEAGUE, FOUND A FIELD IN BOLZANO, ITALY FOR US TO PLAY OUR GAME..GAME ON!..YEAH!
BOLZANO IS HOME TO THE GIANTS, WHO WOULD BE ON THE ROAD VS THE LAZIO MARINES..THEIR FIELD IS THE ONLY PURE FOOTBALL AMERICANO FIELD IN THE LEAGUE..IT HAS A TAPPETO D'ARTIFICIALLE...HASH MARKS..GOAL POSTS..5 YARD STRIPES AND STANDS..OH YEAH?...YEAH
SO WE GATHERED AS A TEAM ON SUNDAY MORNING AT OUR PRACTICE FIELD SIGHT AND SOME 50 COACHES AND PLAYERS AND TEAM PERSONNEL CRAMMED INTO OUR SUPERSIZED BUS FOR A 2 1/2 HOUR ROAD TRIP..WE WOULD HAVE OUR PRE-GAME MEAL ON THE WAY AT THE AUTOGRILL.
SQUADRA DI BERGAMO...ROADTRIP A BOLZANO
THE RIDE WOULD TAKE US EAST ON THE A4 AUTOSTRADA BEYOND BRESCIA AND THE SOUTH END OF LAGO DI GARDA WHERE WE WOULD TURN NORTH ON THE A22 JUST BEFORE VERONA; THE CITTA' MADE FAMOS BY SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO AND JULIETTA. WE WOULD DRIVE 120 KILOMETERS THROUGH A VALLEY OF NONSTOP VINEYARDS OF GRAPES AND APPLES..GOING NORTH WE WOULD APPROACH THE NORTHERN BORDERS OF GERMANIA, FRANCIA, SWISSERA, AUSTRIA, AND SLOVAKIA..ALL AROUND US WERE THE SNOWCAPPED MOUNTAINS OF THE DOLOMITES..STRIKING CASTELLI ADORNED THE PEAKS THROUGHOUT THE VIAGGIO.
CASTELLO DI ALMI...BELLO
THE CLIMA WAS PERFETTO..SUNNY..WARM.. AND CLEAR..VIEWS WERE CRYSTALIZED BY THE MOUNTAIN AIR..WHEN WE ARRIVED AT GIANTS STADIUM THE PARMA PANTHERS WERE ALREADY THERE...DRESSED AND WARMING UP..THEIR KICKER WAS KNOCKING FIELD GOAL TRIES THROUGH THE UPRIGHTS FROM 45 YARDS LIKE TIGER USED TO CHIP FROM 20 FEET..IMPRESSIVE
PANTHERS WARMING UP IN GIANTS STADIUM
FROM THE TIME WE DISEMBARKED WE HAD ROUGHLY 90 MINUTES TIL WE WOULD KICKOFF..THE ROUTINE WAS FAMILIAR TO THE AMERICANS..FIRST THING TO DO AFTER UNFOLDING OUR BODIES OUT OF THE CRAMPED SEATS WAS TO STROLL THE FIELD...GET A FEEL FOR THE ARTIFICIAL SURFACE..TAKE IN THE AMAZING SCENERY..EYEBALL THE COMPETITION..AFTER THE GAZING WAS FINISHED IT WAS TIME TO BE TAPED..DRESSED..ADJUST THE PADS...APPLY THE GEAR FOR GAME CONDITIONS.
ANDREA GHISLANDI.....ANKLES TAPED TIGHT
ONE UNUSUAL RITUAL THAT NEEDED TO BE TAKEN CARE OF WAS TO CHECK EACH PLAYERS PASSPORT..IN THE PAST, AND IN KEEPING WITH ITALIAN TRADITION, THERE WERE MANY PLAYERS THAT PASSED THROUGH WITH DUAL PASSPORTS..AS THE RULE STATES, EACH TEAM IS ALLOWED TO PLAY WITH TRE' AMERICANI...CERTAIN TEAMS IN THE PAST 27 YEARS THAT THIS LEAGUE HAS BEEN IN OPERATION, HAS CIRCUMVENTED THE RULES BY PLAYING 5-6-7 AMERICANS SO LONG AS THEY HAD A CITIZENSHIP IN ITALY..SO THIS RITUAL PRIOR TO KICKOFF AND IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR WARM-UP IS TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE IS WHO THEY SAY THEY ARE, WITH NO CIRCUMVENTION OF THE HARDFAST RULES.
WE WOULD ALSO MEET THE 7 OFFICIALS..I THINK THE REFEREE WAS CARLO, AND ON HIS CREW WAS A WOMAN HEAD LINESWOMAN..I HAD NEVER SEEN THAT BEFORE..SHE WOULD BE KEEPING THE SIDELINES CLEAR THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND WAS STRADDLED WITH AN TUTTI-RAGAZZI CHAIN CREW..OK!!
UFFICO RAGAZZA...AND SHE WAS MEAN!!
I WASN'T HAPPY WITH HOW MY OFFENSIVE LINE WARMED UP...GAMEDAY HAS TO BE SPECIAL..PLAYERS HAVE GOT TO REV THEMSELVES UP..CONTACT HAS GOT TO BE AS NECESSARY AS YOUR NEXT BREATH OF AIR..WHAT SURPRISED ME IS THAT I THOUGHT MY GROUP OF 8 GIOCATORI KNEW THAT; AND I WOULD SEE AND HEAR THE HITS AND THE GRUNTS AND THE SLAPS AND THE SMELL OF TESTOSTERONE WOULD FILL THE DOLOMITI AIR..ALL I SAW WERE DEER IN THE HEADLIGHT LOOKS..NOT HAPPY WITH OUR APPROACH
LIONS WARM UP IN THROES OF THE DOLOMITES
CHRISTIAN LONGHI, OUR RIGHT GUARD, AND A VETERAN OF 25 YEARS OF PLAYING FOOTBALL AMERICANO, WAS ONE OF OUR GAMEDAY CAPTAINS. WE WON THE COIN TOSS, AND FOR SOME INEXPLICIT REASON WAS PERFORMED TWICE..PRACTICE IS A GOOD THING.....WE WOULD TAKE THE BALL AND FIELD OUR KICKOFF RETURN TEAM TO START MY FIRST GAME AS A COACH AND MY FIRST AMERICAN FOOTBALL GAME IN ITALY.
GROS......winning coin toss...one of our highlights
WE FUMBLED THE FIRST HANDOFF...AN OMEN ABOUT OUR EXECUTION..BUT RB , ANDREA GHISLANDI WOULD RIP OFF A COUPLE OF RUNS THAT WOULD TAKE US ON THE MOVE..ONE OF THOSE RUNS WOULD END UP IN THE ENDZONE, BUT THE CHEARING ON OUR SIDELINES WOULD ABRUPTLY END DUE TO A QUESTIONABLE HOLDING CALL ON ONE OF OUR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN..BUT BRAD VAN PELT WOULD COME BACK THE VERY NEXT PLAY AND THROW A PERFECT BALL TO OUR AMERICAN WR WHO COULD NOT GET A HANDLE ON IT TO SCORE..INSTEAD OF BEING UP 7-0 ON OUR OPENING DRIVE, WE WOULD TUEN THE BALL OVER TO PARMA
THEY WASTED NO TIME IN PERFECT EXECUTION OF TAKING THE BALL RIGHT DOWN OUR THROATS...WE SEEMED HELPLESS ON DEFESNE AND THAT WAS THE STORY OF THE GAME,,THE HEADLINES IN THE L'ECO DI BERGAMO GIORNALE ACCURATELY READ.."LIONS, PARTENZA FALSA, A BOLZANO SUBITO KO."..WE STARTED SLOW AND IN BOLZANO THE PANTHERS DELIVERED A QUICK KNOCKOUT.
DOWN 28 - 6 BRAD VAN PELT ADDED OUR DAYS BIGGEST HIGHLIGHT..HE WOULD FAKE A DIVE, SPRINT AROUND THE RIGHT END AND DASH 70 YARDS TO PAYDIRT BEHIND AN ELECTRIFYING DISPLAY OF MOVES, A GREAT DOWNFIELD BLOCK BY ROMAN WR MATTEO ZUCCO, AND FINISHED OFF BY A VIOLENT STIFF ARM THAT FREED HIM FOR OUR SECOND SCORE..HE WOULD IMMEDIATELY LINE UP AND KICK THE EXTRA POINT
DJ AND BRAD...PREGAME..VAN PELT CAN PLAY
THE RIDE FROM BOLZANO TO BERGAMO WAS LONG AND QUIET..WE WOULD STOP AT AN AUTOGRILL FOR A LATE SNACK.AND.A STRETCH . IN A FASHION THAT ONLY THE FOOTBALL GODS COULD ALLOW, SIMULTANEOUS TO US BEING THERE, SO WOULD THE VICTORIOUS PARMA PANTHERS..THICK SEA SALT IN OPEN PAINFUL WOUNDS..OUCH!
GROUPS WOULD HUDDLE THROUGHOUT THE RIDE HOME TO TALK ABOUT THE GAME..CONVERSAZIONE ABOUT HOW BAD THE OFFICIATING WAS...THE USUAL WHATIFS..WHAT IF WE HAD SCORED ON OUR OPENING DRIVE?..WHAT IF WE RECOVERED 3 OF THE PARMA PANTHERS FUMBLES?..WHAT IF WE HAD AN OFFENSIVE ANSWER FOR THE DISRUPTIVE BLITZING OF THEIR AMERICAN ROVER, NUMERO 32?
THE FACT IS.. PARMA BEAT US..THEY EXECUTED WELL..THEY PLAYED WITH SOPHISTICATION ON DEFENSE..THEIR 3 AMERICAN PLAYERS ALL HAD A HUGE IMPACT..THEY WERE SHARP AND CRISP AND WE WERE SLOPPY AND HESITANT. OUR FUNDAMENTALS AND THE BASICS OF BLOCKING AND TACKLING WERE NOT DISPLAYED WELL.
SO NOW WHAT TO DO?...NO SENSE OF PANIC, BUT NOW AFTER OUR FIRST ACTION ITS TIME TO ADJUST..6 DAYS FROM NOW WE PLAY A FINE TEAM FROM ROME, THE LAZIO MARINES, COACHED BY A FREIND, BOCK OLIVO.. BROCK PLAYED FULLBACK IN THE NFL FOR THE DETROIT LIONS AND THEN MOVED TO ITALY AND PLAYED IN THE ITALIAN LEAGUE..LUI CUGINO, SCOTT KOWALKOWSKI, IS A FRIEND AND FOR MER TEAMMATE OF MINE WITH THE EAGLES, AND WAS A VETERAN OF ALMOST 12 YEARS IN THE NFL..HIS FATHER, BOB, PLAYED FOR THE LIONS AND HIS MOTHER, JUDY, IS STILL EMPLOYED BY THE DETRIOT LION
THEY HAVE EXPERIENCE..WE HAVE 6 DAYS TO SURVEY OUR TALENT..OUR JOB IS TAKE THE BEST PLAYERS WE HAVE AND NOW PLACE THEM IN THE BEST POSITIONS POSSIBLE TO HAVE SUCCESS..FILM STUDY AND TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES AND DRAWING UP PLAYS AND DEFENSES ON KNAPKINS ARE CONSUMING MOST OF OUR DAYS..WE ARE COMPETITIORS AND THE ITALAIN EXPERIENCE WILL BE MUCH FULLER IF WE CAN CARVE OUT A VICTORY THIS SUNDAY HERE IN BERGAMO
NFL COACHES ARE NOTORIOUS FOR ONE UNIFYING STATEMENT..."THE HIGHS OF WINNING ARE NEVER AS HIGH AS THE LOWS OF LOSING."..ACTAULLY ANYONE WHO COACHES TO WIN IDENTIFIES WITH THIS STAEMENT...AFTER CAOCHING MY FIRST GAME EVER I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE RESTLESS NIGHTS OF A JIM SCHWARTZ IN DETROIT THIS PAST SEASON; OR OF STEVE SPAGNUOLO IN ST. LOUIS WHO LOST MANY MANY GAMES IN A ROW..ITS AN UGLY SICKENING FEELING.
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD, TODAY, THE WEATHER WARMED AND THE SUN WAS STRONG..THE FEW PLAYERS I RAN INTO ABOUT TOWN ALL HAD THE SAME SCIKENING FEELING..IDEAS AND CHANGES FILL OUR MINDS, OUR TIME, AND OUR CONVERSATION.
THE LIONS WILL HUNT THIS SNDAY AND THE HUNGER IS WITH US..THIS WEEK CAN DETERMINE THE FATE OF OUR SEASON...A GREAT BRAHMIN ONCE STATED THAT "IT IS NOT HOW YOU START BUT HOW YOU FINISH."...STAY TUNED..WE ARE LOOKING TO REBOUND.
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