(S25) - PT 3 - Early Decisions

[Slothman07]

I think I’ve previously discussed how I found my passion in the greatest American sport, but old ladies are notorious for repeating themselves, and far be it from me to upset that longstanding tradition.

In high school I dabbled with football, but mostly I shot hoops; people thought that, because of my substantial height, I’d enter the WNBA. Unfortunately, after an embarrassing post-prom slip up, I ended up getting pregnant and marrying Stanley Zbornak, the cheating bastard. I gave him 38 years of my life before I found him shtupping a flight attendant half my age. I left, and, after getting my GED in Miami, I attended Golden Gate University to get my English degree. I chose Golden Gate for three reasons: I wanted to move to sunny California, I like trollies, and I thought the steep inclines in San Francisco would be good for my aging glutes.

I thought my athletic days were behind me, but one day I saw this flyer for free cheesecake if you tried out for the football team. I attended purely for the cheesecake, but after I broke 6 ribs in 4 players during practice, the coach practically begged me to sign up. I figured heck, tackling a bunch of young hunks and eating all the cheesecake I can guzzle? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, so I signed on. The rest, as they say, is history.

[TropicaliaCC]

Dexter Banks II was a highly recruited player out of High School primarily due to his versatility and raw athleticism. He did a little bit of everything for his High School team including playing Defensive Back, Wide Receiver, Running Back, and even some Quarterback. Banks grew up as a Georgia fan and lived a couple of hours away, so throughout the recruiting process national analysts considered him a heavy Georgia lean. He did wait for the early signing day before committing in what would become one of the more memorable ceremonies when he picked up a Clemson hat before tossing it aside and saying, “Just kidding. I’m a fucking Dawg”. Banks then proceeded to pull back a curtain that was hiding a litter of Bulldog puppies and he began rolling around in their pen and did “snow angels” among the adorable puppies. As a Freshman, it took Banks a while to breakout as an impact player because he was suspended for the first four games of the season for a minor in possession charge that he received the summer before. Once Banks proved himself on special teams he started to increase his role in the wide receiver rotation before breaking out in the SEC Championship game for a 107 yard performance. It wasn’t until his sophomore and final season as a junior that Banks became a household name that garnered national honors.

[Dagumpa]

PBE PT

[C9Van]

SHL Affiliate

[Muford]

http://probaseballexperience.jcink.net/i...t&p=231818

welfare

[Birdman]

LeBong Simwell’s journey to LSU was a difficult one. Spending the first 13 years of his life on a cruise ship doesn’t really lend itself to education. It’s rumored that LeBong is illiterate and his autograph simply being a winking smiley face does not do much to quash those rumors. LeBong entered high school after being spotted for his freak size and athleticism by a local New Orleans football coach. After the coach pried LeBong from the 17 year old he nearly drowned on the cruise, the coach told LeBong, “Come live with me and play high school ball. If you do really well, SEC teams will be lining up to pay you under the table to come play for their team. I’ll house and feed you for a percentage of that sweet, sweet SEC money.” It was an offer that appealed to LeBong, partially just to get off of living on a cruise ship.

LeBong went on to be a star in high school and was a 5 star recruit, one of the top defensive players in his class. He had offers from all the top teams, but wanted to stay close to New Orleans so that his mom could come to some of his games when the cruise ship docked. He got a full ride to LSU, had a mediocre career marred by laziness, and the rest is history.

[Gwdjohnson]

SHL Affiliation

[Forty Jordy]

PBE Affiliate PT

[Pat]

As a child, Doy Fieri (formerly Vance Slattery) had one plan for his life - to become a chef and restaurateur like his father. Even though he grew in in Minneapolis, MN, a city with teams in every major American sport, Doy didn't ever care about sports. He never watched them on TV, nor did he ever go see them live. He spent most of his free time reading cook books and watching the Food Network, and when he was old enough, helping his parents by working behind the counter at Slatt's Soul Food. 

When he eventually grew into a 6'1, 230 pound high school freshman (14 years old), it wasn't long before people noticed. One of the regulars at his dad's restaurant was the high school football coach for the high school he would attend, Roosevelt High, and one day he noticed the gargantuan child cooking his chicken friend steak. Doy had never even held a football and didn't know any of the rules before that fated day when his coach begged him and his father to let Doy play for the Teddies.

He may have been uncoordinated and not uneducated about the sport, but as the saying goes: you can't teach size.

Eventually, Doy learned to love the game of football, and it turned out that he was actually pretty dang good at it, eventually being named All-State his senior year of high school. That's when the schools started to call. He was approached by many low-tier Division I schools with scholarship offers, notably Rutgers (I did say low tier, didn't I?), but moving to the east coast meant moving away from his family and the future he had planned for himself. Then, as fate would have it, he received a call from a scout with the hometown Minnesota Golden Gophers. Doy accepted the scholarship offer on the spot.

Fieri was expected to get sparse playing time as the Gophers had six other older defensive linemen on the roster, but, due to just plain bad luck, the Gophers had three of their top defensive linemen lose time due to injury throughout the season, so Doy got a lot more playing time than expected. He performed admirably for a redshirt freshman, totaling 9 tackles, 4 TFL, and 1 sack in a very limited role. 

Heading into his sophomore year, the Gophers had two starters on the line graduate, and Fieri was named starting defensive tackle. The rest, as they say, is history.

[jzajenius36]

Well anyone that’s watched an SEC football game and seen that vibrant, yet simple and classy uniform knows the immediate draw of the University of Tennessee.  Though the primary color is Tennessee Orange, the colors white and Smokey more accurately describes its boldness.  And then there’s that endzone.  The famous orange and white checkerboard end-zone stands as one of the most recognizable facets of a sports venue in American athletics, if not the world.  Finally, how can you talk about the unique and historical culture of Volunteer football without talking about ol’ Rocky Top.  The song, first recorded in 1967 by the Osborne Brothers, pays homage to the great hills of Tennessee, and quickly became a fan and band favorite in the 70s, eventually becoming the official state song of Tennessee.  In 2015 it was deemed college football’s number one fight song.  All of these aspects of Tennessee football may seem quirky and contrived to the uninitiated, and who could blame them?  It seems that every team, in every sport, on every level, is constantly trying to reinvent itself for marketing reasons, ticket and jersey sales, and local/national prestige or recognition.  From blue turf to neon helmets.  But some have been doing these things for decades-plus.  Not because they are new and and marketable, but because they truly defined a community.  As a child of Tennessee, Honky-Tonk never had a doubt where he wanted to play football.  How could you leave what you grew up idolizing?