11-26-2022, 11:10 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-27-2022, 07:40 AM by Aneeqs. Edited 1 time in total.)
Thanksgiving dinner at grandma’s was a little different this year. This was the first time I saw my extended family after playing my first professional DSFL games. I’ve never been this popular before. Usually people are no more interested in talking to me than they are anyone else. I don’t think they never really expected my football career to go this far. Which is fair. Thousands and thousands of players end their career after college each year. Or, at least they don’t get the chance to get drafted into the major leagues. My family always said I was great, but we all always tried to stay grounded and say that nothing’s guaranteed. And that post-college I would’ve had to try and find a non-football kind of job. But now I have a couple of games in my resume and am eligible for the upcoming DSFL draft. Still, nothing’s guaranteed but things are looking good!
My dad practically paraded me around the house sharing the big news to everyone who would and wouldn’t listen. Although everyone already knew, since my dad forced everyone to watch the first game I played with Dallas. I didn’t get much playing time but my dad called me immediately after the game and told me how loud their neighborhood got when they saw me on the field. I tried to downplay it as it was only for a couple of plays, but they wouldn’t have it. I’m probably trying to downplay it so I don’t freak out too much in public, but oh well.
Most of my family had questions about everything that happens behind the scenes. Almost all of them watch football so it’s not like I had to teach anyone what a “down” means or why there are all these colorful towels being thrown around the field. So, we were mostly talking about how game day is organized and how it was being on the sideline and field for a professional game. During the game it honestly didn’t feel much different from my college or even younger years playing. Except that there are probably a hundred more people everywhere around me. When I’m on the sideline waiting to go on I’m strictly focused on the game itself and what the coach is saying. The crowd was amazing and it definitely took me a minute to settle down after first walking out in the middle of the huge arena. But in the end it was “just another game” but with way better players.
After a while I finally got time to sit down for a bit. Unfortunately I’m not the best chef so I’m not really allowed in the kitchen. It’s not that I can’t cook, I just can’t cook to my grandma’s standards so I’ve been banned for the foreseeable future. It might have something to do with that time I turned our mac and cheese into charcoal. Anyway… for those of us who can’t be useful in the kitchen we rotate between watching football and watching the kids. We’re not a huge family. Maybe a dozen or so that come together for Thanksgiving. But there are a couple of younger kids who just can’t sit still for more than a minute. So we try to entertain them. My go-to is always just to take them outside and throw a football around. Luckily this year it was really nice out before dinner. Even though I’m not a quarterback I have a good throwing arm, so I can easily get them to tire themselves out by throwing it just a little too far “on accident”.
As is tradition at the LeBayers, after dinner we watched the movie “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”. It’s a movie my family has watched every Thanksgiving night since before I was born. Apparently my grandpa brought it home one Thanksgiving night and said his employer had given it to him and everyone else at his work. Suspiciously enough, no one else he worked with could confirm the story. To this day no one knows exactly where or how he got it, while he still claims it was given to him at work. For all we know he stole it from someone else’s desk…
In any case, they decided to watch it just for fun. It turned out most everyone enjoyed it. And since then it’s become a thing.
After Thanksgiving I’d love to say that I just slept for four days. But no, this year I can’t take many days off while preparing for the draft. The Birddogs have graciously allowed me access to their facilities until the official end of the season, after the end of the Ultimini. So on Black Friday there was little to no shopping from my side. I went straight to work getting that turkey off my back. One thing I’ve needed to work on is just base strength. While I’ve always been quick on my feet I’ve also always been on the skinnier side compared to other players. Some guys go to the gym and lift seven times a week. That’s not me. I’m not a big fan of weight training. But I know it has to be done so I’m still in there consistently. But now my agent has mentioned it as something I really need to step up. In the draft I’ll be joining the very best college athletes across the country. General managers can easily look at me and pick someone else based on strength alone. Especially if what they’re looking for is someone more focused on run defense than pass defense.
So now there’s a lot of work to do. I didn’t get too much time on the field to flash my talents in front of potential scouts. I’m gonna have to show off in other ways and present great numbers at the combine. It’s going to be really interesting to see how I stack up against everyone else. I’ve no delusions of being the best in all events, but you’ll see my name up there. That I can guarantee! Really looking forward to more conversations with the team representatives. I know I’ll do good work wherever I end up. But until then it’s work, work, work!
My dad practically paraded me around the house sharing the big news to everyone who would and wouldn’t listen. Although everyone already knew, since my dad forced everyone to watch the first game I played with Dallas. I didn’t get much playing time but my dad called me immediately after the game and told me how loud their neighborhood got when they saw me on the field. I tried to downplay it as it was only for a couple of plays, but they wouldn’t have it. I’m probably trying to downplay it so I don’t freak out too much in public, but oh well.
Most of my family had questions about everything that happens behind the scenes. Almost all of them watch football so it’s not like I had to teach anyone what a “down” means or why there are all these colorful towels being thrown around the field. So, we were mostly talking about how game day is organized and how it was being on the sideline and field for a professional game. During the game it honestly didn’t feel much different from my college or even younger years playing. Except that there are probably a hundred more people everywhere around me. When I’m on the sideline waiting to go on I’m strictly focused on the game itself and what the coach is saying. The crowd was amazing and it definitely took me a minute to settle down after first walking out in the middle of the huge arena. But in the end it was “just another game” but with way better players.
After a while I finally got time to sit down for a bit. Unfortunately I’m not the best chef so I’m not really allowed in the kitchen. It’s not that I can’t cook, I just can’t cook to my grandma’s standards so I’ve been banned for the foreseeable future. It might have something to do with that time I turned our mac and cheese into charcoal. Anyway… for those of us who can’t be useful in the kitchen we rotate between watching football and watching the kids. We’re not a huge family. Maybe a dozen or so that come together for Thanksgiving. But there are a couple of younger kids who just can’t sit still for more than a minute. So we try to entertain them. My go-to is always just to take them outside and throw a football around. Luckily this year it was really nice out before dinner. Even though I’m not a quarterback I have a good throwing arm, so I can easily get them to tire themselves out by throwing it just a little too far “on accident”.
As is tradition at the LeBayers, after dinner we watched the movie “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”. It’s a movie my family has watched every Thanksgiving night since before I was born. Apparently my grandpa brought it home one Thanksgiving night and said his employer had given it to him and everyone else at his work. Suspiciously enough, no one else he worked with could confirm the story. To this day no one knows exactly where or how he got it, while he still claims it was given to him at work. For all we know he stole it from someone else’s desk…
In any case, they decided to watch it just for fun. It turned out most everyone enjoyed it. And since then it’s become a thing.
After Thanksgiving I’d love to say that I just slept for four days. But no, this year I can’t take many days off while preparing for the draft. The Birddogs have graciously allowed me access to their facilities until the official end of the season, after the end of the Ultimini. So on Black Friday there was little to no shopping from my side. I went straight to work getting that turkey off my back. One thing I’ve needed to work on is just base strength. While I’ve always been quick on my feet I’ve also always been on the skinnier side compared to other players. Some guys go to the gym and lift seven times a week. That’s not me. I’m not a big fan of weight training. But I know it has to be done so I’m still in there consistently. But now my agent has mentioned it as something I really need to step up. In the draft I’ll be joining the very best college athletes across the country. General managers can easily look at me and pick someone else based on strength alone. Especially if what they’re looking for is someone more focused on run defense than pass defense.
So now there’s a lot of work to do. I didn’t get too much time on the field to flash my talents in front of potential scouts. I’m gonna have to show off in other ways and present great numbers at the combine. It’s going to be really interesting to see how I stack up against everyone else. I’ve no delusions of being the best in all events, but you’ll see my name up there. That I can guarantee! Really looking forward to more conversations with the team representatives. I know I’ll do good work wherever I end up. But until then it’s work, work, work!