Hawaii 10/2/10

The time is here! The time is now. It is Hawaii 5 0 week. I mean Hawaii at 5:30 Island time week! Hawaii? Are you kidding me? I want to go! What an experience for those who have not been to Hawaii. I don't know much about the Hawaii team except that they are the #1 passing offense in the nation. I think what they do is get teams to travel 10's of hours, get them leied, cook them a whole pig and then perform some sort of hula voodoo on them before the game. Is that even fair? No wonder their passing game is #1, they hypnotize you before the game! HaHa! Hawaii is an awesome place to visit on vacation, but it is a long ways to travel from Ruston to Honolulu, especially when you have a game the week before and the week after. What scheduling genius did this, Benson and his monkeys? Come on CUSA please call our name! We are ready! Even though I am in the travel business, Matt has not ventured away from home too much until he started playing football for La Tech. This will be an awesome experience for him if he can sit still for the 8 hour plane ride from Dallas to Honolulu. Matt, it is time to chill, read a book, watch a movie and before you know it you will be getting leied in Hawaii. I have made the flight from Dallas to Honolulu and it always seems like it takes forever. I am not an upright sleeper, so I have to find something else to occupy my time. Looking at the Hawaii team from the outside they have some horses at wide receiver. Salas #1 and Pilares #21 look like to go to guys for Moniz. Both receivers are good size and they have amazing stats so far this year. It is going to be tough to win in Hawaii, but I hope our coaching staff has our team prepared for this all pass team. Here is a little history on Hawaii football. In 1909 The College of Hawaii “Fighting Deans” played and won its first game against McKinley High School 6 - 5. Because of limited travel opportunities, Hawaii only played local high schools, military and club teams for its first eight seasons. In 1920 The College of Hawaii becomes the University of Hawaii and the football team plays its first intercollegiate game against Nevada. They won 14 - 0. In 1923 a rainbow appears over the football field after UH upset Oregon State, 7-0, at Moiliili Field. Reporters begin calling UH teams the “Rainbows.” In 1946 after taking a four-year hiatus due to World War II, UH returns to the gridiron as a member institution of the NCAA. Hawaii played in the "TERMITE PALACE" Nicknamed for its deteriorating facade, Honolulu Stadium was home to Hawaii football from 1926-74. In 1975 Aloha Stadium made its debut and all Hawaii games are still played here. Currently UH has 19 players playing in the NFL. That is an amazing stat by its self. This is enough of Hawaiian Haka football lore. Matt said it was going to be a tough week for him. He had to get all of his school work taken care of in advance and get himself mentally prepared before they took off on Thursday to Hawaii. He said practice had gone well. The ball is still popping off of his foot well. His FG's with team and by himself have been pretty spot on. His kickoffs are getting deeper and his hang times have been all over 4.0. He said he had a few over 4.3 seconds. I would think our coverage team should be able to get down field and pin them within the 20 yard line with 4 plus hang time. One thing that Matt has done this year is limit the amount of kicks he is doing during the week. I feel like this will keep him from getting dead leg at the end of the season along with keeping him fresher for game time. Matt said the team looked good and the intensity on the field was high. Matt has his daily special teams meetings he attends and has been attending the offensive team meetings as well. He feels like this gives him a better grasp of the total offensive scheme. Thursday they have an early light practice before they bus to Shreveport to catch flight #1 to Dallas. The team arrived in Honolulu on flight #2 around 4:30 PM Hawaiian time. They checked into the Marriott Waikiki Beach Resort and they had free time the rest of the evening. Matt, Ryan Allen & Chandler Spence went to PF Chang's on the beach and had dinner. Matt said eating with a view of Waikiki Beach was awesome. They got to walk around the beach some Thursday evening as well. Friday morning the team went to Aloha Stadium and did a walk through. He kicked few kickoffs and field goals. He said the wind was weird because of the stadium configuration. Next they were off to Pearl Harbor. I think this is awesome that the team gets to do this. I hope Matt enjoys the experience. Going to Pearl Harbor is one of those things in life that you need to do. Friday night they have a team dinner and Saturday is meetings, mental walk thru and then it is game time. This will be my first game to not see Matt play in person this year. It is a little sad and all will be ok. My weekend would start off by sampling a few beers from my Pumpkin Pack! I know it is pretty stupid, but I made my own six-pack from Oktoberfest, autumn and Pumpkin themed beers. Some were good and some were not so good. Pumpkin Pie with a fizz is a little strange. My favorite was Sierra Nevada Tumbler Brown Ale and my least favorite was Shiner Oktoberfest. Our lunch on Saturday consisted of Sushi in honor of playing Hawaii. I am good with real sushi, but Janet (wife) is not a fan. I convinced her that she could get some rolls with cooked stuff inside and she trusted me. HaHa! It is true; you can rolls for the non adventurous people. We found 3 rolls that she committed to order and she was surprised how good they were. If you run into her in the tailgate area ask her about her sushi experience. I know she would love to share! We watched the LSU - Tennessee game and I about fell out on the floor when the announcers made the comment when Tennessee did not send out their replacement (Palardy) true freshman kicker to kick a 46 yard FG. Lincoln had a sore hamstring so he was not playing. They said Dooley would not send out a true freshman to make that long of a kick. History tells me that they sent Matt out for a 58 yard FG against Hawaii last year. CBS needs to do their homework! Janet's parents (Meggie & Papaw) were in town and came over in the early evening. We pigged out on wings from the Wing Stop and consumed just enough Red Wine to be roasty toasty before the 10:30 PM CST kickoff. I sure am glad we have to watch only one game this late this year. We ordered the video stream from the UH athletic site. Janet (wife) had a cable that went from her computer to the TV so we could watch it on a larger screen. This was really cool. Last year I did not know what to expect watching games on TV. I wore multiple pairs of drawers and stood in the kitchen and watched. It will be interesting to see how I handle myself, but I am going to start out with only one pair of drawers this year. Well it is game time, my cheeks are rosy (red wine kickin' in), the radio is on in one room and the game is on in the bedroom. Well it is late and Janet (wife) needs to lie down to watch the game. As she gets older it is harder for her to stay up past midnight! HaHa! La Tech kicks off and Matt kicks it 5 yards deep for a touch back. Great kick Matt! Hawaii pulls off a FG after 14 plays and I am numb, but ok with them only getting 3 points. La Tech gets the ball and on no, it is 3 and out on our first series. CF is this how it was designed in the first series? We hold Hawaii to a punt and here we go again with another 3 and out. WTH is going on? Hawaii gets the ball back and continues to pick our safeties apart. I just don't understand! We are now down 24 - 0 and I do not have enough red wine in the house. I am watching in one room and listening in the other. Nothing I am doing is helping the team. With a little more than 6 minutes left in the 2nd quarter we make another QB change. If I were a QB, I would be afraid to start! You know you are going to get pulled! This is the craziest offensive scheme I have ever seen. Instead of High Octane we are watching the Sound of Music! This Musical Chair's game is not a football process. We have made full circle with our QB's and Ross is now in the game! About time we get some senior leadership in for this team. Before I go any further I need a definition of Musical Chairs! Musical chairs is a popular adult’s game throughout the world. Whether you play the traditional version or one of its variations, adults of all ages will have good time trying to impress the coaches and grab a spot at quarterback in this game of speed, hitting the receiver’s hands and agility. Ok, I feel better! We are playing the game correctly! Ross leads the team down the field in 10 plays and we score a touchdown. Where has this been? The play calling looks awesome and the execution looked awesome. Even though we are still down in the game I liked what I just witnessed. The first half would end at 24 -7. We take the opening kickoff in the 3rd quarter, cruise down the field and Ray Holley punches the ball in for a score. Maybe we have found our pieces to the puzzle! We would score one more TD and Hawaii would score 2 more TD's and a FG. Hawaii would defeat La Tech 41 -21. I hate to lose and even though Matt made all 3 of his PAT's and Ross came in and led the team to 3 scores I still question the coaching in this game. We have to get everyone on the same page. Coaches need to call plays that work with our current players and the players need to execute the plays that are called. This is D1 football. It is time to step up and finish this season strong. We need to protect our house and go get the road games we are supposed to win. Ross I am proud of what you came in and did. I saw a leader emerge and the team embraced you. I would love to see the same thing happen on the defensive side of the ball. I hope the CF & CD have a little more patience at the QB position. Putting in a new QB every other set of downs is not working. On the defensive side we have to quit giving up so much open space to the receivers. We should not get picked apart like that. If we can win the game at the line of scrimmage we will finish the season strong! We have to protect our QB and we must get penetration on their QB. With all of this being said, I did see some positives come from the game. I love this team and university and want to win as much as everyone else does. I say things that might upset people, but I say what I feel. I want to give a shout out to Richie Casey, Tim Molton & Ray Holley. Great touchdowns! I also want to give a shout out to the equipment staff and the training staff. Jeff Springer and Keith Bunch do not get enough credit for what they have to pull off at these away games. A special thanks to one of the hardest behind the scenes guys goes to Dan "The Equipment Man" Matthiesen! Thanks for all you do Dan! Utah St., are you ready for us? I don't think so. You are going to see a team that you never expected to see. We play three Aggie teams this year. That is just crazy! What is a Blue Aggie? Do you have an all male cheer leading squad as well? What the heck is your Beno Club? I know what Beno is at the drug store! The definition given by the Blue Aggie web site is stupid. The term Beno came from some Salt Lake City students, while still in high school, had approached their principal at West High about starting a club. The principal's response was that there would "be no" clubs. The experience stayed with the young men, and when they came north to attend Utah St. the name stuck with them.Today one can become a "Beno Club Member" by receiving a kiss on the "A" (statue) under a full moon at midnight by somebody who already is a "Beno Club Member," or on Homecoming or A-Day by somebody who is not. This True Blue Aggie tradition is run by the Student Alumni Association and Beno Club members. I will end my Hawaii experience here! Bring it on Blue Aggies! You are going to get your ears thumped in Ruston! Go kick some butt on Saturday Dawgs! I will be there cheering as hard as I can! If you are out and about before are after the game stop by tailgate spot 52. We have cold beverages and something to nibble on. Matt will be there after the game as well! I appreciate all of those who are following my journey. It is such a blast to follow Matt and this awesome group of young men! I write from the bottom of my heart and what my feelings are at that moment. I don’t intend to upset or hurt anyone, but I am very passionate about La Tech Football! Don’t forget to listen to my friends at La Tech Nation Radio every Tuesday night from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. I was not there to take any pictures and I want to thank Woody Rust, Hawaii Sports, Dan Matthiesen and Gantt Graham for letting me use their awesome photography in my blog. May your Football Season be filled with many Football Victories, Sunny Smiles, Sandy Dreams and Travel Your Way! If you need help with your Travel Plans just let me know! Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week! College Football Dad!

Hawaii 9/30/09

Holy Hawaiian Haka! It is a middle of the week ESPN2 game. It is a Wednesday night all by your lonesome for the nation to see game. 10 days until the game and a couple of days off should help. I can't wait for this one. What the heck is a Haka anyway? They say it is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment. It sounds like to me that it is a wide variety of vigorous body actions such as slapping the hands against the body and stamping of the feet. Now that is funny right there! My week started out better with the business, but with a middle of the week game and travel on the bookends it will still take me several days to catch-up. I am trying to get ready for October 14th. In the travel business it is considered the World's Largest Cruise Night. Actually October is National Cruise Vacation Month. Enough of that! This is College Football Dad, not the travel wizard! I talked to Matt several times over the weekend. Since they have a Wednesday night game their Monday practice routine would start on Wednesday and they would duplicate Thursday twice. There must be a method to the madness. Matt's practice week went well. He went back to his normal steps and angle. They still worked on the 5 kick package. There are 5 kicks that can be used at any given time and being prepared for the unexpected is expected. The kickoff distance will fluctuate as they continue working on hang time. Yes we need the hang time, but we have to get our coverage down the field for it to be successful. I head to Dallas on Sunday to spend a few days with my wife (works in Big D full time) before I head over to Ruston on Tuesday. My Tuesday starts dark and early as I head out at 5:40AM. I don't sleep much the few days before the game. My brain tries to coach and run through possible play combinations. No I am not a coach, but my mind thinks it is. My parents (John & Carol) and their neighbors Pat & Gerri Piscitelli drove up the day before all the way from The Villages, FL. I think it was 13 hours. That is a long way to see a La Tech game. My parents (John & Carol) have not been to Ruston before and they were super excited. Matt met them for breakfast on Tuesday morning. He took them out on the field, showed the guys the locker room and took a few pictures out on the middle of the field with them. They could not believe how narrow the goal post were from the on the field view. They got to spend some time in the La Tech Hall of Fame and were amazed at how many athletes they knew had played at La Tech. I hit Ruston about 9:45AM and hooked up with Matt for a little while before they had to be at the field house. Looks like Matt had a few care packages brought to him from Carol and Gerri. There was food and more food. They brought tons of cookies, homemade biscotti, homemade cinnamon streusel, gum, peanut butter filled pretzels, peanut butter crackers, granola bars, peanut butter, jelly, pop tarts and a case of sun chips. I guess everyone wants Matt to gain a couple of pounds this year. With three other roommates I am sure that it will go quick once they get wind of more food in the apartment. Since this was a Red Out game we had to go to Mitchells Pharmacy to check out the gear from the Tech Team Shop. We bought a few things there and then off to the bookstore for more stuff. I think the local economy was supported on this trip. A quick lunch at the Dawg House and Matt was off to grab his suit and head to the field house. We headed to the TAC at 6:15PM for a pep rally before the team headed out for the team hotel for the night. Coach Dooley was intense and to the point. Since the game was being televised on ESPN2, there is always a possibility that the announcing crew could be staying at the same hotel and sure enough, Lou Holtz, Mark May and Reese Davis were all staying at the Fairfield Inn. It was pretty cool to be in the same vicinity as these guys. Reese and Lou even sat next to us at the Log Cabin during dinner. Reese had a huge steak and Lou had a burger and wine. We did introduce ourselves and let them enjoy their dinner. After a few night caps, game day had arrived. My stomach was churning. I don't think I was hungry so it must have been my pregame nerves. We headed to Monroe around 10AM to visit with Matt for about an hour. He was very calm in my book. I could not sit still. Maybe it was still the nerves or it could have been the adult beverages calling my name. He even had a button come off of his suit and had his grandmother sew on a new button. I don't think his ice water ever melts. I wished him luck and back to Ruston we go. My wife and her Uncle (David) would meet us at the hotel. The red is on and at 2:00 we head to the stadium. I am still trying to figure out the lay of the land so our tailgating would remain out the back of my suburban. The cooler was loaded with beer, wine and water. We had a few wine and cheese party like appetizers. My friends back in Dallas and San Antonio are going give me hell again. I am a grill/smoker/meat man and I will figure out where I can cook before the next home game. After a few beers my stomach had calmed down some, but it was still rolling. I don't think the whole ESPN; only game on the tube thing has sunk in yet. About 4:45PM we head over to the field house so we can see the team get off the bus. They must be coached how to get off the bus and walk. Their eyes are looking forward and their game face is on. It is very cool to see your son before the big game. I know Matt to well. Before I can walk back to the suburban, drink another beer and get into the stadium, he will already be on the field. His work ethic just amazes me. During his pregame workout he looked pretty good. I have about got this all figured out. After Matt goes through his routine Coach Tommerdahl will check with Matt to get his range. They chat for about three minutes and Coach Tommerdahl takes torn pieces of paper, throws them in the air and charts the wind direction. I am sure the information is given to Coach Dooley. After watching Matt's warm-ups I had figured his range to be 49 towards the Bulldog and 51 towards the Jumbotron. I would find out later I was pretty close. Game time is here! The crowd is incredible. There is red everywhere. I am very impressed with how many fans and students have come out on a Wednesday night. If you have not been to a game at Joe Aillet Stadium you are in for a treat. They even have guards guarding the Bulldog! This is great! Are you ready for some football? Hawaii kicks off and the game is on. Hawaii marched down the field and threw up a quick field goal. We came back with a running game and a touchdown. Where had that been? Matt would kick a 28 yard field goal in the second quarter. We are looking good. It was almost half time and as I got up to head upstairs to the men's room I see them sending Matt out for a 58 yard field goal. Are you kidding me? Nooooo! Good, they call time out and they were just trying to play with Hawaii. Wrong! They were playing with me. All they wanted to do was remind everyone that there was a return guy in the end zone! They sent him back out there. Why? What are we doing? By the way I no longer need the men's room. That is why I wear two pairs of drawers. The ball is snapped, the kick is on the way and it ended up a tad short. I could not figure out the reasoning behind this. The half ended and my mind is coaching again. The kick was not that bad as it would end up about 3 yards short. I was very proud of Matt's efforts, but still very confused. I guess I will have to wait until after the game to find out. My oldest son called me at the half and said that after Matt kicked, the camera was on Coach Dooley and he had a grin on his face. I guess it could of been a look at what we have for the next four years fist pump grin. I know Matt too well. If the band would not of been on the field, he would of gone back to the same spot and kicked that 58 yarder again during half. La Tech would come out and dominate Hawaii on both sides of the ball. Matt would kick another short field goal of 26 yards and the offense would rack up 2 more touchdowns for a 27 - 6 victory over Hawaii. What a game! This was just the jump start that we needed as we head into conference play. We got to go over by the locker room and talk to Matt for a little bit. He was ok with everything and the 58 yarder did not faze him. I told him that it fazed me and he just laughed. He said he had good contact and height on the ball. He was disappointed that he missed, but if you have to miss, it is better for it to be a 58 yarder. We snapped a few family photos and head over to Chili's for our after game meal. I don't think Chili's was prepared for all of the people wanting to eat after the game. The manager was accommodating and asked us to be patient and they would get everyone fed. They did and good football conversation was had by all. When Matt was asked why Coach Dooley would kick a 58 yard field goal, he said that the time was right. Did Matt expect it to happen right then? I am not sure. My explanation is that Coach Dooley not only wants to teach these guys how to play football, but he also wants to teach them about life. I call it always be ready for the unexpected in life. He wanted to push Matt into something he was not expecting and see how he would react. Was Matt ready? No! I call that lesson learned. Matt will grow from that experience. I asked Matt what his range was for the game and I hit the 49 yards toward the Bulldog on the nose, but his range to the Jumbotron was 53. I was off by 2 yards in that direction. What a game and victory for La Tech. Our goodbyes are said and our lives head in different directions for another week. As I am driving back to Dallas for a couple of days before I head back to San Antonio, I reflect on how lucky I am to get to live college football with his eyes. I talked to Matt around noon on Thursday and he was in Coach Dooley’s office watching film. It never stops! Nevada is up next. I am not making this trip so I will be stuck to the TV. I feel like this is also a must win game. If we play the same way on both sides of the ball like we did against Hawaii, we will win this game. I just wanted to thank all of the family and friends for making the trip to Ruston along with all of the supporters watching the game on the tube. We truly appreciate all of the support. Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week! College Football Dad!