Reflections! 12/31/09

I sit here and reflect on what has just happened over the last 6 months. I have been on one of the wildest rides of my life and I got to continue my passion for college football through his eyes! We knew that Matt was very self driven and passionate about achieving his first year goals, but I had no idea he would achieve them the way he did. I am so proud of his work ethic and dedication to his team. I know Matt will work even harder in the off season and will get bigger and stronger. Mental toughness and the desire to perfect his craft will keep Matt grounded and focused on the teams goals as well as his personal goals. One of my all time favorite business quotes is what Matt is doing in his football career and what I want to do in my business career! “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson My reflections will be highlights on the good, the bad, the ugly and the many people that we are so thankful for. Before I begin I have to thank Chris Boniol, Matt Stover and Josh Scobee for their support and constant communication with Matt. Matt's stats for the season were quite impressive in my mind for a true freshman swimming in shark infested waters. Matt ended the season 12 of 16 for field goals with only one miss less than 50 yards and he was 42 of 43 on PAT's. He was the leading scorer on the team with 78 points. His kickoff average of 57 yards is a little misleading when you play a hit the numbers game and you have some that go out of bounds. I am not a fan of this type of kicking, but what do I know! I am just a College Football Dad and a Travel Specialist! I think that there are situations where a pooch kick is the right thing to do, but not as a common theme. I hope CD and CT work on kicking it deep during the off season and CH works on maximizing his leg muscle. I went back and looked at all of Matt's kicks and not one kick was completely blocked the entire season. There were a couple of balls that got tipped, but still went through the up rights. I think special props needs to be given to the special teams O-line and the trust and timing with Thomas, Cade and Matt. That is an awesome stat that most people do not look at. I want to take time to thank those who have made an impact on me during my first season as a Bulldog. I have to start with my wife for her strength and courage during the season along with my oldest son for his extreme support for his younger brother. I want to give a very special thanks to Thomas Graham for taking Matt under is wings and being the most ultimate mentor for Matt that we could have ever asked for. I have to thank all of our immediate family, close friends and friends of family for traveling many thousands of miles in support of Matt and the Bulldogs both home and away. I have met or had email communication with so many awesome people during my freshman year. (Tom Morris, Philip Parker, Dusty McGehee, Rusty Anding, Adam McGuirt, Ross Harper, Don Garland, the La Tech Football staff and Ross aka Marketdawg) I thank you for all of your support and welcoming us to the Bulldog family. I have to thank Jonathan Ford and the BleedTechBlue Radio team. Fantasy Cruise & Travel was a sponsor this year and I will do it again next year. I also have to thank Matt’s original roommates; Josh (Summer Camp), Doak, Matt and Vince. These young men will be very successful at La Tech and they are just good people. Last but not least I have to thank Dan “The Equipment Man” Matthiesen. Dan and Matt are currently roommates and they keep each other in check. Dan is an awesome person and will keep Matt in line! I am not sure if this should be the Nelly Awards or just reflections of the season, but here we go. I am going to start with the ugly. The ugly for the season were the kickoffs that went out of bounds and the missed 38 yard field goal at Nevada. Directional kicking to a number on opposite sides of the field will cause balls to go places they should not when you do not warm up this way. I hope we can kick the ball deep next year and yes I understand that the coverage team was banged up this year and the return personnel will determine where CD wants the ball kicked, but kick it deep! The bad for the season for me was the missed PAT at the Idaho game, the missed 58 yard field goal at the Hawaii game and the missed 52 yarder against San Jose St. Matt had missed one PAT during his high school career and now one for his college career. I feel like Matt will make several 50 plus yarder's during his college career, but I thought 58 yards might of been a stretch this early in his career. With this being said I am a huge fan of CD and how he not only coaches, but he teaches life’s lessons. How these young men react to adverse situations will help them be prepared for what life throws at them. Now for the good! The 46 yard field goal in his first college game at Auburn, the 3 field goals against LSU, the surprise on sides kick that he recovered against Boise St and his only tackle in the San Jose State game. I will also include the missed 56 yard field goal against Idaho. I was very proud of the effort in this game winning kick that had the distance, but missed to the left. It was not about the miss, but that with the game on the line that good contact was made and it had a chance! The other made field goals and PAT's were all awesome in how they were made, but this is what his craft is and should be made to ensure your starting position and a possible future career. I saved the Double Drawer’s Award for Mr. Tom Morris for taking pictures of the away games that I did not attend. I got to watch these games on TV or listened over the internet. This was one of the hardest things mentally I have ever gone through and thank goodness that I had extra pairs of drawers! I am looking for care packages for next year! Seriously a very special thanks to Tom Morris for letting me use some of his pictures for my blog for the away games I did not attend. Even though the team did not have a winning season this year they were in all of the games during the second half of the season. La Tech would end up at 4 - 8 for the season. With the playing time of so many freshmen and more home games I feel like the 2010 season will be a winning one and the Bulldogs will be bowling again. It has been a blast for me this season to take my thoughts and share my passion through him. I appreciate all of those who have followed my journey. I write from my heart and what my feelings are at that moment. I will continue to write about Matt and the football process up to when spring practice starts on a limited basis. May your New Year be filled with Sunny Smiles, Sandy Dreams and Travel your Way! Until our paths cross again, have a blessed New Year! College Football Dad!

Fresno St 10/21/09

I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving! My motto is that it is only one day and you should be able to cheat, go back for seconds, lie on the couch, watch some football and go back for more. It works for me! Matt was able to make it home for a couple of days thanks to Dan "The Equipment Man" Matthiesen. Dan hauled Matt to Dallas for a hand off to Janet's Uncle David who brought Matt down on Thanksgiving Day. Teamwork at it's best! It was really great spending some time with him and our oldest son Tyler. I tried to keep his calorie intake up so he could maintain his game weight. Matt's Thanksgiving meal consisted of turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, bread, pumpkin pie and buttermilk pie. Matt is a very picky eater as there were many other items to choose from. All kidding aside, he pigged out this weekend. I delayed myself in writing about Fresno St. in honor of the bye week. If La Tech can have a bye week then College Football Dad can have a bye week! HaHa! My research on this week’s opponent will be a little strange since their mascot is also a bulldog. Who was first to have this mascot? In 1901, La Tech organized a football team and decided the team needed not only school colors, but a mascot. A unanimous decision was reached as the bulldog, the first hero of Tech, was given the honor. You need to read the full story about the "Legend of the Bulldog" and the "Spirit of 1988" It was on November 21, 1921, that the Morning Republican first referred to Fresno State as the "Bulldogs". The full story can be read here at "FSU History" Based on all of this, we were the first bulldog and should be the only bulldog in the WAC. What in the heck is this green "V" on their helmets? When Pat Hill became Fresno State's head coach prior to the 1997 season, he wanted to reinvigorate San Joaquin Valley pride in the Bulldogs. Because Fresno State is the only Division I football program in the Valley, a 250-mile stretch in California's midsection from Bakersfield to Modesto, Hill wanted to make the Bulldogs the "Green Bay Packers of college football." This representation of the San Joaquin Valley is displayed in the form of a green "V" on the back of the Bulldogs' helmets. The green in the "V" is a symbol to the agricultural community of the Central Valley. I guess you do whatever it takes, but in my book the green "V" is pretty goofy looking! Ok, that is enough research. My Biz week started off with a quick trip to Ft Lauderdale for my company’s national convention and a quick visit to the "Oasis of the Seas". OMG, this cruise ship not only is the world's largest, but the newest to hit the Caribbean. You can even zip line from one end of the ship to the other. Now that is just crazy. I want my football! Enough of this other stuff, let’s move on. Sunday started off with the stretch and stride and film breakdown. Matt said the film breakdown went ok and Coach Dooley will continue to push him and the special teams until they are perfect. In my opinion, even though you make three field goals at LSU and hit your numbers for some of your kickoffs, you win as a team, you lose as a team and there is always something that you can do better. I thought it was pretty funny when Matt told me that Thomas had asked Coach Dooley if they could practice kicks somewhere else besides the practice field and Coach Dooley said why in the heck would we change now when you have the #2 field goal kicker in the WAC? I have not really paid attention to the practice field, but I guess it has a pretty severe crown on it. They worked on the RR short and deep a lot during the week. Friday has arrived and the team will depart from Monroe and head to the valley of California. I spoke to Matt after they arrived at the team hotel and he said that Fresno had to be the graffiti capital of the world, along with the largest population of El Caminos he had ever seen. They had gone through their walk thru at a Junior College in the vicinity and the team was pretty excited about their chances against Fresno. Saturday was upon us and I was feeling pretty good about this game. I hate when the game is not on TV and there is no Internet stream of the game. I did find a station out of Fresno to listen to the game. Game time has arrived and I have no clue what his demeanor is. We receive the kickoff and just like that it is 7 - 0. This is cool! Fresno St scores two quick touchdowns and we once again with Mr. Dennis Morris and the first quarter come to an end with the score 14 - 14. I was not feeling good about Matt's first two kickoffs. The first one went out of bounds and from what I could tell from the announcers was the second one was sort of a low line drive. What sort of scheme are we doing this week? Both teams score another touchdown and we go into the half tied at 21. Mr. Dennis Morris has got to be one of the best tight ends in college football. Fresno St gets a field goal and we score another touchdown in the 3rd quarter making the score 28 - 24 as we start the 4th quarter. I am not sure that Matt is having a good kickoff showing this week. I just wish I could see them instead if listing to them. Fresno St would kick two more field goals in the fourth with one of them being a 35 yard game winner with no time on the clock. Fresno St. would win 30 - 28. I absolutely hate losing, but I am very proud of our team’s performance. The last 5 games we have had a chance and that is all I can ask for. We came so close in this one. I knew if Matt were to call that he was going to be pissed. Sure enough he called and yep, he was pissed. The whole team was very upset with this loss. During our conversation Matt said he rolled his ankle during warm-ups and only kicked off twice. WTH? The radio I was listening to kept saying that Nelson was kicking off during the whole game. I guess during warm-ups with his kickoffs that he rolled his plant foot ankle. It was pretty swollen and he thought he could work his way through it. I guess he never told anyone until he came off the field after the second kickoff and Coach Dooley wanted to know what was going on. Matt told him what had happened and Coach Dooley told him that you have got to let me know these things. I still would of let you kicked, but tell me about these things. Matt felt horrible as he thought he could just work through the pain. He told Coach that he could do PAT's and field goals, but would need to get his ankle taped. I had no clue that he was hurt, much less that he was not kicking off after the second kickoff. The Fresno announcers must not have known either. He knew that Coach Dooley was going to tear him a new one on the plane ride home and in their meetings. I told him that I was proud of him and the team and to be proud of this team and where it is headed. This will be another one of those lessons learned and he will grow stronger from it. As in life, business and football, communication is key and even as strong willed as Matt is he understands this. Sunday afternoon they started treatment on is ankle and with the bye week they tell him he will be 100% for the game against San Jose St. Matt said that in his meeting with Coach Dooley that he was a little pissed that he did not tell him before the game about his ankle. I think Matt has a full understanding of Coach Dooley’s expectations pertaining to an injury. This week’s practice consisted of fine tuning some things along with field goals. The team gets to leave for home to celebrate Thanksgiving Wednesday afternoon and has to report to a team meeting and dinner at 4:00 Sunday. San Jose St. is on the horizon and we will have a heard of family attending the game. Actually my sister and her family will be attending their first game along with family members who have been to several games prior. With this being a 1:00 CST kickoff this will probably only be a liquid tailgate and then dinner afterwards at the Log Cabin. I think I know what a Spartan is and will research it later this week. All I know is that I want us to finish strong and kick some Spartan butt! I hope everyone has a good week and I look forward to seeing the stands full as we send off our awesome seniors with a bulldog victory! If you want to buy some pictures of your favorite kicker check out some of the photos that Mr. Tom Morris took at the game by visiting LaTechSportsPix. There are some pretty incredible shots. Also don’t forget to listen to my friends at BleedTechBlue Radio every Tuesday night. They might be on Monday night this week due to a basketball game so you will need to check. It should be a great show as always. Good luck Bulldogs as you take on the Spartans on our field. Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week! College Football Dad!

Nevada 10/9/11

Another nationally televised game with the spotlight to ourselves. This is pretty awesome! It's a Friday night lights in the "Biggest Little City in the World." ESPN game against the Wolf Pack. Hoo Ya! I am not going to make the trip to Reno. This will be the first game that we will not have a presence in the stands. I guess I need to figure out a few things about the Wolf Pack. They have two Wolf Mascots. One is named Alphie and the other is Wolfie Jr. I am not sure what happened to Wolfie Sr., but I guess this is their version of a wolf pack. I did find out that they have a kicking record for the school. Nevada's Pat Brady holds the record for the longest punt in college football history with his 99-yard punt against Loyola Marymount on October 28th, 1950. It had to be wind aided, but that still is a long ways. Enough of this Wolf Pack crap. The team is coming off of a huge win against Hawaii and I feel like this game is a must win for us. I had several conversations with Matt during the week. His field goal practice was going well and they had a few things they were working on with his kick offs. His hang times and distance were pretty consistent. I still like the right to right kick, but when you have five different kicks you practice every week you never know what will be called during the game. The team hit Reno around 3:15 CST. They were going to check into the hotel first and then head out to do their walk thru. They ended up going to a high school stadium. I thought this was sort of odd since I thought all walkthrough’s are done at the field you were going to play at. I guess when you are just going through your substitution packages it really does not matter. Matt was impressed with the dryness of the air and the snow on the mountain tops. It would be dinner, a movie and lights out. I am so glad Friday is here! Matt said he had a team breakfast at 9:30, position meeting at 10:30, chapel at 1:40, team lunch/dinner at 2:30 and hit's the bus at 3:50 for a 4:00 arrival at Mackay Stadium. It sounds like their day is pretty organized, but with some gaps. Matt did mention to me that the hotel had a driving range that had floating greens out in a fake lake. It has been a crazy week with the business. Next week is what we call in the travel business the World's Largest Cruise Event. I have great deals and chance to win free cruises. It should be a fun week. I am ready for some football. I have been wondering about this game all week. How will we react? With both teams coming off of huge wins the week before, will we be focused? We have to multi task as an offense. We cannot have too many eggs in one basket! Time will tell very soon. I will go at this one by my lonesome. My wife is in Dallas and I am in San Antonio. I say by myself, but my two dogs will be watching with me. It's pretty funny though. When I tell them Matt is on the TV, they go look out the window by the front door. I have decided that my meal of choice will be my infamous Whine & Wangs. The drums will start marinating around noon and they will hit the steamer around six. I know it sounds weird and there is more to the process, but you can check out my madness at the Whine & Wangs link. As the game approaches I start my pacing. I am a horrible TV watcher if it has to do with someone I know. I need a few more glasses of whine. I see a glimpse of Matt as Nevada gets set to kick off. Matt always wants the first kick! The kick goes to Livas and the race is on. We score in the next couple of plays. As Matt gets ready to kick his PAT I have to go stand in the kitchen and watch. Don't ask me what difference it makes, but I have a real bad habit! I am super excited right now. As half time approaches I am very concerned. We go into half down 17 - 7. I hope the team gets refocused. I take my intermission to partake in the Wang portion of my meal. They have nice heat and my whine choice is paired nicely. It does not look very pretty when you get wang sauce on your whine glass. I have to tell a funny! Matt said that he and Cade came out about 10 minutes after half was over so they could warm up and the whole stadium booed them for several minutes! As he was kicking during his warm-ups before the team came out they would blow air horns every time he would kick the ball. Sounds like a concentration test to me. Matt would be short sleeve in the first half and long sleeve in the second half. I did not notice, but it was true. Nevada scores early and it is not looking good. La Tech answers with a score and we have some hope so I thought. Nevada scores right at the end of the 3rd quarter and early in the 4th Midway through the 4th we get down to the 21 and it is 4th down. We need touchdowns and out comes Matt for a 38 yd field goal. NOOOOO! Sure I want to see Matt kick the ball, but I want the team to win also. We need touchdowns. Matt would miss his first real makeable field goal of his college career. La Tech would go on and lose 37 - 14. This is not what I expected. Matt called me right before he would board the bus to the airport. All I can say is he was pissed that they lost and he was pissed that he missed a chip shot. I asked him what happened and he said "Dad, I did not pay attention to one small detail. I did not line up properly. It will not happen again!" "Yes the wind was blowing and the field goal posts where only high school height, but college width and I missed." I know Matt will learn from this. He is way to mentally sound. He watched film with Coach Dooley on the way back to Ruston. His last kick had a 4.26 hang time and Coach Dooley was stoked. They just need to work on the coverage. This is a quote from Matt after he returned to his apartment Saturday morning at 7:00AM "I'll walk through the fire if this is what it takes to take me even higher. Then I’ll come through like I do when the world keeps testing me." I am not sure where he got his mental toughness, but it did not come from me. Matt will be fine and loves learning life’s lessons. I am a firm believer of failing at something every day. This is how we improve in life. I have to admit that I did have two pair of drawers on during the game, but all was good. I can use them for another game. I will be attending the New Mexico State and cannot wait to say hey to Matt. There will be many family and friends at the game and I cannot wait to visit with you all. We were in this same position last year and we went 8 - 5 and went bowling. I have confidence that we will be knocking down pins again. The pictures that are in this blog were taken by Mr. Tom Morris. He has allowed me to use them in my blog. If anyone wants any photos of your favorite kicker please visit La Tech Sports Pix. Thanks again Tom! I just wanted to thank all of the family and friends for all of the support. We truly appreciate it. Let’s get ready to kick some Aggie butt! Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week! College Football Dad!

Nicholls St. 9/19/09

The first home game is right here, right now! I have decided to go to the game. Hoo Ya! Travel is HOT right now! Well actually I had a ton of silent pressure to go to his first home game. I heard it loud and clear! Now that Matt has played 2 weeks in a row in his white uniform, it is time to bring the blue ones out. Then we get to see the red one after that against Hawaii. School, weights, practice and film work have gone well this week. Matt was convinced that he needed to chang his approach on his kickoffs. He and Coach Dooley had discussed this on the flight home from the Navy game. He spent a lot of the week working on his kickoffs. They want him to come more at an angle and push the ball to either corner at the number. This sounds like a big adjustment to me. I know I am not the coach, so I can only say what I feel. Nooooooo! Kickers are so unique and tweeking is ok, but no need for a tune up until after the season is over! They are married to Matt for the next 4 to 5 years and I can only watch and make comments to myself without getting in trouble. A quick funny! Matt and Coach Dooley had a drop kick competition on Tuesday. I LMAO when Matt told me this. They started out at the 15 yard line for a 25 yarder. They both missed their first 2 kicks and Coach Dooley made his on the third attempt and matt stepped up and made his. Coach said all is good until we meet again. What a way to end your night. My journey starts out Friday morning as I head to Liberty Hill to catch a ride with Mike & Melynda. (Mike is Janet's brother) This is Mikayla's (my niece) birthday weekend and she got to bring a friend (Holly) to the game. She is #33's biggest #1 fan. I promise she is. The first two games she watched on TV with her stop watch so she could chart Matt's hang times. See, I told you. We hit I-35 about 4:30 and are headed to Big D. We will all stay at Janet's aunt & uncles house. (David & Barbara) After a night of discussing football I was ready for the game to start. I could not sleep a lick. A shower and a cup of coffee were calling my name at 5:00AM. I did not dream about the game, so I am not sure what the heck the deal is. I guess it is my inner brain is doing all of this to me. We hit the road at eight and we should arrive Ruston around noon. Do I hear a Johnny's Pizza stop calling? Yes we do! Janet's mom and dad (Meggie & Papaw) would meet all the rest of us at Johnny's for lunch. The rest of our afternoon would consist of shopping at the bookstore and the Tech Team Shop. Next on the agenda was making sure that the beer and wine had the right amount of ice on it. Since we had multiple vehicles and only one parking pass we would all meet at the field house so we could see the team get off the bus. The football team never stays in Ruston the night before a game. They head to a hotel in another city, just like a road game. They have a team dinner, go to a movie and get a late night snack before lights out. The team has breakfast and meetings on Saturday morning. Then a team lunch before they head back to Ruston. They typically arrive to all stadiums about 2 hours before kickoff. I can hear the sirens for several minutes as the team is escorted to the stadium. My heart is racing and my doubled up pair of drawers are in place as the busses roll in. You see this stuff on TV, but not in person with your own son. Man that suit he had on looked like the bomb and his headphones were rocking! I sure was a proud dad as he passed us and we all got a small head nod. That is ok. I know he is focused. What an experience! I sure need beer! This was a special tailgate today. Beer, wine, sodas and cupcakes were on the menu. Cupcakes? It is all good, we are celebrating Mikayla's 12th birthday. Even though it was his first home game, we kept it simple so we could get the lay of the land and see what we could do for future games. I know, it is not like me, but all is ok! Tailgating will get exotic at future games. Another funny moment! I will get hit for this for sure! As Janet stood at the field house to see Matt get off the bus, she stood in an ant pile and now the ants were kicking in. They had created a serious ant's in the pants moment. She could not wait to get in the stadium to see Matt warm-ups. That is to funny that she had real ants in her pants. She has to know his temperature before game time. He really looked good in warm-ups. That is a good indicator as far as I am concerned. Its game time and my drawers are in place. La Tech will kick off first. Matt wants it this way every time. The crowd is intense and the new jumbotron is rocking and it even had a big picture of Matt and he introduced himself. Are you ready for some college football? I am so let go for a ride. His kickoff is good but not up to his liking. I think that the big adjustment to his steps this week has maybe screwed him up some. I know Matt too well and he will adjust and get things fixed. Once a perfectionist always a perfectionist! Matt would make a 24 yard field goal in the first quarter. He would also make a 44 yard field goal in the second quarter. I am concerned with the ball leaning forward too much on his PAT’s and field goals, but that is just what I see through my telescope. Matt would end up making 6 PAT's on top of the 2 field goals as La Tech would go on and beat Nicholls St 48 - 13. That makes Matt the leading scorer on the team with 21 points and he is perfect with 4 of 4 on field goals and 9 of 9 on PAT's after 3 games. Does he know that he is only 18 and just got out of high school? If I sound calm, I am not. I am just numb at what I am witnessing and that it is my son. I am still open to all drawer care packages. I will need many pairs during the future games. It was really cool after the game. We got to hang out by the locker room and visit with Matt. Sweaty uniform and it was all good. We took some family photos and watched as he signed autographs for his biggest fans. Matt seemed to be ok with his overall game, but was not happy with his kickoffs. He will get things fixed. We all know Matt to well. To keep with our Friday night high school football tradition, Matt wanted to go to Chili's and eat dinner. Just like the old days except we were missing Joe, Julie and Jake. (Jake was Matt's holder on every one of his PAT's and field goals during high school at Steele along with being one heck of quarterback and Joe and Julie are mom and dad) Matt would come to the hotel and have breakfast with us Sunday morning before we headed back to our hometowns. What a home opener it was. Matt, all I can tell you is thanks for all of these awesome memories you are giving us. The team will have 10 days to get ready for Hawaii as they come into Ruston for a Wednesday night ESPN2 game. I heard Lou Holtz and Mark May will be doing the game for ESPN2. I can't wait to see how they say Cibolo, TX. It should be a hoot! I will end Nicholls St week here. Hawaii is up next and is almost a must win game. My parents and some friends are driving up from Florida and David (Janet's uncle) is going to the game. Should be a blast and we hope that Hawaii “Lei’s” a goose egg. I want to wish a special birthday wish to Mikayla (AKA MT). I hope you have the best birthday ever! Thanks for letting me spend the weekend with you. Until our paths cross again please have a blessed week and a few days. College Football Dad!

Navy 9/12/09

It is Navy week! Wow is this really real? I still have not recovered, nor caught up from going to Auburn. It was hard to focus on work and writing. I guess this college football thing is going to be nonstop. I had better get my seat belt on and keep my foot on the gas before I get left behind. I did pick up a few extra drawers on the way home. I am still accepting drawer care packages by the way. Matt and the team returned from Auburn around 2:30AM Sunday morning. On the flight home, Matt and Coach Dooley got to see the video of his kicks and special teams so they could start breaking things down. Their charter flights come and go from Monroe. That sort of rhymes. That is pretty cool. Monroe is about 25 miles east of Ruston. Once they land, they still have around 45 minutes before they hit the field house. I have not figured this out yet, but on Sunday afternoons they do a stretch and stride. Maybe before the season is over I will figure it out. I talked to Matt a couple of times during Navy week. Practice and the film breakdown of Navy's special teams were going well. Before I go too much further, I want to say how proud I am that Matt is getting to go experience the Naval Academy. Not only to play football, but to see the Academy. "Honor..... Courage..... Commitment....." This is what they live by. These are very powerful words. I support these young men and women as well as the other military institutions. Now that I have said what I needed to, it is time to be a College Football Dad. An opponent is an opponent and it does not matter who it is. You go into the game needing to kick your opponents butt. You can shake hands after the final whistle has blown. There, now you have it! I will not be making this road trip. Janet will be making the journey with her Mom, along with her Aunt and Uncle. David & Barbara, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have done for Janet and our family while we are trying to sell our home in San Antonio. They flew out on Thursday so they could do some of the tourista stuff. On top of that Meggie (Janet's Mom) would eat crab cakes without me! Not fair! The team would leave the field house at 9:00AM Friday morning. Matt called while he was on the bus to Monroe. He felt good and mentally he was focused. I received a text from him at 12:50 CST as they had just landed in Baltimore. Once they got on the bus they would go directly to the field and change into their practice clothes and begin their walk through. After they have gone through their walk through they head to the team hotel. They are staying at the Hilton BWI Baltimore Airport Hotel. When I spoke to Matt, he said that the hotel was 10 times nicer than the Embassy Suites that they stayed at in Montgomery. The team dinner was at 6:30 and meetings started at 7:30. Matt had a special guest sit with him at the team dinner. For those of you who do not know, La Tech has put some great kickers in the NFL. I think you will recognize these three guys. They are Chris Boniol, Matt Stover and Josh Scobee. They all played at La Tech and have done well in the NFL. Josh is still playing and Matt Stover was up until last year. Chris Boniol has been working with Matt for the last three years. Matt's special guest was Matt Stover. Really, a pro kicker talking to Matt at the team hotel? Actually Coach Dooley, Matt Stover and Matt were the only ones at their dinner table. I am not sure what all was talked about, but I am sure some kicking philosophy was discussed. Matt also had another visitor later in the night. You guessed it. It was another Matt. Back at the end of Matt's sophomore year we partnered with NCSA. They are a national recruiting service out of Chicago that helps get your videos and information to colleges all across the USA. Matt Webb was Matt's recruiting contact who he would check in with on a weekly basis during his last two years of high school. Matt Webb also was the deep snapper at Louisville during the 05 -07 season. Matt no longer works for NCSA, but has stayed in touch with us. He now works for the US government in Washington DC and is a volunteer kicking/deep snapping coach at Georgetown University. I know this is a lot of Matt's for one night. None of these Matt's had ever met in person before and my Matt was on cloud 619. Game day has arrived and I am nervous. I guess I am nervous because I cannot see what he is doing during warm-ups and such. This is going to be very weird getting two perspectives of the game. Janet's will be live and mine from the TV. A lot of our family and friends are watching the game with exotic food menus. I know gumbo five ways is on one of them. My menu will consist of a few adult beverages and the smelling of Italian beef. Janet calls right before the game is getting ready to start and said Matt's warm up kickoffs were good and his field goals were very consistent. She said they had an incredible fly over with two F-18's. Tyler and Arnell had come down to watch the game with me. Navy would kick off to start the game. I knew this would not set well with Matt as he wants to get into the game in the very beginning. With the coin toss it is 50/50, so that is going to happen at times. La Tech started out quick with two quick scores. Matt was spot on with his two PAT’s. I have to tell you that even after a few adult beverages, I could not sit and watch him kick his PAT's or kickoffs. I had to go into the kitchen and watch from a far. I don't know how this made it any easier to watch. After he would kick, I could watch the game from my big brown chair. I know, I am weird. I decided to go with only one pair of drawers for this game. I was very close by to extras if I made a mistake. Tech's offense would sputter the rest of the game. Navy won the game 32 - 14. Our offense needs some major tweaking. I am confident that Coach Dooley will get things fixed. After the game the Navy team goes over to where the band and cadets are and La Tech files in behind them as they sang the Navy song. Even though they had their tails handed to them, it was pretty special to see. Then both teams walk off the field together. Janet got to visit with Matt after the game for a few minutes before they headed to the airport. Matt called when he was on the bus while on the way to the airport. He was very disappointed. I did the dad thing and said there is no “I” in the word team. He knows that, but I just had to say it. I told him I was proud of him and to use this as a learning experience. Take the positives out of the game and grow from them. This is still a young team. Matt sat next to Coach Dooley for part of the return trip. They got to dissect the special teams and the kicking game film. There is no rest in big time college football. As soon as the game is over, film is broke down and you start preparing for your next opponent. The team arrived back to the field house about 11:30 PM. It would be lights out and get ready for the next day. We are 0-2 and have to get things on track this coming week. La Tech will be at home as they host Nicholls State. After that game they start the WAC conference games. Hawaii comes rolling into town next. I am not sure if I will make the Nicholls St game or not. I will probably listen to it on the Radio. I will end our Navy game week here. Two weeks in and I am a proud College Football Dad, but a nervous one. Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week. College Football Dad!

Week Three! 8/31/09

The countdown begins. 5 days and several hours until my butt will be in the seats at Jordan Hare Stadium. Am I nervous? You bet I am. My stomach is in knots as I write this week’s blog. Matt is going to be kicking in front of 92K. 97% of them rooting agianst him. As I close my eyes on his first kickoff of fieldgoal, I am sure I will be peeking with one of them. I am not sure I am totally prepared for all of this, but I been practicing wearing two set of drawers. Two weeks of practicing this and it still feels weird. I have been to Jordan Hare Stadium once before. My brother & I went to see FSU play Auburn in 1987. Our tailgating food consisted of Miller Lite and Cashews. It is an awesome stadium and campus. I have been making my list and checking it twice. I am sure I will forget something. We are headed to Troy, AL for a couple of days to hang out with some of my parents friends on Thursday. Jim & Jean Mueller have a home outside of Troy and they are opening their home up to us during this road trip. My parents are coming up from The Villages, FL and my brother is coming up from Tampa. Tyler and a few friends are coming over to Auburn on the day of the game. Our family will be well represented as we root La Tech on. The game starts at 6:00PM CST, so we will have plenty of time early Saturday morning to stake out a place to set up camp for the day. The coolers will be filled with our favorite beverages. The grill will be ready for the brats, dogs and burgers. Chips, dips and cashews will will keep the party going. In the sporting world, going into the home team’s backyard can be somewhat intimidating. I hope we get to meet some cool, football loving fans. One of my good friends in the travel business is a big Auburn fan and will be at the game. I am sure we will share and adult beverage or two. Matt has had a good week. They had good scrimmages Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday night's scrimmage ended the two a day workouts. The scrimmage Wednesday night will have a mock game. They will practice everything just like a game. They will go through pregame warm-up, pregame prayer, sideline adjustments and substitutions. Coach Dooley said that this signifies the end of training camp and beginning of the season. I really like the process that Coach Dooley goes through. Matt worked on his right to right and his right to left this week. Matt's kickoffs and field goals were spot on for most of the week. He was not happy with a few of his kickoffs, but overall he is super excited for Auburn. The team has been staying in a dorm across the street from the athletic facility. On Thursday they dispersed from the dorms and moved into University Park apartments. Some of the seniors and juniors stay off campus and rent houses. University Park is right across from the baseball field and you can still see the football stadium. Matt is staying in a 4 bedroom, 2 bath apartment with 3 other incoming freshmen. Doak Raulston, Vince Cano and Matt Shepperd will be Matt's roomies this year. They are staying on the 3rd floor. Matt & Matt are staying upstairs and Doak & Vince are downstairs. They have a kitchen and living room with this huge Texas flag on the wall. All 4 of these guys are from Texas. Pretty sweet! The team had the weekend off and had a team dinner on Sunday night. This allowed him time to bond with his team mates and get focused for Auburn. Monday morning will bring the game week into perspective. It will be meetings film and practice. Let the games begin! I promise to give you a drawer count after the game is over. Auburn is in my horizon and I cannot wait. Pop's is still very nervous. The game is on ESPNU at 6:00 CST. I hope you get to watch. Until our paths cross again, I hope you have a blessed week. College Football Dad!