NFL in the Olympics??

Friday marked the beginning of what is arguably the greatest combined sporting event in the world, The 2008 Summer Olympics. Every four years we have this unique opportunity to watch the best athletes from around the globe compete in their respective sports for a chance at the Gold. Undoubtedly over the next 21 days hearts will be broken and controversy will ensue. How could it not? The games are in China!

However, I realized this week that some of the most elite athletes in the world will not have the opportunity to participate. Instead they are busting their buts in training camps around the country preparing for what will certainly be a unique and unpredictable season as 32 teams all prepare to compete to be crowned the 2009 NFL Champion of the world. It is truly unfortunate that global expansion by the NFL (NFL Europa) failed miserably and American football will never receive consideration to become an Olympic sport. Honestly, is there no place for American football in the Olympics? I know I would prefer to watch badminton, synchronized swimming and archery….right. Although the Brazilian synchronized swimming twins should do wonders to increase their sports popularity.

If there cannot be a place for the entire sport, there must be a place for its individual athletes, right? I am sure we all remember Hershel Walker’s and Jeremy Bloom’s failed attempts. But to date has there ever been an NFL athlete who has competed and won a medal in the Olympics?

Just think how interesting it would be to see the following NFL athletes compete in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games:

Jason Taylor: Fencing. Did you see his footwork during Dancing with the Stars? Plus, just think about the wing span advantage he would have over his opponents.
Steve Smith: Boxing. Anthony Bright and Ken Lucas can attest to his boxing skills.
The Manning Brothers: Handball. Come on. You score by throwing a ball just smaller than a football through a goal.
Deangleo Hall: Track & Field. He runs a 4.15 40 yard dash.
Larry Allen: Weightlifting. Just watch him bench press 700 lbs.
Chris Cooley: Greco Roman Wrestling. He was an All-American wrestler in high school and the US undoubtedly needs a new face for wrestling to replace Rulon Gardner. Who better?

My point is that not only are we are missing out on watching some of the most elite athletes in the world compete, but they too are missing out on a great and patriotic opportunity to win a medal for their country. Don’t we need a little more excitement than Dara Torres?

Posted by Jake Stewart

Fans Take on Canton

The Trip to Canton

Even as a Guru of the bigs, I had not been to the NFL Hall of Fame. Nestled in a small city in Ohio about 4 hours away, the idea of a trip to see the legends of the game enshrined on one building was too much to pass up. And even though some people believe it is just a hallway named the Hall of Fame, I wanted to see for myself. A couple of my friends and I packed up some memorabilia, permanent markers, and a couple jerseys and headed northwest towards Canton. This past weekend six players were enshrined, three of which were from Washington, my city of football. And when half the inductees are Redskins, it's time to head to Canton.

Arriving Sunday around 1pm, we decided to head into the Hall to take in what has manifested into such a rich collection of memorabilia, stories, and multimedia commemorating a sport that America loves. And apparently to take all this in requires a small fee of $18. Wristband aside, I was spellbound at how this small building (from the outside) was able to hold over 150 years of football. We milled around at the start of the museum looking at each NFL team set-up with a authentic helmet and a small poster behind it commemorating each team. As exciting as that sounds, let's keep walking.

Moving on, we entered into the "head" room, where all the enshrined players, well are enshrined in golden metallic busts of them, most of which look nothing like them. Obviously, I wouldn't know everyone one, but seeing the greatest players who played the game that I love was breath-taking. Baugh, Tarkenton, Smith, Payton, Unitas, Young, Aikman, Ditka, Madden, just amazing to see these men, enshrined as if they were in front of you. Then there were rooms where you could pick different players and watch clips of them, and them talking. One screen held Unitas, Payton, and Baugh which I watched. The fact that they talked about their playing and now they are now dead gave me goosebumps, and reminded me of what these men had done for the game of football. After watching a short film and snapping some photos in front of the Lombardi Trophy, it was time to leave.

But yet, there was a football game going on that evening, that we had tickets for (what a plot twist!!!). Redskins hosted the Colts at Fawcett Stadium, home to several high school and collegiate teams. Holding around 24,000 and change, we had tickets first row by the endzone. Great seats, and even though it was a pre-season contest, it was still football. I decided to get some autographs, and even though names like Harrison and Manning were not in attendance, it bothered me little as my eye was on the Big 4 7. Chris Cooley, my favorite player for the Redskins, did not emerge until middle way through the warm up period. But the way the crowd reacted seeing the figure that resembled a lumberjack was phenomenal. Walking out of the tunnel, the 6'3" 240lb TE out of Utah State was greeted with a loud thunderous applause and his trademark Cooley chant. "They're not booing him, they're saying Coooooooollleyyyy." He waved to the fans indicating he would be over to chat and sign some memorabilia. But what was funny was that fans weren't the only ones trying to get memorabilia signed. Cooley, unknown to almost all fans except my friends and I, was carrying a small holder of playing cards to get signed. Very funny and entertaining to us, and in the slim case that you are reading this Cooley, I need one of those eBay paintings!! Cooley went through some stretches and warmed up, then turning towards the fans. As he walked past I screamed, "Cooley!!" He turned to me and waved, absolutely making my day at the game and walked to the larger portion of fans. I gave chase and around 5 minutes later had my ticket stub signed. Many other fans (30-40) also got his autograph, most likely dwarfing any other player's number of signatures easily.

And I think that's what draws people to Cooley. He's a regular guy, who just happens to catch any ball in his area and make the Pro Bowl. Even him talking to the fans was as if it was any other conversation to him. That's what makes him a NFL player that any fan can appreciate. And by the way, my signed ticket will not be under eBay listings. Adding onto that, Cooley had 2 catches during the game, for right around 10-15 yds.

And if the trip could not get any memorable to me, there was a moment that will stick in my mind for a very long time. During the pre-game warm ups, there was a program on the screens about the Redskins' season last year. The subject of Sean Taylor soon took over the screen, and the whole stadium with it. I commented to my friend that during this time would be the quietest the stadium would be the entire game there. If the screen had been muted, there would have been sheer silence. Looking across the field I noticed that many players were not moving, but glued to the screen that the fans were watching. Portis, Cooley, and others were near the 50-yd line still watching the presentation. Many of them were on the screen talking about the passing of Taylor, most of whom were choked up in the clips shown on the screen, which in turn was affecting them watching it. Daniel Snyder, owner of the Redskins, was also on the field watching this. A photograph came onto the screen with audio of Snyder talking about Sean Taylor. The photo was of Taylor giving a fist- pound to Snyder during the pre-game last year. For those who have never been to Fed-Ex Field, when the Redskins run out past Snyder, they slap his hand. The photo reminded me of the painting of God reaching out with one finger to touch "mankind." It shook me up, and as I looked at Snyder's reaction, it worsened the affect on me. Snyder slowly put a finger behind his dark sunglasses and wiped away a tear, taking a deep breath and slowly shaking his head. Sure this game is also a business, but what I saw proved that there is still a human side to the game, and that even though there are constant stories of teams bickering with each other, there is still a feeling of family and love shared amongst the players, and hopefully money will never take that away. They hadn't just lost a Pro Bowl player, they hadn't just lost a teammate, but a friend, a member of their family.

The game was great (Redskins 30-16) and I was thoroughly impressed with Colt Brennan, who not only acknowledged fans several times, but just was absolutely on point for the Redskins while in the game. Second string maybe? We'll have to see. I was also impressed with other rookies in the game, and I must say that with some off-season acquisitions the Redskins are contenders to make the playoffs again this season.

We got back into town around 2:30-3:00a.m., and even though I was tired, it was one of the best days of summer for me. Recap: (1) I experienced the Hall of Fame (2) I was able to be acknowledged by Chris Cooley, Jason Taylor, Tony Dungy and got Cooley to personally sign my ticket (3) The Redskins won (4) I got a taste of what this season for the Redskins will be like (winning). See you around like a donut. - The Guru

Beard Co-Champions

How am I going to explain myself to brothers with amazing beards when I shaved mine off a week early? Well, by crowning them beard champions. I feel like there will be no dispute on my decision, these crazy canadian beards are maybe the best I've ever seen. I've also decided that since these guys may not be able to make it to the game they will be able to choose a different game. This decision was made only after the amazing pictures graced my email.

Now I understand that some people may feel cheated out of the contest. Especially since I was the only judge. Christy and I have taken this into close consideration and decided that I will make one more beard category! A fan vote will be implimented for the third and final beard winner. I am going to limit it to a final five contestants that I feel deserved to be seen. The pictures and the voting will be up for a week on the site starting next Wednesday. If you have not sent in final beard pictures or want to alter your final picture please do so in the next day and send to cooleyfans@gmail.com. The winner will take tickets to the next home preseason game and a pass to come hang out in the players lot after the game. Once again thanks so much for participating in the contest. It has been so much for for me and I hope for all involved. As soon as possible I will conduct a full video interview with our new winners.

Free Stuff!!

Jason Taylor made a huge impact in the locker room his first week of training camp. The team arrived to the locker room prior to an afternoon practice finding a heap of stacked boxes in front of Jason's locker. Very shortly after, Jason started handing out everything Michael Jordan. I'm not talking about a couple shirts, guys were packing back four or five pairs of shoes, shorts, hats, anything you can think of with the Jordan logo on it. This was taken as an extremely grateful gesture by all the guys, some even teased it was his way of making quick friends. To my surprise, a week later and the Michael Jordan Christmas was on again. This time more guys were aware of what was going on, and because the first handout went so well the crowd quickly grew to over 20 players. From all accounts the second MJ handout was even more successful than the first.

Thursday, week three Redskins training camp and why wouldn't there be another enormous shipment of Jordan gear to Taylor's locker. Were talking thousands of dollars in gear and although it took me three weeks to gain interest into what was going on, I'm now hooked. Jason says, "They (Nike) just send me all the new stuff they're working on, I mean all the new colors and styles and I try 'em out." Well, not just Jason Taylor is trying out the new Nikes, because by handout number three, 40 Redskins were wrestling for anything they could get their hands on. If I didn't know better I would have thought it was a bunch of little kids swarming and begging for Jason's autograph, but the only name that mattered in our locker room was Michael Jordan. Some came away with boxes of goodies and some came away wanting.

I'm proud to say I came away with a couple great blog pictures, so everyone can thank me for sacrificing new shorts for the blog. Hahaha. (Some times I feel like I have to make the sarcasm obvious.) Before we walked out to practice Jason told me, "This will happen at least every two weeks and guys will never get used to it. I never know half the stuff they're sending cause it's gone so fast."

More 20 questions

One of the 20 questions was a celebrity offense. I looked no further than Clinton Portis to field this question. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

QB - Uncle Rico
FB - Mr. T. (Actually looks like our current fullback)
RB - Kung Fu Joe (Clinton choose him to fill his shoes)
TE - The Joker
WR - Forest Gump
WR - Sam Rockwell (Actually his character in The Green Mile)
T - Dewey Cox
G - Shrek
C - Rambo
G - The Terminator
T - Hightower (From Police Academy and did play in the NFL)

I know two of the pictures are missing and the one's I have are all over the place, but it's hard as hell getting these to move around on my little CPU screen. Accept it. Also, I will continue answering more of the questions. We still have a bunch of great one's and I need to take a turn.

20 Questions Colt Brennan and Boozie

Picking out questions asked by everyone on this blog has got to be my favorite part of the website experiment. This time was as good as any and thank everyone who was creative in their questions. We received so many great questions for all kinds of different players so I feel like I need to break up the answer blogs into different sections.

Colt Brennan or as we call him McGarrett (the lead detective from Hawaii five -0) was very popular as far as questions go and after his great performance is generating even more interest, so we will start with McGarrett. I spent about 15 minutes with the couple of rookies in their room Saturday night before the game to ask them some of the questions. Enjoy. And by the way Fred Davis (Boozie) is changing his name from Chocolate Thunder to The Chocolate Assassin. Watch the movie, you'll get it. This is also the first our video blog for Comcast so please tell us what you think about it.

I Lost my own Contest

I am completely ashamed to admit that I bowed ungratefully out of the beard contest today. I will say that it was completely against my will, but did serve a purpose. I filmed my Eastern Motors commercial in Mclean Va. around 12:00 and to fit into my true character I needed to be beardless. I really feel naked, like a piece of me is missing. I felt so much guilt watching the hairs dwindle to the ground.

One of my biggest training camp highlights came in the pre-game Sunday night. I was able to meet three brothers who made a drive from Canada to Canton. I mean, true, real life Redskins fans and all magnificintly bearded! I was able to share a special bond with these guys and now how could I ever ask them to forgive me for ridding the beard. Today really is a day of shame.

What I did feel came out of today was a fantastic couple of commercials. We spent about three hours filming a some different skits and it was a blast to do it with CP, ARE, and Campbell. It was really cool because everything was impromptu and we got to just goof around and do whatever we wanted. I know I'm gonna feel like a total ass when people start giving me grief about the commercials, but I think, I mean I hope they will at least be funny. It's worth a free car!

The day off didn't end with Easterns. Christy and I took it back to the house where we started working with a couple of film producers on a reality TV show. Yes, reality TV. Forget Jason Taylor and his acting career, I'm going big time. Just kidding, really after today I've come to the conclusion that I'm shitty in front of any camera. Thank god for football!

Oh, on the plus side of bearded things, Yoder is standing very strong. Also, just so everyone understands, the contest is still on, yea I bowed out but that doesn't mean anyone should. Bills tickets baby! Parking Pass!

Top 20 Preseason songs Week 1

I figured every one likes to look through an Ipod so I just went back and found the last 20 songs I listened to.  These are from the trip to Canton and I think it might be cool to put down the top 20 from every game this season.  Also, I'll try to provide a new players soundtrack with mine.  I think we will find some awesome new songs. 

1. Coldplay - Violet Hill

2. Kid Rock - All Summer Long

3. Mickey Avalon - Jane Fonda

4. Kalai - Honeymoon Uh Huh

5. Thriving Ivory - Angels on the Moon

6. David Grey - You're the World to Me

7. Skid Row - Wasted Time

8. Fall Out Boy - Beat It

9. AFI - The Leaving Song

10. Foo Fighters - The Pretender

11. Feeder - High

12. Boys Like Girls - Thunder

13. Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Follow You Into the Dark

15. Art Alexakis - Harvest

16. Jack Johnson - Flake

17. Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues

18. I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business - The Best Happiness Money Can Buy

19. Modest Mouse - One Chance 

20. Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight

Yes by creating this list of music I'm sure I'll face some criticism, but this is what I've been listening too.  

Yode's Corner: Yoder's Farve Theory

Should Brett Favre take the 20 million and just retire? I think I would! Just take the money go fishing, play golf, hang out at some local bar to tell stories of the good old days. Oh and just count the dollars still rolling in. Brett, you just got paid for sitting on you ass. I think this is every American’s dream; so just live the dream, take the money.

Let's all give a hand to Brett's agent Bus Cook. This could be the first time an agent has ever gotten money for a player not playing football. The question is, did Bus open up a new Pandora's box for agents and the NFL with this offer? Take a look at the possible fallout after such a deal. Every NFL player will search for the same compensation and may even be pissed if the agents can't deliver. I don’t mean the same exact terms of Brett's deal, but why not have your agent shop around a price for other teams to pay you to retire. That's right, have other teams pay star players to hang up their cleats. Obviously they would have to give them the money to buy out of their contracts, but NFL organizations have seemingly endless amounts of money so why not?

Teams could pay opposing stars to quit in order to buy out the competition. The Vikings wouldn't have even been close to the playoffs last year without A.P. so why couldn't the NFC Central teams pony up big cash to pay him off for life. One thing is for sure, with the revenue generated in the NFC East, teams could pay off all kinds of guys, especially guys they were going to have to face twice a year. Every player may not choose to retire, but I'm sure many players could find an outstanding looking price. It would also be very interesting to find out how much some players love the game.

Teams could also right off this expense as a marketing campaign and not have it as part of the salary cap, leaving them money to still pay their own players. Brett, you might have just started the biggest wave in the NFL! Stay as far away from football and work and collect millions of dollars, not bad!

Dress Code

What's up Ohio. Anywhere is better right now than the National Conference Center in Leesburg VA. Our plane touched down in Cleveland today (8/2/08) around 3:00 P.M. and we bussed over to some little hotel called "The Ritz," pretty cool I guess. I'm just happy I get to chill out for a day without having to worry about practice. Rumor is that I have a 10 play limit for the game on Sunday night and I would assume the same for most of our current starters. Even crazier rumor is that the Colts starters were given a choice of whether or not they wanted to come to Canton. I'll be pissed if they don't show up because I've got about 25 Peyton Manning football cards that I want him to sign.

We had a team meeting a couple nights ago to address our dress code for upcoming travel. Obviously when you put 80 football players together you're going to have to establish a couple ground rules. Coach Zorn made jeans appropriate wear (I guess since guys spend a fortune on jeans they now count as dress pants). Zorn even stated with enthusiasm that he liked dragons sewn or painted on the pants. Not really my style, but I have to assume that dragons or really anything for that matter painted on the pants would make them more expensive, thus qualifying them for the code. The final rule of the pants was made clear by Z and established by personal example what "sagging" was in front of the team, then abolished it. Everything was pretty simple after that, suits were recommended, shirts must be collared, and no sandals. I actually pulled off a pair of ugg slippers with no backs, accompanied with no socks, which is a pretty classy look. I also opted to go for the jeans look, figuring some 3 year old Lucky Brands were very high quality. For the shirt I went all out, J.W. Nordstrom baby and while the shirt was very nice, I avoided wearing cuff links by simply rolling up the sleeves and toning down the look a little bit. I finished off my great style with a backwards Nationals cap and oh man I looked good!

After all rules established, the team arrived on the plane in an assortment of outfits. Some very nice looks, even suites, as well as some crazy looks, yes dragons. I would have to say for a first preseason game the Redskins were all in all pretty stylish. Hopefully it only gets better from here.

Just a little suspense for everyone, the 20 questions went great!! I think a few of us had fun with the questions and they will be up very soon. Really, I'm laughing thinking about some of the answers.

Finally, I want to say congratulations to Art Monk and Darrell Green. They were two of the best ever at their positions. It is an honor to be a Redskin and be part of the history that these guys created in Washington.