League Forums

This thread is for those who love the game and for stories & experiences in all levels, including MFN. The following story I posted earlier in the DFL and thought it worth copying. cheers!

When I played semi-pro in the late 70s, we had a guy on the team who we called "The Swede". He was around 6'3, 230 maybe. He played OT and DT/DE, both ways. Very quiet, smiled all the time, very light skinned and blond hair, (we figured him for a Swedish guy, lol). He didnt make very many practices, we only practice about twice a week. But, he was always there at our games. The remarkable thing about him was that he was in his 50s at the time and played real well, we considered him a real oddity. The rest of the guys on our team (the San Gabriel Valley Saints) were all in our 20s. We wondered what the Swede did for a living, someone said he was real smart and a computer programmer, when computers were just becoming a household item, the internet hadnt kicked in yet. So, its about 15 years later, I'm watchin TV and a story comes on, I think it was on ESPN, called "Mr Football", and it was about the Swede!! and he was still playin!!!!!!! I about fell out of my recliner when I saw that, I was runnin around the house, lookin for my wife to tell her to come see it, lol. She couldnt believe it either. What a shocker that was, he mustve really watched his diet, and of course, didnt drink booze or smoke. Talk about longevity and playin on the line! His blocking technique was textbook perfect, he was a real student of the game. We had a lot of characters in the semi-pro league, 95% of the guys knew they had no chance of moving up or getting a tryout at the NFL level, but it didnt matter, they just loved to play, like the Swede. I used a lot of ice during that time, learned how important it was. lol.

This is good Gdad, when we get old and out of the game,stories are whats left, my kids,
grandkids like them! I hope to be around long enough now to teach my great grandson the game! I went into coaching after trying to play and this was one of those times as an assistant
for high school. We were a week from starting the season, practice was still 2 a days and the
team looked good! The HC was pointing out one of the new kids, this guy was lightning in a bottle fast,but only 146lbs 5'10 and farm boy strong! I was making him into a DB, he had good
cover skills! Well the HC says he wants to try him at RB, we had very good RB's, our starter had over 1100 yds last season! So the kid got a good hole and went 80+ yds for a TD, the
HC makes him a RB, I told him he is not built for it he has legs like a quail and he has not been hit hard and our backs have legs like deer, made for hits! He told me to worrie about my
defense and made it clear to all he was the HC! First game this kid comes in for a play made
for him, his third carry of the first QT an end around, he gets smashed! Ref tells us to get out
here,its bad, poor kid had his leg broke in 3 places, once above the knee, two below and
concussed! I felt so bad for him, he never walked the same and would not go out for football!
He became one **** of a cross country runner, good kid! When you see MFN owners playing
CB's at RB, its not right and it does not work in real football!

Talkin about gettin old but not out of the game, heres an absolutely great story about the amazing Michael Lynch, from 2 yrs ago when he was 68. He caught a TD pass in the leagues championship game. What an awesome moment! The opposing teams coach refused to accept a penalty for excessive celebration to add greatness to the moment. So Lynch, the "Swede", and maybe a few others were over 60 and still playin full contact, semi pro football, there just arent very many, they are an extremely rare breed.



https://www.news-journalonline.com/sports/20180519/68-year-old-michael-lynch-playing-semi-pro-championship-football#:~:text=68%2Dyear%2Dold%20Michael%20Lynch,Journal%20Online%20%2D%20Daytona%20Beach%2C%20FL


Regarding the previous story about the skinny legged CB gettin hurt at RB. There's the other end of the scale too .... Hall of Famer, WR Tom Fears also played RB, FL, TE, DB, and LB, and may have also lined up at DE. He was built like a LB, he wore a LB's # - 55, but he was fast enough to be a real problem at WR for a defense in the late 50s. Fears & Crazy Legs Hirsch just burned up the defenses they faced, with Norm Van Brocklin at QB they were known as the "Point-A-Minute" offense for the Rams. All three made the HOF. There are examples of players goin both ways, especially in the early years of the NFL, it was mandatory then that a starter was able to play both offense & defense. Had the pleasure of meeting Tom Fears at a golf tournament for retired Ram players, total class and in incredible shape for a guy close to 60. while having drinks at the 19th hole in the clubhouse, one of the old Ram O linemen weighing close to 300 lbs passed out and fell on the floor, Fears jumped off the bar stool immediately and picked him right up off the floor, slung him over his shoulder and carried him out and threw him in the back of his pickup truck, lol. Will never forget seeing that, could def understand how Fears had been a great "Iron Man" two way player.



But, if we're goin to try to simulate both current, Div 1 FBS college and the NFL, they just dont have players on both off & def anymore. Only ones that I'm aware of are very few and far between. Most prominent and recent 2 way players are UCLA's Myles Jack, USC's Adoree Jackson, Louisville's Tanner McEvoy, and Ole Miss’ Robert Nkemdiche, who plays DL and has scored both rushing & receiving TD's!! Georgia had Champ Bailey at CB & WR in late 90s, Michigan used Charles Woodson at WR, Gordie Lockbaum at Holy Cross played CB & RB in the late 80s - he was a CB first, then at RB he set the school rushing record! So, point is, there are lots of examples but mostly a rarity nowadays. So, to simulate, we need to curtail the use of 2 ways.

One of the greatest NCAA National Championship games, in 2009, was a shocker, with an underdog that very few thought had any chance of making it a game, let alone winning it outright! Before the game started, Las Vegas had the Oklahoma Sooners as a 7.5-point favorite over the Boise State Broncos. Then all the talk stopped as the game started and that little team from Idaho with the crazy blue home field stood up to the Big 12 champs and opened up a 14-7 lead.

Then it turned into a 21-10 lead for the Broncos into halftime. A lot of fans and onlookers wondered if Boise State could keep up their lead.

The score was 28-10 midway into the third quarter—the little "Spuds" team was well on its way to shockin the nation!

Then the fourth quarter started and it looked as if the great story was coming to an end as OU scored 18 unanswered points, taking its first lead of the game late in the fourth quarter after a disaster turnover by the Broncos.

What resulted was a storybook finish for Boise State on 4th and 18 the Broncos scored with time running out, the last play of regulation, on a hook and lateral play that stunned the Oklahoma sideline, the thousands in attendance, and the nation watching it on tv, to send the game into overtime. Then after scoring a touchdown on their first overtime possession, they pulled off the Statue of Liberty play for 2 pts, forgoing the extra point to tie it up, (which would have been the safe play) to win the game.

This was indeed a storybook ending for the football team out of Idaho, overcoming the odds to shock the world, establishing the fact that every team in college football that has a strong winning season should be taken seriously as a competitor for national champion. The back that scored the winning OT 2 pt conversion, Ian Johnson, during his interview, knelt down and proposed right there on the field to his girlfriend, who was the head cheerleader ... now that's a real storybook ending!



Great story ..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1DWUiNfg5k

Been a big OU fan all my life, seen a few players go that way,one of my daughters was headed
to OU to play softball! I will never forget this game,had seen alot of Boise games and had the
idea they could win! All my buddies were eager to take that bet, I ended up winning enough
beer for a few months, great game!

Here's one for MJLee & Ohio State. One of the most hard-nosed coaches in college football history, was Woody Hayes. I had a friend, Rick Kay, who played LB for Colorado and then the Rams. He was on the field in a big game in the 70s between Colorado and Ohio State. Woody threw his hat down on the field while gettin in the refs face. Rick picked up the hat and stuck it behind his back in his pants and jersey. Woody had a fit and a half wondering who got his hat, haaa! There are a lot of great Woody Hayes stories, here's one, you can call it an "Urban Legend".

OSU Coach Urban Meyer claimed that a secret motivational tactic for Hayes was letting a snapping turtle latch on to his *****.

While a statement later came out from Ohio State that Meyer was just exaggerating, most people would not put anything past Hayes.

Fitting that the comments came right around the time of what would have been the 100th birthday of Hayes.

He certainly would not have wanted it any other way.

Nice write up, Grandad. Woody was certainly crazy and a fierce competitor. If anyone would use a snapping turtle that way, it would be him.

Here's one.

My high school (mid to late 80's) had a reputation for undersized NT's in the 3-4, (extra speed vs C's).

My senior year was no exception. In the final game, my NT classmate got his right hand smashed between two helmets. By the time he made it to the sideline, all four knuckles looked like grapes were implanted. Of course he hid from the coaches, went to the trainer, and said "tape it!".
The next series, dependent more on his remaining good left hand, he got it twisted up in a facemask. Add two more grapes. Again... "Tape it".
After the game, a coach noticed the guys gathering around as he took off the tape. "Kevin!!! What the ****?!!!... "Sorry coach", he said, "but it's not like I'm going to get to play college ball. I just wanted to be on the field for my last game".

That's a great story Bill, thanks! Had a friend who played on my rival HS team, and I remember him telling me how he sat in the locker room for as long as he could after the last game of the season, he knew it would be his last and he would never put the gear on again. My favorite memory from HS football is the game vs our rivals, Royal Oak vs Charter Oak. We were so hyped up for that game, it was the only game we thought about during **** week and practice all year. The two schools were 2 miles apart and we were riding in the bus with our gear on already and the school band marching in front half the way with people lining the street. 15 years later, the two schools merged and that team slaughtered the rest in their division, winning the state class championship. Dont ask me who won that game my senior year, it still sticks in my craw, lol.

1982 Cal-Stanford: The Play
Was Dwight Garner's knee down? Was the fifth and final lateral from Mariet Ford to Kevin Moen an illegal forward pass? Maybe. There were many controversies to Cal's 25-20 win over John Elway's Stanford Cardinal in 1982's Big Game. But there's one thing every college football fan can agree on: There may be no more iconic call than play-by-play announcer Joe Starkey yelling "Oh, the band is out on the field!" The Play remains one of college football's wildest, most iconic finishes.
https://youtu.be/mfebpLfAt8g