Whoa, what a weekend! First road trip of the year and it didn’t lack one bit for funny anecdotes. We were away from Naples for about 48 hours and approximately 24 of those hours were spent on a bus. From constantly being lost with our chain-smoking bus driver, to watching the Naples soccer team with the guys on Saturday night, to winning a very dramatic football game on Sunday afternoon, to the team’s antics on the bus ride home… it was a weekend of memories.
First things first. The Briganti move to 2-0 on the season with a big win over the Skorpions of Varese. We had expected cold weather all week but the day could not have been more perfect for football. The sun was shining and temperatures were in the mid 50’s. The stadium was framed by the Alps in the background (though not as nicely as our home field is framed by Vesuvius, I must say). I’ll start by saying that our defense was near flawless. The Skorpions never threatened to score and it’s a good thing, because our offense struggled mightily. We were sluggish to begin the game and then as things began working, we continually shot ourselves in the foot. So, as the stage was set for “The Drive,” we were deadlocked in a 0-0 tie.
THE DRIVE
A tremendous Skorpions punt pinned our offense on our own one-yard line with just more than two minutes remaining in the game. A 99-yard drive seemed a bit far-fetched for an offense that had struggled to put a drive together all afternoon. I would have been happy with two first downs and a good punt. We started out with three running plays to get out of the shadow of our own goalposts. Our running game finally started wearing down the Skorpions as we gained yards in bigger chunks. We tested the defense on the inside and outside and moved the ball near midfield. Paolo took most of the carries but Jonny hit a few big gains on the outside and our fullbacks churned out some good yardage up the middle. Then we finally hit our tight end, Stefano “Freak” Ciotola, on a stick route. He proceeded to break a few tackles and turned the short pass into a big gain. Then we hit my Z receiver, Valerio, on a Jailbreak screen that moved us to the 11-yard line. Finally, with just seconds remaining, we ran double slants and the pass from my quarterback Max hit Freak on the shoulder and popped straight up into the air. A collective gasp was audible from both sidelines and the crowd as the ball dangled in the air for what seemed like way too long. And then my X receiver, Maui, leaped into the air and snagged the jump ball, landing just across the goal line. As the referee ran up to the pile of bodies surrounding Maui and threw his arms up signaling a touchdown, pandemonium broke out on our sidelines. Maui was mobbed in the end zone, and then again on the sidelines. What a play! What a scene! After a squib kick, our 18-year-old backup linebacker, Buonfilio, picked off a Skorpion pass, streaked down the sideline, and was finally pushed out-of-bounds deep in Varese territory. Once again, the poor kid was mobbed by more than 25 frantic Briganti (including me!). The team literally had him pinned against the fence surrounding the field and we’re fortunate that he came out of the pile without injuries. The offense kneeled on the ball and the Briganti escaped with a 6-0 win!
Part of the post-game celebration was a well-rehearsed and choreographed rendition of the chorus of “Hey Baby.” As in, “Heeeeeeeeey, hey baby (Ooh! Ah!) I wanna knooooooow, if you’ll be my girl!” If seeing that in-person doesn’t put you in a good mood, check your pulse! Also, it happened to be Alex’s (one of our linebackers and one of my favorite guys on the team) birthday, so we were popping some bottles of bubbly in the parking lot after the game. Some of the traditions of the team are hysterical. For instance, as me and the currently-injured-defensive back Jimmy were watching a movie on the ride home, I hear a bunch of guys humming the tune to “Tequila” followed by what sounded like a wrestling match. Apparently, all the rookies that played in the game got their underwear pulled over their heads by a group of rowdy, humming teammates. It’s a rite of passage of sorts… and I’m glad the rule doesn’t apply to rookie coaches.
And now a little about the trip. First, we told everyone to meet at 8 a.m. in hopes of leaving by 8:30. In true Neapolitan fashion, we pulled off a little after 9:00. Also, there’s some law in Italy that any driver of a bus or truck must take a 25-minute break every four hours (soft). Naturally, we took a 30-minute break at 11 a.m. This pretty much set the tone for the trip. My seat was directly behind the driver, who smoked cigarettes during the drive like it was some kind of contest. It wasn’t too bad when we were moving, but during what seemed like the two hours of being lost in Varese I got my fair share of second-hand. We were equipped with a GPS but either it didn’t work or our driver refused to use it. We spent a lot of time pulling in and out of alleys and back roads where we didn’t fit. At one point, when we were nearing the 11-hour mark of the trip up north, some of our guys apparently started heckling the driver which he didn’t take kindly to. So as we sat in the middle of the road with our blinkers on, he got up and angrily confronted his naysayers. I have never wanted to understand the Italian language more than I did in those few moments.
Once we finally reached the hotel, we ate a huge dinner in which the highlight had to be the risotto. After dinner the guys hustled to the lounge to watch the second half of the Naples vs. Florence soccer match. Watching the game with the guys brought back great memories of watching Steelers games with my buddies in college. These guys REALLY care about their soccer. There were a few times when guys needed held back from the TV after Naples missed a scoring opportunity. Unfortunately, it was a not a good night for Naples and they lost 3-1. I’m pretty sure a few of the Briganti thought I was bad luck for their team.
After just two games, the Briganti sit at the top of the southern division of the FIF. But we have a big test next week. The defending champion Bengals of Brescia come to town after blowout wins in their first two games. The Bengals are regarded as the best team in the league, so we’ll get a true sense of what we’re made of next week. Time to get to work!!
First things first. The Briganti move to 2-0 on the season with a big win over the Skorpions of Varese. We had expected cold weather all week but the day could not have been more perfect for football. The sun was shining and temperatures were in the mid 50’s. The stadium was framed by the Alps in the background (though not as nicely as our home field is framed by Vesuvius, I must say). I’ll start by saying that our defense was near flawless. The Skorpions never threatened to score and it’s a good thing, because our offense struggled mightily. We were sluggish to begin the game and then as things began working, we continually shot ourselves in the foot. So, as the stage was set for “The Drive,” we were deadlocked in a 0-0 tie.
THE DRIVE
A tremendous Skorpions punt pinned our offense on our own one-yard line with just more than two minutes remaining in the game. A 99-yard drive seemed a bit far-fetched for an offense that had struggled to put a drive together all afternoon. I would have been happy with two first downs and a good punt. We started out with three running plays to get out of the shadow of our own goalposts. Our running game finally started wearing down the Skorpions as we gained yards in bigger chunks. We tested the defense on the inside and outside and moved the ball near midfield. Paolo took most of the carries but Jonny hit a few big gains on the outside and our fullbacks churned out some good yardage up the middle. Then we finally hit our tight end, Stefano “Freak” Ciotola, on a stick route. He proceeded to break a few tackles and turned the short pass into a big gain. Then we hit my Z receiver, Valerio, on a Jailbreak screen that moved us to the 11-yard line. Finally, with just seconds remaining, we ran double slants and the pass from my quarterback Max hit Freak on the shoulder and popped straight up into the air. A collective gasp was audible from both sidelines and the crowd as the ball dangled in the air for what seemed like way too long. And then my X receiver, Maui, leaped into the air and snagged the jump ball, landing just across the goal line. As the referee ran up to the pile of bodies surrounding Maui and threw his arms up signaling a touchdown, pandemonium broke out on our sidelines. Maui was mobbed in the end zone, and then again on the sidelines. What a play! What a scene! After a squib kick, our 18-year-old backup linebacker, Buonfilio, picked off a Skorpion pass, streaked down the sideline, and was finally pushed out-of-bounds deep in Varese territory. Once again, the poor kid was mobbed by more than 25 frantic Briganti (including me!). The team literally had him pinned against the fence surrounding the field and we’re fortunate that he came out of the pile without injuries. The offense kneeled on the ball and the Briganti escaped with a 6-0 win!
Part of the post-game celebration was a well-rehearsed and choreographed rendition of the chorus of “Hey Baby.” As in, “Heeeeeeeeey, hey baby (Ooh! Ah!) I wanna knooooooow, if you’ll be my girl!” If seeing that in-person doesn’t put you in a good mood, check your pulse! Also, it happened to be Alex’s (one of our linebackers and one of my favorite guys on the team) birthday, so we were popping some bottles of bubbly in the parking lot after the game. Some of the traditions of the team are hysterical. For instance, as me and the currently-injured-defensive back Jimmy were watching a movie on the ride home, I hear a bunch of guys humming the tune to “Tequila” followed by what sounded like a wrestling match. Apparently, all the rookies that played in the game got their underwear pulled over their heads by a group of rowdy, humming teammates. It’s a rite of passage of sorts… and I’m glad the rule doesn’t apply to rookie coaches.
And now a little about the trip. First, we told everyone to meet at 8 a.m. in hopes of leaving by 8:30. In true Neapolitan fashion, we pulled off a little after 9:00. Also, there’s some law in Italy that any driver of a bus or truck must take a 25-minute break every four hours (soft). Naturally, we took a 30-minute break at 11 a.m. This pretty much set the tone for the trip. My seat was directly behind the driver, who smoked cigarettes during the drive like it was some kind of contest. It wasn’t too bad when we were moving, but during what seemed like the two hours of being lost in Varese I got my fair share of second-hand. We were equipped with a GPS but either it didn’t work or our driver refused to use it. We spent a lot of time pulling in and out of alleys and back roads where we didn’t fit. At one point, when we were nearing the 11-hour mark of the trip up north, some of our guys apparently started heckling the driver which he didn’t take kindly to. So as we sat in the middle of the road with our blinkers on, he got up and angrily confronted his naysayers. I have never wanted to understand the Italian language more than I did in those few moments.
Once we finally reached the hotel, we ate a huge dinner in which the highlight had to be the risotto. After dinner the guys hustled to the lounge to watch the second half of the Naples vs. Florence soccer match. Watching the game with the guys brought back great memories of watching Steelers games with my buddies in college. These guys REALLY care about their soccer. There were a few times when guys needed held back from the TV after Naples missed a scoring opportunity. Unfortunately, it was a not a good night for Naples and they lost 3-1. I’m pretty sure a few of the Briganti thought I was bad luck for their team.
After just two games, the Briganti sit at the top of the southern division of the FIF. But we have a big test next week. The defending champion Bengals of Brescia come to town after blowout wins in their first two games. The Bengals are regarded as the best team in the league, so we’ll get a true sense of what we’re made of next week. Time to get to work!!
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