Sunday was quite a day. We had our first home game in three weeks against our rival, the Gladiatori from Roma. So here’s a little running diary of the 20-hour day, in honor of one of my favorite sports writers, Bill Simmons.
9:30 am: Roll out of bed. At first glance, it looks we might have some nice weather on our hands.
9:40 am: Special K Classico and a cappuccino. Besides drinking an espresso or cappuccino every morning, Brennan and I don’t really do the “Italian” breakfast. We stick to cereal or scrambled eggs. Seriously though, an espresso maker will be one of my first purchases back in the States. I’m addicted.
9:45 am: Just joking about the good weather… it has started sprinkling already.
10:00 am: Crack open the laptop. Check email, Facebook, Deadspin… in that order.
10:10 am: Found a good article on espn.com.
(Speaking of sports, it’s obviously been hard keeping up with what’s going on while I’m over here. Fortunately this time of year is pretty lame for sports. Though, I certainly regret missing what sounded like one of the best NCAA basketball tournaments in years. I only caught the last ten minutes of the Duke’s win over Butler. And, I would have definitely liked to see Phil Mick win the Masters again. Also, I’m pretty frustrated by Ben Roethlisberger. He just doesn’t look or act like a franchise quarterback sometimes. And how about the greased mullet he sported in his interview on national television about the allegations? I hope he gets his act together. Also… ciao Santonio Holmes. Thanks for Super Bowl XLIII.)
10:45 am: Hop in the shower, which is too small for either of the two guys living in this apartment. There’s just not a lot of room to move around or bend over to reach your legs. As Brennan said when we first arrived… “Looks like I’ll have dirty shins the whole time I’m over here.”
11:20 am: Ready to go. I’m in the game-day frame of mind. Humming Jay-Z in my head. Pacing the apartment.
11:39 am: Ok, finally in the car ready to go. I’m driving. Light rain, mid 50’s. The team is meeting at noon. Let’s go kick some Roman butt!
11:52 am: We get on the Tangenziale, which is the toll highway that runs through Naples. Traffic is a little busier than average because a few of the exits are closed off for a marathon running through the city.
11:59 am: “That was our exit,” says Brennan pointing to the off ramp that I’m flying by. Grande.
12:02 pm: We take the next exit and immediately hit a long line of traffic. Brennan starts receiving calls from players who will be late (it’s our team policy to let the coach know if you won’t make it on time). He assures them we’ll be late too.
12:06 pm: Still sitting in the same line. Starting to fume just a little bit.
12:12 pm: Get back on the Tang heading the other way. Neither of us are familiar with this stretch of road. We miss our exit again from the other side. It’s ok, we’ll just hop off at the next one… oh wait it’s closed. No big deal, we’ll just hop off at the next one... OH WAIT IT’S CLOSED! ARE YOU SERIOUS?
12:18 pm: We take an exit we’ve never taken before. Oh, there’s the hospital… so we know where we are, it’s just nowhere near where we need to be. After being lost for a few minutes, we’re back on the Tang where we quickly reach our exit.
12:31 pm: I take an off ramp a little too aggressively and start skidding out of control. I rock the wheel back and forth and the tires eventually catch the pavement just before we hit the guardrail. I immediately start cracking up… this has been quite drive!
12:34 pm: Thank the Lord we made it to the stadium. My heart is still racing from the near-accident. I walk over to a nearby café for an espresso. A couple of my receivers are in there. They ask me if it’s a good idea to drink a Coke before the game… you know… for extra energy. I just shake my head and they settle for a candy bar. Mamma mia!
12:42 pm: Head to the locker room. Kickoff is at 2:30ish (We’ve never started a home game on time).
1:00 pm: First group on the field. We’re trying new kickers and punters this week because Freak is out with a leg injury. The field is damp but it’s barely drizzling. Not bad!
(When I say “field” I really mean an area of dirt with some grass along the edges. For some reason, our field is almost completely grass-less this year.)
1:25 pm: Warm up gets kicked into a higher gear. I’m pumped… wishing I could suit up today! After warm up we head back into the locker room for a short talk and prayer.
2:20 pm: Our return to the field is greeted by a downpour. It doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon. Looks like we'll be playing in a mud bowl.
2:30 pm: Ready for kickoff! Emotions are high! Naturally, we’re delayed because the ambulance has yet to arrive.
2:41 pm: Opening kickoff is a good one… a touchback.
2:42 pm: The weather is a factor on the very first play of the game as Rome fumbles the snap and we recover on the 17 yard-line. It’s the first of probably 14 fumbles between the two teams during the game. We run it down inside the five and settle for a field goal. It’s our first successful field goal or extra point of the season.
3:45 pm: We head into halftime with a 3-0 lead. We’ve moved the ball well on offense, fumbling in the red zone once and missing a short field goal on the last play of the half. Rome’s offense can’t do anything against our defense. Passing is just about impossible in these conditions. I’ve got two ball boys running a new ball in every play, but we’re literally playing in a mud pit at this point. Part of me thinks this game might end with a score of 3-0.
4:00 pm: Our opening drive of the second half ends with a fumble.
4:25 pm: The punter for Rome just tracked down a bad snap and kicked the ball off the ground like a soccer player (quite successfully, I might add). Brennan tries to explain that this is illegal. Later we get called for a “push in the back” while on defense. We’re stunned and, at this point, the head official is almost in tears.
(When I visited Germany last summer to watch my brother, Ryan, play I thought the officiating was abysmal. But now, I’d have to say that it’s far superior to the refereeing in Italy. There’s four or five you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me moments with these officials EVERY GAME!)
4:30 pm: We take over on offense at the start of the fourth quarter on our own 14 yard-line. We begin literally smashing the ball down the throat of the Rome defense. Wedge, Power, Wedge, Toss, Power, Trap, Wedge. I’m rotating linemen every play. My fullback, Tommy (who wears #36, by the way), is playing like Jerome Bettis! He’s complemented by Paolo’s speed on the outside. We march the ball down, not passing once, and Freak makes a Willis Reed-like return for a two-year touchdown plunge to seal the victory. What a fun way to the end the game! The surge from the offensive line was incredible. As a former offensive lineman, you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face with a 2x4.
4:45 pm: FINAL: Napoli 9, Roma 0. Post-game antics include running mudslides. Brennan and I join in the fun… I don’t know if our sweatshirts will ever be white again.
4:55 pm: I randomly have a change of clothes in my bag from the day before. Crucial. Brennan doesn’t so we jet out of there before he begins suffering from hypothermia. We’re feeling good… this is our first win in almost a month. I wish my girl was here with me!
6:05 pm: Showered, dry, and warm. We go grab a pizza… Margherita con melanzane for me. Then we head to Squeak’s apartment to chill out. Squeak is a friend of ours in the Navy whose apartment makes ours look like a storage closet… plus he’s got ESPN. He leaves his keys with us when he’s out of town and we occasionally make ourselves at home. This time, he returned home while we were there so we talked football, Italy, San Fermin… and watched some Dexter.
10:20 pm: We head back to our apartment and chill out. Jes calls me on Skype and we talk for a little bit. Then I Skype with Krista, who’s flying over here to visit in May after VES graduation.
11:30 pm: Time to start getting ready to meet the guys at the Covo. Brennan is passed out in the bedroom. I’m feeling a little tired too.
11:45 pm: I put on some coffee… we’re both going to need it.
12:28 am: We park the car near a large group of Briganti smoking up outside the Covo. They’ve been out for awhile and look like they’re feeling good. We enter the club to lots of hugs and kisses. Drinks are quickly poured. They guys are dancing on the tables. “I gotta feelin’…ooo ooo… that tonight’s gonna be a good night….”
12:45 am: A lot of our players are fraternizing (or at least trying to) with members of the cheerleading squad. They’re warriors and lovers!
1:05 am: “Heeeeeeeey, hey baby! (Oooh… Ahhh) I wanna knoooooooow if you’ll be my girl!!!!”
2:10 am: Most of the non-Briganti crowd has left. But the guys are still going hard. No girls around? No worries… that doesn’t stop the dance party.
2:25 am: I’ve never celebrated like this after a win. I can’t wait until we win a playoff game or something.
2:50 am: Smoking a Cuban Monticristo outside with Alex. Delicious!
3:05 am: We stop at an all-night food stand for some comfort food. Pastries with nutella or crème… waffles filled with white and dark chocolate… too much!
3:55 am: Finally get home and get ready for bed. I email Monica, hoping she’ll be around to Skype before I fall asleep.
4:02 am: Aaaaaaaand she is!! I’m so happy I can end this day talking to her. We talk about the day each of us had, about how much we miss each other, and debate the meaning of the word “yet,” among other things. Thank God for Skype!
6:00 am: As I tell Monica good night and that I love her, I see the sky starting to lighten outside my window… here comes the Monday morning sun. What a day.
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