Season Review

Looking back on this season it has probably been the most difficult season I've had emotionally. The expectations were pretty high coming off our season last year in which we come out of the box in a dead sprint. We had new talented recruits, new coaching, and excitement going into this season.

Needless to say it did not go as planned. Injuries, coaching changes...basically the whole season was like being on a ship in a storm.

That being said, I am proud that we survived it and that even during it we got to the playoffs. Long term this will make our organization stronger. We have a core group with a lot of talent. Several people with season ending injuries last year will be back.

We are battle tested and we will regroup. I believe in us.

Some Personal Highlights:

• Being featured on Comcast Sportsnet's Adrenaline Hunter
• Being interviewed by Comcast with awesome after-game hair
• Rushing for over 250 yards against Spokane in a Mudbowl Game
• A 80 yard reception against Central Cal
• Walking into a hotel room of Bay Area Bandits and making several friends.
• An awesome road trip detour in the Mt. Shasta area for a KFC picnic with my teammates
• Going to 6 Flags and riding the wooden roller coaster 3 times in a row with Wheels, TDawg, and Teters
• Kicking it in the Castro during SF Pride
• Attempting to find teammates during craziness of SF Pride
• Partying with teammates at bar of hotel in Spokane
• Interception in endzone against Bay Area
• Actually getting a couple of sacks
• Throwing a 2pt conversion to Mac
• T Dawg turning the wrong way on an option play but still getting it to me for a touchdown
• The infamous KOK party in which we invented numerous Frat Rules
• Teters randomly barking and pretending to be pregnant towards people walking by in SF to the point Klondike, Cassie, and Wheels were crying laughing
• Racing in Klondike's Hamster Mobile AKA the Prius
• Eating unfinished Jellybeans at the Jellybean factory
• Klondike's Dance in Utah
• A cute little boy who was our waterboy at Central Cal. I had a turfburn that had re-opened to the point a coach had to bandage it up on my leg and after my catch I came to the sideline to get water and he looked at me with these big eyes and down at my leg, and back up and asked are you going back in? And I smiled and said yep...It's football...you tape it up and go back in...I love moments like that...
  

2nd Half of Season

GAME 6: @ Utah Blitz

This game was a bit of a grudge match. I think having a giant break in the season helped/hurt us. I was thankful for the couple byes in a row due to the fact I had a concussion and this meant I didn't have to miss any games. However, having 2 weeks off and then playing in high elevation was difficult.

Utah returned the opening kick off back for a touchdown and that was the final score. 8-0. We moved the ball well but like all season struggled in the red zone. The adversity with the injuries and the coaching changes and constant offensive play changes made it very difficult offensively this year.

Our defense played well and pitched a shut out other than that kick return.

Erin Diurba made an awesome catch for an interception that was ESPN worthy. Mac laid a hit that made me giggle like a kid. There were some good plays in there.

GAME 7: @ CENTRAL CAL

Well reader I frankly would like to forget this game. We had 17 people for this game which is just not enough when you are playing a physical team. The good news is we found a passing game this game.

I had 80 yard catch and almoooost scored but kind of ran out of gas. Jet probably had the best passing game I've ever seen her have. I don't think they were expecting us to pass much. I don't think WE even knew lol

However, like most of the season against better teams...when you have 17 people you get tired and they wore us down and the score quickly grew in the 2nd half.

The end of this game got a bit ugly which is the part I would like to forget. I'm so damn competitive on the field that even if you are kicking my ass I will keep going hard and keep getting up. That's just my mentality in football. It kind of HAS to be your mentality especially if you are a running back. It's a survival tactic.

Plus the beauty in football is it's like life. You get knocked down? Get back up. Want to piss someone off that is talking shit? You get back up. That's how you win that mental battle. You DON'T give in.

This makes it hard for me to understand other viewpoints of people who don't view football the same way.

I won't get into to the details but I do think all involved learned something from it.

GAME 8: vs. SPOKANE

At this point in the season we really had faced a lot of shit. I really think most other teams would have folded under all that adversity. But we did have a solid core that stuck together and we were determined to finish out this season on a high note.

Unfortunately, Spokane didn't have enough players to come down and play us. After a few days of trying to make it work they ended up having to forfeit.

This meant we ended 4-4 and division champions. To go through hell and still get to the playoffs is bittersweet but we are happy to get there.

PLAYOFFS: @ BAY AREA

After trying to scrap together as many players as we could for this game we still ended up with 17 suited. Jet had to have surgery on her broken finger that she had played with then entire season. Other people couldn't go due to work and/or financial issues.

It was what it was but we still made the trip down to the Bay.

Even though they wore us down and put up numbers on the board we did somethings well and I don't think we felt ashamed at all.

After the game the Bay Area announcer gave me a shout out on the PA which to be completely honest really meant a lot to me. After such a difficult season it was nice to hear someone noticed my hard work.

I have been lucky enough to have made good friends on several other teams the last couple of years and have made some good connections with the Bay Area team.

After the game I met up with Joy and her wife Anne and we went down to the Castro for the SF Pride weekend. I was very excited about this because I had never been to SF Pride. It was packed down there but I had a lot of fun. Later we met up with Rowena and her gf, and I met Jen and her sister Alli. I had a blast people watching and laughing at Joy screaming at the street sweepers that kept interrupting our fun.

The next day I met up with some of my teammates for the SF Pride parade. We had a lot of fun but got hella burnt. We think it's because we were standing next to a glass building which reflected down on us. However it happened we all were passing around Aloe the rest of the trip back.

Season Update 5-20-11

Ok, so according to various sources the world is going to end tomorrow. I guess this means I should update my blog. I'll be ready with my helmet tomorrow. God has a sense of humor. :)

This has been a difficult and trying season up-to-date but I have long learned football is a metaphor for life and that shit happens. It's if you get back up that matters.

PRE-SEASON GAME
We began with a pre-season game against the Seattle Majestics. We came into this game with a lot of hopes to take our team to the next level this season. We had a new coaching staff, a lot of talented rookies, and a new offense. The outcome of this game made it evident to us that all those changes meant we would have to work out some kinks. We only lost 14-0 and it was a good experience to get the rookies some work before the actual season began but still no one likes to lose. On top of it our starting quarterback took an awkward hit and blew her ACL.

GAME 1: @ Bay Area
We re-grouped going into the official first game of the WFA season against the Bay Area Bandits. Our back up quarterback has all the tools necessary to run that spread offense we had developed. We had weapons. She is athletic, quick, strong, and poised. This was set up to be her break out game.

Then hell broke lose. The 2nd offensive play of the game she took a hit and her forearm broke into two and she got taken away in an ambulance. Our 3rd string quarterback already had a broken middle finger, our 4th string quarterback broke her thumb. Tracy took a hit and suffered a strained back and concussion and left on a stretcher. It was like a nightmare game. When you are down to quarterback 6 who has never taken a snap in her life it's difficult to move the ball. That being said we hung in there the best we could against a good team.

On a side note, when paramedics were attending to Tracy and we were huddled up close to our sideline trying to keep our heads on...a cop drove his car onto the field at full tilt...I thought he was going to do a power slide but he stopped at the 40 yard line, got out of the car, and sprinted to the ambulance...Apparently, they thought it was a shooting...

I don't think I have ever seen that in a football game ever.

Game 2: vs. Utah Blitz (Comcast week)

We had been notified that Comcast Sports Net Northwest had a new reality show called Adrenaline Hunter in which the winner of a previous show would go around doing kick-ass things in the Northwest. Her name is Bethy and some of the previous episodes were her hunting boar and cougars. They were interested in having Bethy participate on our team for a week and in a game and filming it for an episode.

I have to say I was pretty geeked about this. I am a complete sports nut. I'm always listening to sports radio, watching games, reading articles on espn.com. I knew this would be some great exposure for us but I wasn't quite sure what to expect when she came to practice.

When we got to practice that week there were cameras everywhere and it was POURING. They had big cameras, little cameras, big mics, small mics. Initially, it was a little difficult running through offensive plays and trying not to run over the camera guy but by the 2nd practice I felt used to them being around. That entire week it rained like Noah was going to build an Arc. It was cold but probably some extra drama for the production.

Due to our ridiculous amount of injuries at the quarterback position we gave her a shot at quarterback. For not having played football at all she did well. She had an arm, compusure, and natural athletic ability. When it came to the game itself she made a couple of rookie type mistakes but that is just due to lack of experience. She seemed to take well to football as well. I could tell she liked it.

During the game we moved the ball well but had trouble scoring which will happen with all the changes we made. Our defense had a great game and we shut them out. The final score was only 6-0 but we played better than that score.

Game 3: @ Spokane

The drive up to Spokane was some fun bonding time with Ashley and Erin. We listened to music, told stories, and figured out what we are all going to be for Halloween. I won't give it away here because it will truly be worth the wait.

We stopped at a rest stop about 30 minutes from Spokane and we were coming out of the bathroom when apparently CJ and Wilson had stopped at the same rest stop and Wilson decided to scare us half to death. The expression on Ashley's face was priceless.

We arrived at our hotel in Spokane which is a nice hotel but with a very confusing layout. The weather was perfect at that point. Sun and a nice breeze. Until the last time we came out of the locker room and it was pouring. The field was grass. We were in for a Mud Bowl.

This was Spokane's first home game ever in their team's history so it was pretty big for them. Our offense found itself in the 2nd half and we won 12-0. I left covered in mud but happy.

We later went down to the hotel bar where we apparently interupted the Housewives of Spokane County and their party but we ended up having a great time.

Game 4: vs. Bay Area

By the time this game had started we had suffered several season-ending injuries. That is not a good thing going into a game against a good team who has numbers. We lost again to them but learned a couple of things to change.

We got invited by them to kick it after the game and I had decided after people were either tired or going to the Blitz bar that I'd stop by and hang with them for a short bit before heading out. I ended up staying for an hour and I'm now forever known to them as "Portland".

Just so we are clear. I'm a fierce competitor. I will knock your ass down and then pick your ass up. I sometimes get a bit fiesty. One has to have that mentality when playing football to survive. But after the game we are all playing the same sport that we love. I have developed several good relationships with people from different teams and I think it actually makes it more fun. It's what I loved most about the All-American game. You walk into a room with people from all across the country and you have never met them and you already have a bond. It's awesome.

Game 5: vs. Spokane

Spokane definitely is improving. We had to make some adjustments to our defense but I think the 2nd half of this game was our best half all year. Our offense continuity was better and defensively we came together. In a season that has been full of constant change and uncertainty it was a great feeling. We walked of winners of a 22-12 score.

Now we have a 2 week bye which is exactly what we need. We need to heal. We sit at 3-2 and in the division lead. We play at Utah June 4th which will likely be for the division. We have to rest up to take it home during the last stretch of the season. We aren't done yet.

Looking back over the first half of the season I have learned some things. I have learned more than ever before that football is as much about mentality as it is about athletic talent. You can have athletic talent but if you don't have the mental strength to endure pain, mistakes, defeat, injuries, and things going wrong, then you are in the wrong sport. It's what makes football beautiful. It's the sport of getting knocked down and getting back up. It's what I love about it.

I have also learned that like life there are some things you just can't control. You can't control freak injuries and everything that happens on that field. All you can control is yourself and your reactions. You have to fight any fear and become a solution. You never give up. Never. Down the road never giving up will mean the difference between good and great.

Dear NFL

So after reading about the NFL rule changes I got a bit fired up and decided to blog about it.

I play football. It's a violent sport. I understand the need to protect your players. They are your investments. But there seems to be a bit hypocracy going on with the NFL. They say they want to protect the players and half the things they are doing say that while the other half don't.

If they really want to protect their players then why don't they instill better health and retirement plans? How many former players are broke due to health bills from hip and knee replacements?

And if they really wanted to protect the players then why don't they have guarenteed contracts? If any athlete deserves that it would be the football player who puts their body on the line every game and practice. Imagine signing a large contract, getting hurt, and not getting anything to fall back on?

And if they really wanted to protect their players...why don't they put a rookie salary cap in place? You shouldn't have unproven rookies getting paid ton's more than proven Pro-Bowlers. I'm sorry but you shouldn't. Put in a sliding scale type cap like the NBA. Guarentee that money but cap it. When that contract ends and the players have at least played a down then the teams can decide how much to pay them. This would reduce the "FLUFF" of paying 100 mill for a player's POTENTIAL and having them turn into a LaMarcus Russell. As long as you put in that guarentee that a player will get paid then I think it's completely fair to cap.

I understand wanting to try to enforce penalties and fines for bad hits. But the line needs to be more clear. As a defender it's hard to stop when you are going 110 percent and your momentum is carrying you. They have to find a way to DEFINE the difference between a HARD hit and a BAD hit. As a player most of the time you can tell if someone nailed you legally or is playing dirty.

That being said. DONT MESS WITH THE END PRODUCT ON THE FIELD. Moving the kick off from the 30 to 35 to the casual fan may not sound like much but think of how many kickoffs land between the goal line and the 5 yard line. They were deep but still reteurnable. Now with 5 more yards on the kicker's side you will certaintly put more in the endzone for touchbacks.

On the other side they used to allow greater takeoff for the kickoff team, 10-15 yards I think and the new limit is 5 yards. Having played football I can tell you unless you are a world class sprinter and even then, getting to your full speed at 5 yards is quite difficult.

What does this mean? It means that the kick off team will have less time to get down and cover. So 1 of 2 things will happen. Either the kick off team will just go for the touchback because the penality of putting it at the 20 is not really that much of a penalty...or you will see kick off teams trying to POOCH kickoffs and pin the return team deep like you sometimes see in punt situations. Pooching the kick higher for more air time will give the kick off team more time to get down and cover and if you mess up and kick too hard...oh well it's a touchback at the 20.

Do a lot of injuries happen on special teams? Yes. Is this really going to change that? No. Does it instead greatly handicap the kick return game? Yes. Will this probably lead to a reduced amount of points per game? Yes. Because you will have offenses working with longer fields.

What would I do to reduce injuries on kick offs? Put in stiffer penalties for blocks in the back and late hits on kick offs. Don't mess with the formations and where you start but make the penalities 20 yards and I think after an adjustment period you would see a difference. The game would change on it's own rather than you changing the game.

Now this CBA stuff is just ridiculus. I agreed with Obama. You guys make 9 Billion a year and can't figure it out? While the rest of the country is in a recession and I've personally been struggling all year?

I play football for the love of the game. We all have day jobs and play the same violent game you do. I'm not saying I would like to get hit by an NFL linebacker. But the violence IS relative. Me getting hit by some of these women is relative to an NFL running back getting hit by an NFL linebacker. IT STILL HURTS.

I've played with broken fingers, a fractured wrist, separated shoulder, not to mention little things that happen all season. I have basic health insurance and after losing my job it went to REAL basic health insurance.

If we were men I could wake up, train, play football, make millions. Because I'm a woman I can't. At least not yet. We are going towards that goal and I believe we will see something in the next couple years but it still won't be 100 mill.

So for me...It's hard to be that empahtic towards greedy owners and players. There IS a way to make the agreement fair to both sides but they DONT want to do it. It will greatly hurt the NFL if they don't get their shit together. Look at what happened to baseball after the '94 strike.

Progress

So a lot has transpired since the last post. We have decided to go in a new direction with a new coaching staff. I will spare you the details except that I think it's probably been good for everyone involved.

Our head coach was involved with the original Seattle Warbirds, our offensive coordinator played wide receiver at Washington State before a short stint with the Seattle Seahawks and some time in the Canadian Football League. Our line coach played O-line in high school and has high energy. I love the chemistry between the new staff and the direction we are now going.

We have picked up a pre-season game against the Seattle Majestics of the IWFL on April 2nd. This will be a great opportunity for the rookies to get their feet wet and for us to work out any remaining kinks before the season starts. It's also an opportunity for a good regional match up between Seattle and Portland. One has to only look over to history of the old Super Sonics vs. the Blazers, Sounders vs. Timbers, and Huskies versus Ducks to know there is a natural rivalry between the states and cities.

Our first game only being a couple weeks away I am starting to get very excited. There is nothing like running onto that field with all your gear on and your heart beating out of your chest.

For the past 3 seasons I have wrapped my left wrist a couple of times with tape and written my saying of the season on it with sharpie. My wrist is fine but I think of this like a battle cry and it's become a little bit of a superstition.

This started when a former teammate's spouse's daughter was losing a battle of cancer and we all wrote her name on us that season in her honor. This is the same time that my family's house burnt down and 3 months later my mother was in a dune buggy accident that left her with basically her entire back in 3rd degree burns. I therefore also wrote "MOM".

Last year my saying was "faster, stronger, smarter". This year I'm still working on it but it may end up being something like "PHX Rising" or "No Walls". I'm going to have to play with it the next couple of weeks. If you have any suggestions hit me up. When I have someone or something to play for it makes me play harder.

Football may be "just a game" but you can do so much more with it if you look beyond it.

Count Down: 17 days until take off.

Perspective of a Duck

As Auburn lined up last night to kick which was basically an 11 yard field goal, I sat there with my friends at the bar, praying for a bad snap, or a block, or a Boise State shank. But somehow when the camera shifted to behind the goal post and I saw it was basically an extra point...I knew it was over.

It's hard to believe that this season is over. This season in which Oregon went from a troubled off season and huge questions at key positions, to Pac 10 Champs and going for the National Title. What a ride this has been.

Supwitchugrl made their what seems to be now, annual Youtube music video, complete with scenes with cheerleaders, in Autzen, dancing mascot, and mini tractor. After that I swear there have been so many Duck songs this year that I will probably try to compile a Duck CD. The Ellen show came to campus. Sebastion Bach made a power ballad. Jimmy Kimmel put on Duck gear. Lebron James was at a home game.

LaMichael James rushed for over 1700 yards for the Oregon single season rushing record and he didn't even play in the first game. Darron Thomas emerged quietly as THE quarterback. Only a redshirt sophomore he rarely looked like a sophomore. Cliff Harris oozes confidence and play-making ability even when he scares you and drops a kick off. Josh Huff came on late and looks like the WR of the future in the wake of Jeff Maehl graduating. Jeff Maehl will make a name for himself on Sundays. He's not the sexy name but he will come in and get the job done. Kenjon Barner was probably the best backup running back in the conference and would start if not for LaMichael.

There was the 72 yard TD run by LaMichael at Tennessee where he made people miss like a video game, tip toed the sideline, and dove into the endzone to change the momentum of the game.

There was the onside kick when Oregon was down 21-3 to Stanford in the 2nd quarter and had just scored to make it 21-10. Kicker Beard caught his own kick to get the ball back and Oregon scored again to make it 21-17 and never looked back.

There was the fake punt in the Civil War to seal the game.

All that lead to this National Title game. Yes, Auburn is bigger and from the SEC. Yes, Auburn won. But they didn't blow Oregon out of the stadium like many people were claiming they would. They weren't dominate. They barely moved the ball at times. They turned the ball over too.

It was evident to me that these were two different styles of teams and the talent was pretty even although in different areas. In football, when the talent is even, it comes down to breaks in the game. Auburn got most of them. Oregon didn't. Auburn won because it had the ball last. Not because they were that much superior.

Although as a Duck fan it was a bitter bitter pill to swallow. It was hard to watch a run by Dyer when he looked like he was down, and he kept going to pick up the yardage for field goal range. You'd rather Cam just flat out beat you than have it be a controversial call in which if Oregon had known Dyer wasn't down would probably would have not stopped and would have made a tackle before he got down the field.

There was the interception by Cliff Harris in the 2nd quarter that looked solid until they overturned it and gave Auburn the ball back. Auburn touchdown the next play. Sometimes in football shit happens.

But after the sting subsided the only think I could think of was how bad I felt for these players. How special a group this was. How hard they worked. They played the "right" way. They won each day. Took it a day at a time. They forced a team curfew of 10pm on themselves before the bowl game. They were down during the season at points and always came back like one of those wind up cars you pull back and let loose. They played for Chip Kelly and they played for each other.

They at times played so fast that I couldn't even believe it. I felt I couldn't leave my seat or I would miss something. The defense had the most play makers I have ever seen at Oregon. They created turnovers. The return game was the best we have ever had. The kicking game at the least fairly solid.

I have grown up a Duck fan since I was about 8. I attended the University and screamed in the student section while avoiding the occasional puffs of weed smoke and drunken people falling off the benches. I have rushed the field several times including the controversial win over Oklahoma. I have been around before the renovation of Autzen. I was at games when the stadium was a bit rough, the facilities crude, and the parking lot full of pot holes so when it rained there were huge puddles.

I will tell you I have never been more proud to be a Duck. I feel like these kids are my brothers. I believe in this program. I believe in them more so for who they are and how they conduct themselves than how they have become the most winning team in Duck history. That is my perspective as a Duck.

The Fighter

Hello everyone:

Just to update you. I've been working part time at Kohl's doing ad set work. No, it's not my dream job but it's something until I can find that next good job. I will tell you straight up this economy sucks. It was definitely a bit of a hit in the stomach to not only lose my job a few months ago but to do it in this economy.

I'm finding I'm kind of in this weird middle ground. I'm having employers feel I'm overqualified for entry level jobs. But if you think about it from their standpoint...they have their choice of whoever they really want because the competition is so fierce. So when they don't think I'm going to stay around for an entry level office position they aren't going to hire me when they can find someone that will. Then on the other end the jobs I can work into have their pick from the pool as well and don't want to waste their time training when they have 5-10 applicants that have already done the job in specific systems.

In this middle ground I'm hoping I can find a small business that I can grow into. I'm feeling like that is my best bet. I had an interview yesterday with a graphics company in Beaverton that is in need for an HR person and the duties are pretty much the same thing I did before. So I took the bull by the horns and turned in my resume in person, thinking because it's a local business, I might have a better shot if they meet me. They had me fill out an app and come in for an interview the next day. I think I nailed it. But the guy told me he has had over 100 applicants for this job. I'm hoping my aggressiveness in coming will help me. Please dear God lol I just need my foot in someone's door.

So btw readers today is my 27th birthday. I woke up this morning with my facebook blowing up. It sounds kinda silly but it really did make me feel good. I appreciated it more than people probably realize.

I just saw the movie the Fighter and loved it. I love the grit of it. I love marky mark and Christian Bale again just acts the hell out of his roles.

I saw a bit of me in that movie. No, I'm not from the projects and I don't have a crack addicted brother. But I do have my own battles and my own traumatic experiences that have shaped me.

People ask me sometimes if it hurts getting tackled and some people don't understand why I like getting hit. It's not really that I like getting hit. I like hitting you before you hit me. I like you trying to stop me and me running you over or making you miss. That feeling is a metaphorical feeling for overcoming obstacles in life. It's why I play better with a chip on my shoulder. I take all that anger and pain and funnel it.

I become a different person. Plus I have no fear of being physically hurt really. Ive had so many injuries and things happen that I know short of a freak accident that I can come back and heal from most anything. I'm not invincible but I don't fear pain.

I see football as a battle. It's a war game. It's not ever going to be alright to actually call it war because I'm not in Iraq. But it's game based off the attribution of land and resources. The strategy of it is a war game. Football is a hell of a lot more mental than people realize. It's physical chess. Coach 1 moves a piece here at a weakness. Coach 2 sends a rook here to block. Coach 1 tries to outflank team 2. Coach 2 sends in reserves.

So because of this my teammates are very important to me. They fight for me. I fight for them. We fight together for one goal. Move the ball. Stop the ball. Get the ball. It doesn't work if we are 11 individuals. In football, you can't get away with a Kobe Bryant and role players. If I don't pass protect the quarterback gets sacked. If no one blocks I don't care who you have with the ball you won't move it. If no one blocks it's 11 defenders against 1 person with the ball and even if you are Reggie Bush that is horrible odds.

On defense it's the same idea. You are mostly in certain assignments, zones, and reads. If everyone does their job you stop the ball. The second you don't trust your teammate and try to freelance is the second you open a lane and they cutback for a touchdown.

Because of this and the natural bond you have because you are all getting the crap beat out of you physically and you like it...your teammate is your family.

So when I am getting tackled a lot, and I get knocked down and keep coming back for more, it's not really about me. It's about my team. I'm fighting for them and they are fighting for me. We fight together. That is when you really start winning.

I have played sports my whole life. Everything you can think of. I was pretty decent and most of them. None of them have come close to giving me this feeling I get when I play football. I fly around and I'm free. I'm rewarded for courage. The connection I get from my team is different than any other sport.

As much as I get annoyed by the Brett Farve saga I can understand why he wants to always come back. It's addicting.

So you can knock me down, get me against the ropes, but football has taught me I can fight back and I will hit you in the mouth.