He's our Beef

When you turn on a television, and watch reporters talk about football, or you are watching games for that matter, the people who don’t get the attention may be the most important. The people that I am referring to are the lineman. In my opinion, linemen in general are team players. They are almost always the ones who get the least amount of attention. That proves that they simply play the game because they love it, and they love winning. Here is a story about one lineman who is a straight up team player. This player puts the team in front himself which is what leads to his success. Last year, Nick Foss was an OFFENSIVE lineman for the Alden Bulldogs. He could be used on defense, but he did not start there. Nick was a solid lineman, but he was just an excellent teammate.  He had a great personality that everyone appreciated, and he was a phenomenal “Locker Room Guy.” He was a captain for the Bulldogs, and he was a huge reason why they got the opportunity to play at Ralph Wilson Stadium for a Section 6 Class B Championship. Due to the fact he was such a team player; he could be counted on at any time. Late in the game Alden was up by 8. With two minutes to go in the game, Lackawanna scored, and they would need a two point conversion to tie the game. The Bulldogs would need someone on the defensive line to step up and make a play. They had their goal line defense in, and they actually decided to have Nick Foss in the game. He hardly ever played defense, but because he could be counted on; he was in the game at the biggest moment. Needless to say Nick dove through the line and sacked Lackawanna’s quarterback. This play was the biggest moment of the game. The bottom line is that because Nick could be counted on; he got the opportunity to make this great play, and he did.

DOMinate and Classy

Someone that has everything in the world going for them is pretty fortunate. I would also add to this statement that when someone is practically invincible, it is very easy to be greedy, selfish, and snobby. I think people are very special when they are GREAT at something, but yet they don’t show it through a cocky attitude. Now I am not going to lie, there are probably some people wondering why I would write a blog about this person, but he is a winner for a reason, and I respect everything about him. Last year I had personally had the goal to be the only quarterback to ever beat Dominic Scavo, the quarterback of Hornell. I got the opportunity to play him, and I was incredibly close to knocking him off. It was something that I wanted to do for such a long time, and I came just short. Now it’s not like I wanted to beat him because I don’t like him or I think bad things about him. I feel none of those things at all. I wanted to beat him so badly because of how much I respect him and appreciate what he has done in his phenomenal career. After he scored the game winning touchdown against us in overtime, it was horribly painful. At that moment, Dominic Scavo basically sealed the deal to finish off his perfect career. Now he could have just been completely satisfied with what he just did, and not think about Alden at all. He could have enjoyed the moment like every other winner would at that point and time. But instead, Scavo did something different, and this is what makes him great. When we were shaking hands, I was balling my eyes out because I was very upset. When I shook Scavo’s hand, I told him “Great game, best of luck, and you’re the best for a reason” while I was crying. After that something very strange happened though. He wouldn’t let me go, he didn’t let go of me, and he didn’t let me walk past him. He stopped at said “Hey, look at me, look at me. You are a sophomore QB, and you played your butt off today. Don’t hang your head because you will be back here next year, and you will beat this team, and win it all.” Wow. I will be one hundred percent honest. Most people would have just said great game and go find their trophy as fast as possible. Scavo didn’t do that though. He didn’t have to tell me what he did, but he did it anyway. I cannot say enough how much I respect that. This is why he is great.  Not only did he say those things to me, but his tone showed that he cared, and he really meant what he was saying to me. He is a role model for me, even though I was playing against him. I can learn from this and everyone can. I respect him more than I respect anyone I have ever played against. He is one of the classiest players I will ever meet. A complete athlete is classy no matter what anyone thinks.

The ELIte Know it, but Don't Show it

If you want to be a great athlete, you need to be able to block out what critics say about you. Last August, Eli Manning was on a talk show in New York City. He was asked “Do you consider yourself to be one of the best 5 quarterbacks in the NFL?” He said that he does believe he is one of the best 5 quarterbacks in the NFL. For a very long time, Eli Manning was laughed at for believing that. The bottom line is though that it didn’t bother him because he truly believed this.  The Giants had up and down points throughout the year so this would get brought up again and again. In the middle part of the season, the Giants took a trip to New England where Eli Manning beat Tom Brady and the Patriots on a last minute drive. This made some of the critics think that maybe Eli is an elite quarterback. After that game the Giants fought their way into the playoffs. They pulled off a nice couple victories. In the second round of the playoffs, the Giants played the Green Bay Packers who lost one game all year. Their quarterback, Aaron Rogers was the league MVP. Eli Manning outplayed him and led the Giants to a large victory over the Packers. The Giants went all the way to the Superbowl for a rematch against the Patriots. The Giants were down by two points with 3 and half minutes to go. If they were going to win, Eli Manning would have to drive them 90 yards down the field. He did it with ease. For three times in four years, Eli Manning beat the New England Patriots. Eli proved he is one of the best. So let me ask “Who is laughing now?” I would say the two time Superbowl Champion, Eli Manning has a lot to be happy about, and he was right about himself. He is great because he is confident in himself, but not cocky.

Tough Love

Toughness is a word that people hear very often, but I think almost everyone overlooks it. What is toughness? What is something that can be classified as toughness? In my opinion, if you want to be a complete athlete, you need to exemplify a lot of toughness. 2 football seasons ago, Alden was playing Lackawanna at Ralph Wilson stadium for the Class B Section 6 championship. My brother, Tyler was the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs. Midway through the third quarter, he took a hit and landed awkwardly on his shoulder. He had a great amount of pain, but he battled through the game to lead his team to a championship. The following week he would be going against the number one team in the state, Hornell. Throughout the week, Tyler was doing many things to make sure his shoulder was at the best possible shape it could be with the injury. Unfortunately, it bothered him throughout the week and through the game. Most people would probably sit out and call for the trainer. Tyler didn’t do that. In fact, he didn’t even want people knowing he was hurt. Tyler did not win the game, but he never gave up, and battled through pain to try to be victorious.  After the game, Ty went to the doctor for his shoulder to examined. The doctor told him that he had a minor sprain in his AC joint. For those of you who follow college football, Sam Bradford had the same injury the previous year. Now his injury was probably a little more severe, but it was only a sprained AC joint; there were no torn muscles. Bradford sat out for half a season.  If my brother’s injury was anything like Bradford’s I think this is a perfect example of toughness. Another example of toughness took place this past fall. I went to our JV football team’s final game of the year here at Alden. They were playing Cheektowaga on a cold, rainy night. The warriors jumped out to an early 12 to 0 lead over Alden. One of Alden’s best players, Phil Zobrest looked like he had an injury that was really bothering him. Come to find out, he visited the trainer during a break, and he was told he had a separated shoulder. It was popped back in, but with much pain, he probably shouldn’t have played any more on that night. It would have been very easy for Phil to back it all in and be done on the cold, rainy night where they were losing early. Phil didn’t do that though. Instead, he decided to go play his best half of football all year, and he just flat out dominated. He was tackling kids with one arm, running the ball, and he was taking hard hits. He was clearly in harsh pain, and he was clearly the best player on the field that night. That is toughness. Complete Athletes show toughness. They love the game they play, and nothing can stop them from doing it.

Carrying the Weight

The complete athlete is someone that is willing to sell out all for the benefit of the team. A person that is already good enough to succeed, but they still give their absolute best effort to get better is a complete athlete. I am talking about a person that is only satisfied with being the best. Here is a story about one individual that I would consider a complete athlete. In 2010, the Alden Bulldogs had the best season in school history. They went up against a tough Hornell opponent who was just a bit stronger in the end. Alden finished second in the state right behind Hornell. Now most high school athletes would be content with that alone, but not this athlete. Mike Steffan was a defensive lineman for the Bulldogs as a junior. He did not start, but he would play a good amount in the games and he played a key role on the defense. At that time, Michael weighed around roughly 275 pounds. The loss to Hornell really motivated Mike for his senior season. He decided to not play any other sports in his junior year, and he would just focus on football. He felt one way he would get better would be by losing weight. He wanted to be quicker. Now usually when people talk about losing weight, it is usually around 20 pounds. Mike Steffan didn’t lose 20 pounds, it was more like 70! Just imagine for a second how difficult it must be for someone to lose 70 pounds. Mike did this to become a better football player so he could be a state champ one day. He would tell me stories how every night when he went to sleep, he would be staring at a picture of the Hornell football team. This picture said “State Champs” on it. That right there is motivation. Not only that, but he would also bike around 7 miles a day. That is a hard worker right there. That is someone who did everything they could to be successful. Mike Steffan was very successful this year, and he will continue to be in the future. This is one example of a complete athlete.