Aesop Revisited

The way I see it, Georgia's victory yesterday resulted from a domino effect of oddness, starting three weeks ago in Columbia, South Carolina. That's when aliens descended on the Bulldogs' camp and sucked the players' football knowledge right out of their brains. It was a freak accident that could happen to, well, nobody but Georgia. That night, the Gamecocks pecked and pecked until the Bulldogs went home with their tails between their legs.

As it turned out the Florida Gators sat down sometime that Sunday afternoon with a big bowl of popcorn and mugs of hot chocolate and watched that dismal match in South Carolina's Swamp. By halftime, they'd drawn their conclusion: They had to turn off the idiot box and get back on the field to prepare for the game against the Gamecocks.

So they did. And last weekend we saw the Gators eat fried chicken for dinner. Then they returned to Gainsville and hung up their cleats because their next game in Jacksonville, they determined, would be tantamount to a match against Savannah High School. So it seems to me that yesterday's contest in Alltel Stadium was a modern day sports example of the hare and the tortoise.

Several factors fed the Gators' overconfident attitude. First, Georgia has looked a little tortoisey lately. Not only did the Dawgs fail to show up for the Carolina game, but their performance against Kentucky, although a victory, was underwhelming. All last week, any mention of football led to the same question:  "How do you think Georgia's going to play this weekend?" Predictions weren't promising. Usually such conversations went like this:

"I don't think Georgia's going to win Saturday."

"Me, either. I mean, I want them to win, but I don't think they will."

"Nope. I think Mark Richt should be fired."

We were still licking our wounds from the chicken coop.

Also feeding the Gator's inflated ego was the Bulldog nation's dissatisfaction with Georgia's head coach. Any time the Dawgs lose against a major SEC contender, most people wearing red start grumbling, "Fire Mark Richt." I don't think that man's resume ever gets cold. And after South Carolina, the grumbles had some merit to them. Contrasted against other SEC coaches, Mark Richt is a real teddy bear.  In fact some sports analysts have described Richt as the Pa Ingalls of college football coaches (see "Show Us Some Nellie, 2009).  

And then there was the whole first half. True, Georgia remained ahead, but not by much. Throughout the game, fans stayed in their seats waiting for Florida to score and take the game away from Georgia.

And then there was the fumble.

I've never been so happy to see a fumble in all my life (In fact, that inspires me to write a post about college football's most significant fumbles). As soon as Georgia jumped on that ball in the end zone, Stephen yelled, "There's the bean bag! Georgia's got the ball!" My first reaction was "Bean bags in football? What for?"

Then Georgia ran to a first down, and that was game. After CBS showed us about two dozen replays of that fumble (Thank you, CBS), the camera shifted to the Florida sideline, where Florida's #11, Jordan Reed, rested his helmet on a trainer's shoulder. The trainer had his arm around Reed's neck and was muttering through the ear hole of Reed's helmet. That's when I exclaimed, "Is he weeping? He is! He's weeping!"

And it wasn't just a few angry tears. Reed turned on the water works. I know that because Reed made the awful mistake of taking off his helmet.Then CBS steadied the camera on him so the whole world could see Reed's pout and puffy eyes (Thank you again, CBS).

Now, I always thought this went without saying, but obviously not:  College football players should not weep over a bad play--especially not on national television. Punctuating the inappropriateness of those tears is the fact that Florida's players earned some unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for pushing their opponents around on the field. I've always thought Florida showed bad sportsmanship. I've seen their players (again on national television) blatantly poke their fingers in Bulldogs' eyes out in the wide open where everyone could see them doing it (at least players of other teams are more covert about trying to blind each other). I know such behavior happens all the time on the gridiron. And I know Georgia's guys had some unsportsmanlike penalties as well. But if a player's going to behave that way on the field, then when he makes a major mistake like Reed did, he needs to suck it up and at the very least save the tears for the locker room.

So on Florida's side the tears flowed. On Georgia's side, the beers flowed. Mark Richt can file away that resume for another week, and the Bulldogs can prepare for their bout next Saturday against Georgia Southern.  Note to Murray:  Don't make the same "hare-y" mistakes Florida did.

Three Cheers for the Blue and Gold--and a Lot of Other People

Last night was St. Peter the Apostle School's homecoming, and even though the Rams didn't quite bust through that big blue wall that was St. James's defensive line, the evening was a big success in many other ways.

The celebration started with a pep rally immediately before the JV football game. All the cheerleaders and the pep squad demonstrated their award winning jumps and stunts before the eighth graders put on a show for the students, faculty, and parents by dancing Gangnam Style with Mills Thompson dressed as the popular South Korean performer PSY. Aren't they a hoot?

Look at Lawson and Adam busting a move on that field. 

 

Following that thrilling performance (Michael Jackson couldn't have done any better), the cheerleaders and football players had a cheering contest. That event brought back memories. The boys cheered, "Firecracker! Firecracker! Boom, boom, boom!" That was the first cheer I ever learned. I think I was six at the time. Elizabeth Way and I used to stand in her front yard all the time and yell that cheer. And I hadn't heard it since until yesterday afternoon. 

  The boys have got the muscles....

 

They modified the words a little bit and said that the girls have hairy legs, but otherwise they did a really good job. Mills served as the judge, so it only made sense that the football players would win the contest.

 

It was a good thing they won that because the game didn't fare so well. But everybody knew St. James would be a tough contender. Their players are just so darned big! But the Rams didn't let the game get their homecoming down. 

 

Between the JV game and the varsity game, the eighth graders and their parents were recognized on the field. Holly Price and LeAnn Sells did a splendid job of making sure that event came together. 

 

 

So many thanks go to them for that. And speaking of words of appreciation, some recognition should go to other folks who make the St. Peter's football season so memorable and enjoyable:

 

Many people don't pay much attention to who's announcing the game, but the Rams have their own Larry Munson in the press box at O'Brien Field. And it only takes one game at another school's field to recognize what a difference our game announcer makes. Not only does he offer play-by-play commentary at our games, but he also entertains us with groovy music that makes us dance in our seats, even when the Rams are down a few points. So the next time we meet at Coach's Corner, let's all raise a glass to Clint Fonseca, who volunteers his time and electronic equipment every week for the sake of our entertainment.  

While we're at it, let's all raise a glass to Susan Daly also. Always at St. Peter's sporting events, this Rams mom is constantly ready to offer her medical expertise when a player suffers an injury. Unfortunately, she's had to walk on that field a few too many times this season, and we're all glad the results turned out okay. But many thanks to Susan as well. 

 

Our cheerleaders didn't win their awards without the help and support of several St. Peter's parents. Holly Price, LeAnn Sells, Erin Thompson, and Lucy Fonseca have given so many hours of their time toward the Rams' cheering squad that our girls should make up a cheer just for these women. So here's to all of the goddesses of the goal line! At season's end, we'll crack open a cold one for you. 

I was lucky to get this photo of Erin Thompson. She just doesn't stand still!

 

Speaking of Thompsons, our team would be lost without the hard work of Carmen Thompson, keeper of the stats, communicator for the coaches, and guard of the game officials' parking spaces. Carmen fulfills an often thankless job for the school, so here's my online expression of gratitude:

Thank you, Carmen!

The mom who's da bomb!

And then, of course, our coaches deserve a word of thanks for their daily work with thirteen adolescent boys who often prefer to play the game their own way but sometimes realize that when they do what their coaches tell them they have some stunning plays (like that beautiful completed pass from Adam King  to Drew Tison last night). Our team wouldn't be where they are today (at the playoffs) without Lawton Tison, George Miller, Barry Dodd, Tommy Harrison, and Scott King waxing poetic from the sidelines: "Way to be there, baby!" "Don't let him get behind you!" "Keep your eye on the ball!" "Block him! Block him!"

And whenever there's a mishap, such as Adam King's jammed thumb (rendering it not so opposable), William Autry is there with a jug of water, a roll of tape, and words of encouragement.

What's so commendable about all this effort is that several of these parents don't even have kids going to St. Peter's anymore. They dedicate their time and energy because they love the school and they love these students. So St. James may have taken home the victory last night. Other schools might have more money or fancier uniforms or larger student bodies, but St. Peter the Apostle is rich in community and volunteer service. So to all you parents and St. Peter's alums who give so much to the school, you might not think we notice your efforts, but we do.

   

 

 

 

 

    

Some Things You MIght Not Know About Stephen

October 20, 1965 was a hallmark day in Savannah, Georgia. That's the day Stephen Remler became a resident. Now, forty-seven years later, Stephen still resides in Savannah, Georgia, although his adventures of have taken him all over the place. Some of my readers know Stephen as a builder; others know him as Davis and Lawson's dad or Nancy's husband. Some know him as a former classmate, a golf partner, a fishing buddy, a brother, son, or in-law. But Stephen's touched hundreds of lives in his (almost) half century. I can tell just as many stories about what makes him special to me. But here are just a few:

Starting School: Stephen was not enthusiastic about starting school. His mother tells me that when she delivered him to St. James School that fateful August day, he refused to go in and even clung to the breezeway pole to avoid that dreadful, awful, horrifying experience known as first grade. I don't know how JoJo eventually got him in the building, but somehow she did, because at some point, he sat for this photo.

Jesus Shoes:  Then the fifth grade, as most of the Savannah Catholic school alums will remember, is the year students perform the Stations of the Cross.  Stephen got to play Jesus. Most kids would consider that role an honor. I think for a while Stephen did too, that is, until he had a conflict with his teacher, whose name (I believe) was Sister Mary of the Angels. Apparently neither was much of an angel that day. The class did their first performance during the school day for the rest of the student body. During that production, Stephen committed the apparently (at least to Sister) mortal sin of smiling while he was being crucified. Afterward, Stephen's teacher reprimanded him for his smile and said, "Tommy Johnson can play a better Jesus than you can!"

Stephen replied, "Fine. Then let him do it!"

When he got home, he reported that he would not be playing Jesus in that evening's performance for the parents. JoJo was so disappointed and tried to talk him into it. She'd so wanted to see Stephen in his starring role. Besides, she'd worked so hard making his costume and buying his Jesus shoes. But Stephen dug in his Jesus heels. JoJo put him in the car and drove him to the school, but he still refused to play Jesus. So Sister Mary of the Angels threatened him. "If you don't play Jesus," she warned, "I'm going to fail you for the whole year."

Again, Stephen said, "Fine. Go ahead." He knew she couldn't really do that. Evidently, JoJo realized what an ass Sister was making of herself, so instead of watching the performance, she took Stephen out for ice cream.

High School:  Obviously, Stephen passed fifth grade (and sixth, seventh, and eighth) because he attended Benedictine Military School, where he was on the yearbook staff and was a lieutenant colonel in ROTC. His senior year, he escorted Teresa Ryan at the homecoming game because her boyfriend, Steve Werntz, was playing in the game. Thirty years later, Teresa's daughter Megan was Davis's escort at the BC homecoming. BC's always been a school steeped in tradition, but I think that example is a really good one. Also during Stephen's senior year, it poured down rain on St. Patrick's Day, and Stephen and the rest of the cadets had to march soaking wet in the parade.
After that, he was ready to graduate and start college.

An Athens Party Animal: In college, Stephen threw some bodacious parties. Some of them took place at his parents' beach house on Tybee; others took place in Myers Hall at the University of Georgia. Wherever they were, everyone involved had a blast. Stephen's most famous parties were actually continuations of parties his brother Brett started. For the Wankle Beach parties, Stephen and Brett would load the back of their El Camino with sand from Tybee Island, and they'd haul it to Athens and cover the common room floor with it, making their own beach. They invited all their friends and their friends' friends, and we'd party till the cows came home, or at least until the Residence Life staff told us to call it a night. Oyster roasts, beach weekends, football tailgates--Stephen could always throw a fun soiree.

A Special Talent: Stephen's the only person I've ever known who could ride a unicycle. He tried to teach me, but I just couldn't figure it out.

Wedding Bell:  The youngest of five siblings, Stephen was the last in his family to marry. Along the way, as his brothers and sisters wed, Stephen carefully planned a fun prank for each of them. How thoughtful! For instance, when his sister Laurie married, Stephen had her car placed on top of blocks of ice so she and her husband couldn't leave their reception until the ice melted. When Kelley married, Stephen broke into her house and toilet papered the whole thing. To his credit, he also left her a new TV with a big white bow on it. When our big day came along, Stephen expected his brothers and sisters to have some tom foolery up their sleeves (or at the very least, some hijinks). They did. His siblings tried in every way to get me to reveal where we were staying that night, but Stephen had already warned me, and I kept my mouth shut. Still, they got their revenge on their brother. They filled our luggage with bird seed. Then they padlocked a chain around Stephen's neck, and attached to that chain was a cow bell. But Stephen was prepared. He packed bolt cutters in his suit case (that was back in the day that you could take bolt cutters to an airport) and cut that chain off his neck before we went on our honeymoon. He only scratched his neck two or three times. Ten years later, I still found birdseed in my suitcase. And Stephen still has his cowbell.

A Little Stephen and One Extra:  In 1994, we had our first child, Davis, who looks like a little Stephen. Even today, people tell Davis how much he looks like his daddy. Five years later, Lawson came along, and Stephen had two little companions to take along to the beach, on the boat, and in the woods. Stephen, Davis, and Lawson like to go hunting and camping together, and I hope they enjoy those activities for another forty-seven years.

Happy birthday to Stephen Remler! May have have many, many more!

Seat Scenes

When my mother was a little girl growing up in Atlanta, the Atlanta Constitution had a regular feature titled "Street Scenes," which consisted of several short description of odd or humorous happenings around town. My grandmother once told me a story of a funny thing my Uncle Buz said when he was little and shopping with her downtown (I can't remember now what it was), and the next day, she read about it in "Street Scenes."

Tonight's football game, in which Saint Peter the Apostle Rams competed against the Bible Baptist Braves, made me think about that column. Stephen saw little of the game because he had another occasion this evening. So I sat in the stands among the other mothers of seventh and eighth grade football players and cheerleaders. We watched the game, but we also conversed through much of it. I learn a lot about what Lawson's up to by talking to his friends' parents.

So although I can't offer readers the usual expert play by play analysis, I can offer you the humorous and interesting little scenes I observed from my seat.

For instance, readers who have never been to a St. Peter the Apostle football game might not understand that our school has a recording of the longest version in history of the "Star Spangled Banner." It's an exercise of patience to stand at attention through that song, not only because our feet get tired, but also because by the time we get to the rockets' red glare, the gnats have chewed us to the brink of insanity. But tonight, Carmen Thompson alerted me to this patient spectator, who stood at attention through the whole song.

And then the game started, and I just have one question: What vitamins is Drew Tison taking in the morning? Give that boy a ball and he will run like a locomotive for the end zone as if he's going to find a pot a gold between the goal posts. To my recollection, Drew scored the Rams' first two touchdowns. And even after that he was a man on fire. But I guess that figures. After all, his initials are D.T., which is TD spelled backwards.

Hats off to Cameron Parish, who scored the Rams' last touchdown of the game. Lawson tells me Cameron was playing fullback tonight, which gave him the opportunity to score. I don't know what the fullback position has to do with it, but I still offer three cheers for Cameron.

Other things I noticed from the stands:

• Rocky the Ram can bust a move on the sideline. Who taught that goat to dance? I want to sign up.
• I finally learned the rest of the cheerleaders' names. I know Anna, Claire, Caitlyn, Renne, and Riley, but I get the other ones mixed up. Because I have boys, and because Lawson's not yet a regular in the dating scene, until now, most of the girls looked alike to me: long haired, in blue and gold dresses and pink bows. And there sure are a lot of them! But Kathleen McCarthy helped me figure all of that out tonight. Thanks, Kathleen!
• I got a great photo of Lawson, thanks to Chuong Dang, the team's expert photographer. Kado's dad is always on the sideline snapping shots of all the Rams, and he graciously gave each mom a 5x7 photo of her boy. How generous of him. Many thanks for that, too!
• There's some confusion as to when next week's pep rally will be. Many eighth grade moms are hoping they'll get emails explaining the agenda for next week's festivities. Do I have to make a poster for Lawson? Somebody clue me in, please.
• And finally, I learned that the eighth grade boys' basketball team needs a coach this year. Scott King is taking a well-deserved breather, and the man who had originally agreed to coach the team went out and got himself a job while we weren't looking! So the position is open. We almost had Kathleen McCarthy lined up for the job, but unfortunately, she's baking a fancy cake that day. I nominated Kristi Lowenthal, but she asserted that she knows nothing about basketball.  Well, she could have fooled me. At least she knows each basket scores the team two points, and she's been known to remind me of that on occasion. Is she aware that I've been following her example for that past three years? Because of her, I know when yell, "Rebound!" and "Way to be there, Lawson!" like I know what I'm doing. I always just yell whatever Kristi yells. She explained it all to me last night. She was a cheerleader. She's good at rooting for the boys, but she doesn't really understand what she's rooting for.  I learned what little I know of basketball from someone who's just about six inches ahead of me in understanding it. Hand that woman an Oscar! Meanwhile, the search for a coach continues, but we might have to resort to showing the boys YouTube videos after school. Here's an idea:  iCoach.

As a result of my consistent chatter, I can't tell you the final score of the game. Maybe someone will leave a comment and inform us all. But I can tell you that the Rams won. Our boys scored more than 30 points, and the Braves scored once. I can't remember if they got their extra points. But at least you know it wasn't a shutout, but it wasn't a shootout, either.

Next week is Homecoming at St. Peter the Apostle School!  The Rams will take on the St. James Chargers, and they will be some tough competition. I'll try to pay more attention to the activity on the field, but I can't make any promises. I might get distracted by more conversation.

Captions

Last night St. Peter the Apostle's Rams butted up against the Savannah Christian Raiders. And the Rams went home with the bounty, leaving the field with a score of 20-6.

I stood atop the bleachers shooting video and taking still shots all during the game. Watching the boys play through a view finder is challenging, and I learned three years ago that I have a choice at football games:  I can take photos, or I can pay attention to the game. But I can't do both. Typically what I do is focus the camera on the point I want to get an image of--usually the ball or Lawson--and then as soon as the play starts, I press the shutter button, and it's anybody's guess what the picture will look like. So tonight I don't have a good analysis of the game because I opted for photos instead. But as I examined my portfolio last night, I realized how one little snap can capture something unexpected, and the image will make for some pretty fun captions.

For instance, in the photo below, Adam King (18) kicks off at the beginning of the game. I like this shot for several reasons:  1) Look at how flexible he is! He could be a Rockette! 2) I like how the other guys have his eyes on him. I don't know if they should be watching him or the ball, but they're all focused on the same thing, and I like the fact that I can see their eyes in this shot. 

Unfortunately, that kick went out of bounds, so the Rams had to do the kick over. I like the next photo better:

In this shot, Adam approaches the ball to kick it. But look at his left hand. A Savannah Christian cheerleader hung her bag on the chain link fence, and just as I snapped this photo, Adam was positioned in such a way that his hand is just over that bag. So he look like he's carrying a little pouch at kickoff. If I had tried to get that shot, it never would have happened.

I like the next picture too. In this shot Garrett Ducey (40) is all over a Savannah Christian player, but two other behemoths are heading right toward Mills Thompson (44). The look on Mills's face reminds me of that scene in the movie A Christmas Story when the little boy says, "Oh fuuuuudge."
I wonder if that was what was going through Mills's mind:

Drew Tison (#5) had a great game last night, scoring two of the game's touchdowns and also getting a beautiful pass interception. But somehow when I snapped this photo, I caught Drew in an unusual stance. Quarterback Adam King (18) is looking to Drew to hand off the ball. But Drew looks like he's about to topple over (I don't think that's what really happened):

 Remember the movie Bull Durham? Remember the scene where the players all confer on the pitcher's mound because Nuke's eyelids were jammed and his dad was in the stands, and Jose needed a live rooster to get the curse off his glove, and nobody knew what to get Jimmie and Millie for a wedding gift? This photo makes me think of that scene:

 Mills gets to the bottom of it. 

I like this shot too:

"Okay, we're going to do this thing one more time, but then we want to go to Coach's. We're getting kind of hungry out here."

This is a a poignant image to me. I don't like what happened to cause it, and I'm glad Drew walked off the field intact (especially after what happened at last week's game--yeesh!), but I do like that when a player is down, the others take a knee. Both teams. No questions. They just do it. And I think it's a shame that this practice doesn't extend itself beyond high school football, because when I see college players writing in pain on TV, it kinds of makes me sick to see the other team--even their own teammates milling around and getting ready for the next play. I'm always screaming at the TV, "Take a knee!" At least our boys have some couth.

Still shots are fun, but so is video. Here's a good shot of Matt Lowenthal (#24) scoring the Rams' third touchdown of the night:

And here's #5 Drew Tison scoring our first touchdown of the night:

And yes, the boys did get to go to Coach's after the game!