East Dillon Daily: 1x03 — “Wind Sprints”

Photo by: Bill Records/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

“You’re not champions until you’ve earned it!”

I’m very glad to get to announce a new section I feel the need to add to these posts. Like I said in Episode 1x01, I don’t want to include things that I can Google or that seem too basic to be worth y’all’s time to answer. But it might be hard to see my actual progress toward becoming a competent football fan if you don’t get to see the other things I’m doing.

So the comments, messages, texts, Tweets that help me out, and any extra resources that I’ve sought out during this process — starting now, we’ll make sure to make mention of those things, too.

If you want to send me recommendations for things to read/watch/listen to (love a good podcast) in order to learn real things about the sport, you can do so in the comments, or by shooting me a DM on Twitter (@nowyousieme) or an email at sie.morley@sbnation.com.

What have I learned about football since the last episode?

• Shoutout to Kyle Demetrius, my friend and former podcasting partner, who texted me the second I posted Episode 1x02 to answer the questions I raised after yesterday’s episode. I now have this handy dandy cheat sheet:

very glad for the services of @KyleDemetrius as i try to make sense of the football talk pic.twitter.com/u8CFTl4CRx

— sie ✨ (@nowyousieme) March 27, 2020

Fake it ‘til you make it, baby.

• Not be be outdone, my eldest brother has also offered his services:

my eldest brother is also delighted by this opportunity pic.twitter.com/O87WEYgPRt

— sie ✨ (@nowyousieme) March 27, 2020

(In case anyone needs clarification here, my sister-in-law is from France, so at least she gets a pass).

• I also spent a decent amount of time just reading over the wikipedia pages for “American football,” and “American football positions.” It’s dumb, but it works. When I have video or characters I can tie it into the show, I understand the concepts a lot better, but I was also a “read the encyclopedia for fun” type of kid. So far, it’s been a pretty decent supplement to the show for me.

Let’s get to the episode now, yeah?

1x03 — “Wind Sprints”

What did I learn about football?

• The episode opens with a game. The announcer is saying that Matt Saracen (QB) will need to get the ball to Smash Williams (running back) after the snap (of which, he’s only taken approximately three in his whole career) in order for them to have a shot at scoring. This makes a decent amount of sense to me! With a bit of Googling and re-reading messages I’ve gotten, I can follow along with the broadcaster. Progress, folks!
• Okay, so this is a recruiting episode, which is going to lead to plenty of questions, as I basically have no understanding of the subject. But they offer VooDoo Tatum the QB1 spot, as well as a fund for his family and a job for his dad. Coach Taylor refuses to guarantee the QB1 spot. I don’t think that necessarily makes any of this any better morally, but who am I to say?
• Football players/coaches will apparently find any reason to use the word “spanking.”

What questions have now been raised for me about football?

• So like, what’s up with the spanking thing?
• How is all of this not a blatant recruiting violation? Also, what are the incentives for recruiting when it comes to high school football? This world where high school sports have meaning is still so foreign to me.

Additional Thoughts

• I’m not going to lie, it is hard to get into a sport that ... I’m not even sure I’d necessarily say is more physical, but is certainly physical in a different way than hockey. We ask a lot from these kids and their bodies.
• Oh my god, this grown adult man literally threatened a fifteen-year-old girl because she’s the high school football coach’s daughter. Life cannot possibly exist like this somewhere.
• Lyla’s mom really looks awful trying to get her daughter to break up with her boyfriend for no reason other than “he’s now going to be in a wheelchair,” wow.
• Aldis Hodge is an absolute baby here, oh my god.
• There’s absolutely nothing I’m less invested in than Tyra and Tim.
• ... oh wait, Lyla and Tim is happening. There’s nothing I’m less invested in than Lyla and Tim.

See you tomorrow for Episode 1x04 — “Who’s Your Daddy”!

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