Happy Birthday

So I was awoken to the sounds of Will and Matt losing their minds yelling, telling me to hurry up and wake up, followed by the silencing murmur of an entire football stadium hushing me....

What is this? That's all I could think. What's going on? As I tried to wipe the sleet from my eyes, it just wouldn't go away. It actually started to get foggier, WHAT? Is this like one of those dreams where you think your awake? I couldn't get a grip on reality. As they told me to grab my stuff because "it's fixing to explode." I decided to document the first thing I saw on my 24th birthday.

French Riviera and Italia

After our last game against the Nice Dauphins, we spent the night out in Nice. I have to say it was a pretty fun time. Originally we tried to get all of the guys together to go out. However trying to get 25-30 guys without any females can pose a bit of a problem. Also when no buses are running, you can't find a cab, and it's a bit of a walk to the city center, you have to improvise. Matt, Will, Dino, and myself finally hailed down a cab and meet up with Alex, a former cougar who was playing for the Nice team since he's now living in the south.

Anyways we ended up having a pretty fun night out in Nice. Will talked two girls into walking into the bar with us just so we could get in. He's a charmer. I even ran into someone from a hostel I stayed at in Barcelona. Talk about random. But when you look back to that day it was pretty intense. We drove the entire morning on a sleeping bus from Paris, then we went to the beach for a couple hours, swam in the Mediteranian, played a football game, went out, all to wake up the next morning and see some more of south France.

On the sleeper-bus, riding from Paris to Nice.

I must mention the pregame was quite intense. You see on the beach after riding in a bus 10 hours all night, we got the privelage of seeing the Danny Mendes show. Danny rocked his small bathingsuit and went up talking to girls and just being hilarious. It was awesome. The whole team was just hanging by the beach, throwing rocks into the ocean in a little game we came up with. It was just fun and I felt like we all shared that moment. We were all cougars.

The one and only DANNY MENDES.

After the game we spent the morning in Nice walking around the old city. There was a fresh market that was really incredible. As we were touring the city Sally spotted a tour guide and we arranged a trip to see the Riviera. We stopped at a little resturant and I had a huge steaming pot of mussels and some fish soup. Really fresh ingredients. Afterwards we meet up with the tour guide and saw some of the country side.

We drove to Monaco and Monte Carlo along the coast, stopping in Eze. It was absolutely gorgeous countryside. The water, the rocks, the cliffs...really something special. Also, I must mention that the Canes film festival was going on at the same time. A little crowded. In Eze we walked through the old city, I must say that each old city I have seen in Europe is somewhat unique. Each having their own special style, their own little quaintness about them. Somewhat similar to the rest, but each capturing the individual spirit of the people, the culture and the town.

Eze was beautiful, on the top of the mountain you can see to Italy and to France. We strolled through the little streets looking into the small shops. Next we stopped at a local perfumerie. Eze is famous for making fresh French scents. I'm sure my aunt's enjoyed it a lot, and the tour guide was nice, but perfume isn't the tops on my list of things to do. Nonetheless I learned that it takes almost a million pounds of flours to make a gallon or so of perfume. When they capture the "essence" of the flour it is very strong and potent.

After this we went on to Monte Carlo, where the town was preparing for the Formula 1 Grand Prix. We drove through the track that the cars would take. Fairly small with limiting space, you learn how impressive it is when a car can actually pass. The roads all had safety barricades and water barrells to help for wrecks. It was fun going through the turns down to the harbor, where private cruise ships were parked next to each other a hefty price for a one of a kind view on race day.

A view of the harbor and Monte Carlo and the race day grand stands.

Afterwards we stopped in Monaco, the 2nd smallest country next to the Vatican City. You had a great view out to the ocean on one side, the harbor and the grandstands for the race on the other. I learned the history of Monaco, apparently the village was actually housed by tons of monks. A pirate came and clothed himself as a monk and killed all the monks, then after he got tired of it and sold it to a rich family. Thus how it came to be it's own country. There was a little park we stopped at and looked out over the ocean and enjoyed some of the plants and statues.

After enjoying some ice cream, chocolate & pistachio combination, we headed down to Monte Carlo center. Aston Martin's, Lamborghini's, and Ferrari's lined the enterance into the Grand Casino. It's so expensive it costs 15$ just to go in and see it, and if you want to sit down and gamble you probably need to take out another mortgage on your house. We didn't go in, instead we grabbed some drinks at an outdoor bar. The bartender was a really nice guy, I ordered a beer and basically he gave me 3 for the price of 1. I got the one from the bottle, he then gave me the same from draft, and the same brand but white beer on tap. I was happy, for Aunt Sue he played it cool and asked her what her favorite color was, she said blue and he made a blue lagoon type of cocktail. I have to give the man points for style.

We drove back to Nice and spent the rest of our daylight on the beach. All I could think about was how surreal my life is. I NEVER would have planned this path, and I fully believe that God opens doors when we least expect it. I know this is all his doing and I am just fortunate. If I could give any advice it would be to run through those open doors with no hesitation because you never know when they will shut.

The next day we headed by train to Firenze...aka Florence. However the train took us all through Italy, from Genova, up to Milan then switched trains and ran down Bologna, to Parma, to Florence. Italy was beautiful and the food authentic. The pasta's where just unbelievable. We ate at this one small restaurant with a really cool ambiance. It almost felt like you where in an Italian house and sitting at their dinning room table. I love that feel, the homey-ness (if that's a word)

No pictures where allowed, but I managed to snag this one.

The next day we went to see the statue of David, and the 2 replicas. I must say his head and hands are enormously out of proportion. Our tour guide told us it was because Michelangelo wanted to emphasize 2 different things. First the power of man's mind. That is, a man should realize the capabilities of the mind and think things through. The hands being bigger was to emphasize how much man can do with his hands. Physically being able to create, weither that be sculptures, paintings, or any other type of trade work. He believed that men should use their hands to work on making life a better place.

Locking out on the old bridge

We also saw the old remaining bridge from the Medici family. It is now lined with top end jewelry stores. The ancient walls that used to surround the village are now 90% tourn down, but we still got to see some of the remaining pieces as we viewed the city from the top of this hill. The city seemed to be situated in a valley so it was a really beautiful view from up their. Originally this is where they wanted to put the statue of david, however being to difficult to move the kept it down in the town.

Afterwards we strolled the streets, I love the narrow corridors. It feels like you could touch both walls if you laid out across some of the passage ways. We found a museum. Let's just say the line was intensely long, over an hour plus wait. We decided to try the other side of the line where not many people were going in. Only to be told that this is where you bought tickets for a day in advance. The ticket lady naturally showed us to the other side, where the line was waiting. Seizing the opportunity we tried to hop the line and go inside, playing the dumb tourist role. It almost worked until a small Italian man started screaming and saying "You think you just jump the line and no one notice" (well actually yes, bc Aunt sue was already at the window to buy tickets, past the security checks.) It was a good laugh and we can say atleast we tried!

Later that evening we came back to the hotel and sat on the bench outside watching some of the Italian kids playing soccer. No wonder their so good, these kids were playing in a little park with trees, bicycles, benches, trashcans, fountains, etc. in the way of their game, but that didn't stop them. The played around the obstacles, onto different terrains and just played. Aunt Sue noted that this is just what today's kids in America or missing. Just being outside, playing, having fun. I must admit it was relaxing to just watch the kids enjoy themselves!

Italian soccer

All in all it was a great trip and I'm glad I had the opportunity to see all these things. My countries traveled list is starting to increase a bit and I'm somewhat happy for that.

Reims

Sorry it's been a while, my life was kind of stuck in a fastforward motion. But let's get back to it. Aunt Sue and Sally came to visit for a week or so and watch my last 2 football games of the season. It was quite an experience. I got to play tour guide and showed off my new knowledge of Paris and French History. It was exhausting and fun at the same time. We made tracks all across the city and judging by the blisters on Sally's feet, I'd say we all lost a couple pounds throughout the week.

On one side day trip we went to Reims, a city in the Bourgogne - Champagne district of France. It is where all champagne comes from. Our tourguide drove us through the country side and through all of the small vineyards. They were all so beautifully kept and clean and very well taken care of. Aunt Sue marveled on the way the rows were oriented. They all ran from the top of the hills down to the bottom. Which you would assume would cause a lot of the soil to run off through the rains and weather..... Actually we ended up coming right after the region had experienced an incredibly strong thunderstorm.

Anyways as we drove through the small vineyards, each one having a stone with the marking of who owns the lot.... Moet & Chandon, Mumm, etc. We stopped first at the little abbey where Dom Perignon is buried. I think it is also where the monk invinted champagne. The church of Hautvillers was such a small little abbey. We sat on the old pews and looked around at the different relics and history. Next we took off to Moet & Chandon and took a champagne tour.

A picture of the old abbey where monk Dom Perignon is burried.

Most of you will know Moet & Chandon as the maker's of the one and only Dom Perignon. The world class champagne. We walked through the cellars and learned all about the process, time and effort spent making champagne. They keep a lot of their grapes from each year/ from each different vineyard stored in the miles of cellar space. Marked with a very difficult code, that way no one could find their stuff. It is much different however then wine. In that it won't get any better, the longer you wait. As advice they said you should drink your bottle of champagne within 2 years for a regular bottle, 5 for a special bottle, and 8 for a vintage elite bottle. If you let it sit there is a very good chance of having an expensive bottle of vinegar!

Someones bottle of Dom Perignon with my name on it! There where endless quantites of the champagne, and it was tempting not to take one out with me!

They taught us about the process. Some of the more interesting notes where that the bottles are hand turned in very specific ways. I really don't know how many ways you can turn a bottle, but I guess its an art. A turner turns 35,000 bottles a day. Talk about redundant! Another fun fact was the way they get the sediments out of the bottles. First you place them in different tilted angles for maturation from the small angles all the way up to about 75 degrees. Then they freeze the sediments with liquid nitrogen and as the open the bottle, the sediments pop out the top. A lot better then the old day from letting the sediments fall out and losing some of the champagne.

After the cellar we had a tasting. It was really delicicous and I enjoyed the opportunity. After a bit of the bubbly, we then went to the Notre Dame de Reims, the place were all but one of the French kings where crowned. Much larger then Notre Dame in Paris, but very similar architecturally. It was breathtaking, some of the old statues and high, high arched ceilings. It's just incredible how these things were constructed such a long time ago. We had lunch in Reims before heading to another champagne tour.

This time we learned all about Mumm. G.H. Mumm is the brand name most notably recognized by the red slash on the bottle. This tour was similar to the other, however it had a more welcoming feel. They did a great job showing you and teaching you about the process. It was like the tour was designed for the people, whereas the M&C tour was just a glimpse into their everyday operations. Mumm had a lot of the old equipment used in champagne making on display.

Also one of the coolest things from both tours was the extremely old bottles of champagne on display, however locked away in old cellars that resembeled medieval prisons. Some of them dating back to 1893. Old champagne!!!

After the tour we drove back to Paris.

Saint Denis Basilica Cathedral

The other day I had the pleasure of seeing Saint Denis Basilica, the resting place of some of the kings of France. It was a very historical church, actually I think it was an abbey first. It was built on top of the resting place of Saint Dennis in the 7th century. Many kings would also be buried here. It was a place of pilgrimage for the people. Many viewed it as beeing buried closer to Saint Denis himself would of course help their case to being closer to heaven. One particular tomb has a carved sculpture showing just this, I believe it was Dagobert's tomb, the man who constructed the abbey and the first king to be buried here. It is still in the main area next to the altar. It shows the man falling in sin, then it shows the demons coming to take him away, followed by St. Denis stepping in for the man, and then finally his ascension into heaven being caried by angels.

It was incredible, yet eery. You had the tombs of all but 3 kings of France in this abbey. As you walked in you could see the incredible tombs made for the kings. Most of which where done in a true to form spirt. The sculptures on the tops of the tomb in marble or stone, would have life size depictions of the kings. Most seemed to be a lot smaller then myself. However king Francois the 1st was a man of great stature. Being close to 6'6". I do believe he is the one who had a spear wound through his groin during a battle.

We also saw the statues for the kings hearts. King Henry the third I think had his statue that contained his heart. Also we saw the small heart of one of the dauphins who died at a young age, it is sealed into the wall and he would have been Louis XVII. It was a pretty eery site, but still so much history in this place.

Marie Antoinette was buried here along side of Louis XVI and Louis XVIII after that. There craves where a massive black head stone rested in the bottom of the crypt. Each statue had an animal at the base of the feet. This was so to identify the kings and bodies. It was interesting seeing how different kings where remembered. As a king with prayerful hands, strong fists, or even holding a church. It was very old and took you back to the time period.

You can find the links to the pictures here. CLICK ME.

Foire de Paris

The other weekend I went to the Foire de Paris with Hannah. The Foire is a huge fair where you can find everything you've every thought you might need while watching a late night infomercial on QVC. From kitchen equipement, housing windows to cars, modern art clocks, jewlery, clothes, food galour. Not to mention the cultural experience and the live entertainment. Mix that in with good marketing and free samples, and you've got yourself a great time.

I had free cold coffee, free crepes, free ice creams... funny story on that one. The lady apparently thought she was too good to be serving ice cream and that I was not a worthy customer. So instead of the cones everybody else got, I was treated to a small taste spoon. And as if that wasn't enough, told that "we say MERCI in France." WOA! ok ok... i think she was just having a bad day... Anyways not like that would bother me. We saw old style kitchens, convection ovens that boil water in a minute.

The food was incredible, rows of stands from all the regions of France, including Guadalope and the Antilles. So amazing I tried chocolate made with no sugar and just olive oil, foie gras, different beers, wines, candy, and my favorite the Basque stop. The guy actually handed me the bottle to give samples to all the customers coming around the tent. His name was Damien and he was very entertaining, definitely knew how to keep a crowd going and get people to buy his flavored drinks. From Sangria's, to Margarita's, citron vert, and "FIRE WATER"... it was amazing. I actually captured a little bit of him on camera. You'll have to watch the video below to get a feel for the Foire. I meet another nice man who gave me a free t-shirt. With his company http://www.atlantic-cocktail.com/ . He had flavored cognac, I believe. But loved that we are American. He told us all about his grandfather fighting in the war along with the US. And his love of motorcycles. How he road route66 and loved being in America. A really great French guy.

The cultural part was really cool. I got to see some of the customs from Loic's home island of Guadalope. It was really fun and I felt like I was back in Key West at some points. Also there are tons of dancers, performers, and I even saw a country western line dance. No joke...got it on tape. The French can line dance!!

Pics of the team after

At Fab's house

Fab After hurting his shoulder

Michel cooking some meat Gob or his brother cooking meat...

Nico and Michel trying to get a bite to eat

Nyda with a French hotdog

Johan

Jean Michel

Ben and me

The Danny Mendes show

An incredible game: Templier vs Cougars, part deux

4-3. That's our record. Four wins, three losses. We can't lose if we want to make the playoffs. Things are different now. It's like we ARE in the playoffs. In that can lose mentality. 3 games left. We win them all, we knock out the Templiers and the Spartiates.

All week we are ready. Everyone shows up to practice...I mean everyone and that's huge for us. We get some good quality work in having all the guys there. We are prepared. The stage is set, the gladiators are ready, and it would prove to be one of the most amazing shows I've been apart of.

We traveled to the Templiers home field. The last time I was there it was frozen solid and looked like a pond at winter in Michigan. The turf was horrible. Think astrodome astro turf of a lesser quality. How were we going to be able to run and dive on this. The spots where the turf was laid next to each other, about every 15 yards or so, was covered in a paint mixture to try and seal it up. This was like throwing sandpaper on the ground and telling us to slide on it. Also, I didn't have shoes. I mean I had my cleats with screw ins and my tennis shoes, but no turf shoes. Crap. What am I going to play in? The cleats are too tall and I want be able to cut, but my tennis shoes are the Asics that are almost the same material as water shoes little kids wear in public water parks. This is going to be good.

I tighten the shoe strings on my sneakers. The shoes that have taken my all across the streets of Paris, Barcelona, Dublin, Dortmund, Athens and up mountains in Meteora, will now let me hit Templier players. Toe meets leather and the game is on. We kick off and the Templiers get the ball. It's the back and forth. Drive the ball, stall, punt. This goes on back and forth until the close of the First Quarter. The Templier, led by Perez Matison, hit a huge 31 yard pass for a touchdown. Concluding a 90+ yard drive. 7-0.

The Templier offense is similar to Texas Tech spread, quick short passing routes with excellent precision and timing. It's clock work and they look like they've spent a lot of time working pass routes. Our defensive strategy for the game was to only rush 3 lineman and let the 8 remaining guys cover. With double teams across the line, it was hard to get any pressure on the quarterback. Even when we finally did he would just scramble up in the pocket and out to the side. This bought his recievers some of the extra time needed to find the holes in the zone.

The second quarter is a little bit more active. Pakat steals an interception on the sideline. Unfortunately we could not convert. The defensive tackle, an american from UMass and former tight end, had an a pretty good game. He was a good athlete and our guards had some trouble at times against him. They walked the middle linebacker directly over me, so I had to block him most plays and isolated the American guy on our guards. This freed him up on one on one situations and allowed him to make plays.

The Templiers scored again making it 14-0 on a 77 yard drive. And by drive I mean a 77 yard pass that took about 10 seconds for the QB to scramble and throw. I also have to mention that their offensive line coach had suited up for the game. He came in around the 2nd quarter mark. I guess he felt his guys weren't doing a good job. It was hilarious though as I was on the line, his lineman would ask him, "coach what do we do", "should we double team" and the coach would tell him yes or no. It was fun getting to play against him. Sometimes they'd hold me and I'd get their team so upset since they just completed a big gain. Now it was 14-0, we get the ball back and need to score now to cut the lead in half, so when we recieve the ball in the 3rd quarter, we can tie the game up.

We need to rally, to get life back in the Cougars. We can't let the guys shut down. Then you realize... we are Cougars. This team doesn't quit, regardless of what events have just taken place. We drive trying to beat the clock into the endzone. And do just what we needed to Dino scores on a 6 yard run and we've cut the lead. Unfortunately the extra point get's blocked. 14-6. Halftime.

We started what we needed to. Getting the train on the tracks and headed in the right direction. Now we needed to believe that we would win this game. We decide to stay on the field and rest instead of heading to the locker rooms. Partially because the visitors lockerrooms are right below the Templiers and we needed to come together without distractions. We recieve the ball in the start of the 2nd half and muster a brilliant 87 yard drive. Matt scores on a 1 yard QB sneak. 14-12. We still need a 2 point conversion to be tied and even the playing field. We run a pass play that fails, but thankfully their is a penalty. Next play from the 1.5 yard line. We throw a fade to Michel and tie the game. Were back baby. The Templiers, who had purred at us (yes I mean pur, like a little kitty sound.... to which I kindly reminded them that they lost the last time they played us!) before the game started as we ran onto the field, weren't purring anymore.

The following drive the Templier went 3 and out and the Cougars take the field. This is the pivotal starting point where some of our recievers really step up. Jean Michel catches a 62 yard pass and scurries into the endzone. 21-0. The game now would start to take shape of a tennis match more so then a football game. An epic back and forth battle that Agassi and Sampras would be jaw dropped at. We kick off the ball and the Templiers return it to our 30 yard line.

The Templiers score 3 plays later with a 10 yard pass. 21-20. On the extra point I move Ludo next to me and Nyda across. We drive the guard back and I am sure we blocked the extra point. But no, they faked the kick and threw the ball to the wide open up back. 22-21. Ah. My emotions are starting to spin. The roller coaster ride of emotions from this game has just begun. We have been down 14-0, fought back, tied the game, took the lead, and now we have lost the lead. Time to get back to work.

4th Quarter. It takes me back to high school. To the extra work we put in sweating our buts off in a locked down, taped up gym. The windows were fogged from the amount of sweat and heat we put off during the strenuous conditioning drills. Pushing ourselves to the limits, so that when the 4th quarter comes, you are not as tired as the man in front of you. You can push forward, while he tries to hold on. Then I'm at Tech. We hold our hands high in the 4th Quarter because this is where you finish the drill and get the job done. It doesn't matter how you start, it matter's how you finish. I've been through Spring ball, summer agilities, 5am team drills, Camp, 2 a days....they all add up for these moments. The forth quarter. Let's go Cougars.

The crowd is pumping, it's intense. If we were in America, 55,000 fans would be on their feet. Yelling and screaming, losing their beers and their voice. We drive. Thomas makes a huge conversion on 3rd down and gains 61 yards. Another one of the recievers that has stepped up in this game. Our drive stalls out in redzone and we settle with a huge kick by Michel Donati for 33 yards. 24-22. Our sideline is going nuts. We've taken the lead! Yes I say to myself. We've got this. I'm riding high.

The defense takes the field. With cougar pride they stop the Templiers and bring them to a 4th and 1 situation. Of course they are going for it. We crank it up and the defense stops the conversion. Cougars ball. We then drive the ball to the 11 yard line. Now faced with our own 4th down situation we turn the ball over. The Templiers seizing the moment drive the ball 89 yards and score on a 33 yard pass to a reciever finding the open hole. The life drains out of me. I'm exahusted. I can not take this. But we still have time. The clock ticks. the score 28-24. They try the extra point. This time we do push the guard back into the kick and block the extra point. The brief ounce of hope will be all I need to push on.

We return the ball and it's 1st and 10 on the 34 with just under 2 minutes left. Then the roller coaster takes a huge turn from the previous drop and pulls us back to another mountain top. Matt hits Jean Michel for a 66 yard touchdown pass. His second in the game. We go nuts. The celebration is spectacular. We are losing our minds. YES! YES! We are up 31 to 28 after the extra point. AMAZING!

The Templier will have to run a two minute offense to try and touch us. I feel confident. Perez felt more confident. He drives the Templier 78 yards down the field. With the help of 30 yards in penalties from the Cougars. One of which being a late hit by myself on the QB. I had spun in and saw him letting it fly. All I could think of was what a bull see's when the matador flashes the red flag in front of him. I didn't stop. AHHHhhhhhhhhh! What did I just do? Composure Matt. Stay composed. I think of the personal fouls I've had at Tech and Coach Gailey pulling me out on one particular occasion, one that cost Choice a 100yard rushing game.

They end up scoring with 20 seconds left. 35-31. We have no time left. This knockout punch would prove to be the straw....or more like a Mike Tyson right hook.... that broke the camels back. The air was knocked out of me. I lied on the field for an extra 30 seconds to the sounds of the home fans celebrating the Templier touchdown. It would be the final score with the failed hail mary's.

I watched my team fight for everything they had. They laid it on the line. Nyda shed a tear or a few after the game. I knew how much this means to all of us. To fight and lose. In an epic game, and epic battle. Someone has to be the loser. That's sports, that's competition. We all felt the same. DRAINED. Giving all you have and having it come up just a little bit short. It's heartbreaking. No playoff shot. It was finished. Our season would only have 2 games left. Thomas, Jean Michel and Florian have stepped up. They have made huge strides during this season. Their hard work, consistent attendance at practice and work ethic have helped take them so far this season. I look at them and our proud. They all had huge plays this game and stepped up big. Matt ended up breaking the record for passing yards in a game for the Cougars record books. 384yards passing. But records mean nothing unless they are in the win coloumn.

Our team had suffered some serious injuries. On one drive Nico had an amazing catch. Somehow managed to keep his feet and run forward without balance. At the precise time 3 Templiers hit him. Hurting his back and causing it to be his last play for the Cougars, more then likely forever. He laid it on the line. Fabian hurt his shoulder making tackles and is done for the season. Ben Simon hurt his MCL during the game. These guys laid it all out for each other, for me, for the team. "TEAM FIRST" I am impressed and proud to be a Cougar. Fighters.

After the game we had a planned party/ BBQ at Fabians. The entire team showed up and it was a lot of fun. I will just show you pictures which speak the loudest. I'll post them after this. We are a team. A group of friends, who lay it out for one another. A unit. Gung-ho baby. GUNG- HO....... Who are you? Cougars!!!