LP'S Jesus Vargas is a gridiron beast on Friday nights
Good Afternoon!
Actually I’m not so inclined to give Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday the benefit of the doubt when many are saying he was protecting his Beltres in the bottom of ninth yesterday…I think he missed it…and I think it had nothing to do with the white towels being waved at Dodger Stadium.
Adam Wainwright needs to talk to his boys about the loss instead of blaming those waving towels at Chavez Ravine.
Does yesterday’s heroics in any way erase Game Six, 1985, Jack Clark, and “He Who Must Not Be Named”? No. Not at all. In fact in the cave of sports bitterness that exists in my heart where there is still weeping, darkness, and gnashing of teeth, 1985 is still there.
Will I ever be over it? Sure, when the Cardinals rot and lie stinking in the earth…until then…I’m all good…
I love rivalry games tonight’s Smudge Pot between Bonita and San Dimas is special. While I don’t want to see anyone get hurt, I’m not necessarily the kind of guy that wants to see smiles, hugs, and hear choruses of “kumbaya” after a game…especially at the pro level.
I do have a memory of being young and forced to do the obligatory handshake at the end of the game…(sucks what?)…Couldn’t stand it…Fortunately I’ve matured.
When it comes to the opponent in football I’m more along the lines of former NFL HC Sam Wyche when he said: “That’s the enemy over there, they’re not your friends. You don’t go over there, shake their hands, and hug their necks.”
While basketball was the sport I played, I’ve come to fully understand that basketball is a game where you can easily turn off the “Overdrive” switch. Football has to be full throttle. If its not full throttle you’re liable to do more than just cost your team, but injure yourself.
Full throttle players are a pleasure to watch like Bonita’s Casey Horine or San Dimas’ Christian Morgan.
Hitters deluxe like Arroyo’s Mike Chavez, or Rosemead’s Cesar Chavez from last year, or Temple City’s Joe Reasner from two years ago. Players like Josh Lowden and Grant Haggard at M-Town this year. La Puente’s Jesus Vargas is one of these guys.
Also, I’ve come to appreciate the guys who can take a hit and just keep getting up. I saw this last year in El Monte’s Quang Phong, I saw it seven years ago in Rosemead’s Joe Silva, you saw it SD’s Nico Barbone, and its evident in M-Town’s Nick Bueno, TC’s Max Ruckle, and Arcadia’s Garrett Tuck.
This is what makes football different…How do you go full throttle and then play nice? This is why we should admire the coaching staffs that are able to create gridiron beasts, yet channel the energy into something after the gun blasts to end the fourth quarter.
I may not be a fan of lining up at the 50 (especially when the coach you want to interview is on the other side) but the fact that it gets done, especially after a furious four quarters, amazes me.
Stay thirsty my friends…
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