When a Win is Also a Loss

Wednesday, October 8

After a late game in south Florida and only 90 minutes of sleep, I'm back in the office at 10 a.m. Not all that happy about it -- or even awake, I think, for that matter -- but I'm physically present and that's what counts!

Getting paid for what you know is far better than getting paid for what you do. At least today it is, anyway.

What a trip! First of all, I did not get to see the beach. Not even out of the plane window. Seems not all people are as friendly as they are in south Alabama and I was advised by numerous locals not to attempt the 3.2 mile jog to the coast.

So, I heeded the warnings and opted for the jogging path by the airport. I had a "first" there on that path: I've never been outrun by a lizard! I have been dive-bombed by a bat and outrun by an armadillo, but never beat in a foot race by a lizard...and he was fast! Might have even outrun Jerrell Jernigan...really!

While I'm on the subject of lizards...I would like the record to reflect that they have some really big, scary ones in Dania Beach. I'm including a picture of one of the smaller ones and you can't even tell how big he really is, but he's scary...trust me.

I brought home a souvenir -- a coconut -- which I hope isn't a "no-no." It was on the ground already and it was begging me to take it home. I had a pet coconut when I was a wee one...no laughs, please...and I thought I'd pass along the joy and pleasure to my wee one.

Let's talk about food. When you're in Nebraska, you order steak; when you're on the coast, you eat seafood, right? So, dinner Friday night was at a local crab shack -- The Rustic Inn Crabhouse -- with the radio crew, which was nicely accompanied by all the smells of a bona fide fisherman's wharf! (The restaurant, that is, not the radio crew.)

I selected the crab sampler, which came complete with a wooden mallet and a very attractive bib! I think I made it out of there without any pictures being taken of me with either.

The upside was that I did feel much better after taking out some frustrations on those little crabs with the mallet! And they tasted great! The down side was the mess I made: both on the table and up to about my elbows with crab and butter. Not a pretty sight, I promise.

All that aside, we won! We beat FAU fair and square on their own turf. Had a few weird football moments during the game, of which some I'm still not sure what happened.

Something was said about a kick bouncing off an opponent's helmet. What was he thinking?

Then there was the long snap by FAU. And by long, I mean a mile long. Then the punter misguided his second attempt, which eventually ended up as points on the board for the Trojans.

All three phases of the game went well. Special teams performed well once again. We seemed to have good field placement for the majority of the game and capitalized on errors of the opposing team to pull off the win.

Another "W" for the bulletin board! I hope to see many more of them in the upcoming weeks.

Unfortunately, there were wounded ones once again this week. By now, you should know that face time on ESPN for an athletic trainer usually means not-so-good things. And this is especially so when you're helping your starting quarterback off the field. We've already started the rehabilitation process for the afflicted. They all get the best care and will be back in the saddle in due time.

Well, another weekend off; my last until March or so. We've been at this football thing now for 10 weeks and there are 32 more between me and the Sun Belt Basketball Tournament. That still leaves about 10 more until football starts again.

Don't do the math to figure out how many hours I work. It's not worth figuring it out and you'll only depress me if you tell me. But I wouldn't trade it for much of anything!

See you in the Gallery with your TROY cardinal and white gear on October 18. The Trojans will need some help to get past FIU on the next pit stop on the road to New Orleans. Be there!

GO TROJANS!

Alyson

Troy University Athletics

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