tha drive

Friday nights...high school football games

We've all experienced it.

It doesn't matter if you were in the band...if you were a cheerleader...even if you were a nerd...we have all experienced a high school football game. One game stands out in my memories of high school football.

It was a cool October night. It was one of the biggest games of the year for me and my football team. We were playing against a conference foe, Cheraw Braves. We needed to win this game to solidify our run to the playoffs. On a personal note, I needed to play well to impress the college coaches and recruiters who had come to the game.

It was late in the fourth quarter. We were down by five points. We were about to receive the ball. It would be our final drive in an attempt to score the winning touchdown. Until these final moments, I had played very well. It may have been one of my best games that season. I had caught 5 passes for more than 100 yards. We were losing by 5 points and there was 3 minutes left in the game.

Cheraw was about to punt the ball to us. I went back to receive the punt from the kicker. Earlier in the week, Cheraw's head coach had said that they were not "going to punt the ball to me because I was too dangerous in the open field." Such praise from an opposing head coach made me happy that he respected my game but he had held true to his word. They didn't kick the ball to me all night...except this last time.

I caught the punt...made a quick move to make 2 guys miss me...ran straight...dodged another 2 guys...then I raced toward the sidelines. I ran past a couple of dudes before somebody pushed me out of bounds. It was a 25 yard punt return and I had put us in good field position for our last drive. We only had one timeout left and time was not on our sides. We knew that this would be our last shot of winning the game. Cheraw was a tough team. Very well coached and disciplined. We were playing in their stadium and their crowd was going crazy. I remember standing in our huddle on offense and telling my teammates that we were gonna win the game. In my mind, I really believed it. I also believed that I would be the one who would score the winning touchdown.

The final drive started off well. Completed pass...1st down. Completed pass...1st down. Run...1st down. We were moving our way down the field. I was getting open but I didn't get the ball. Not a problem for me. I wanted to win. That's it. That's all that I cared about was winning. The individual accolades will come later but I was always focused on winning. I've always said that football (all sports) teach you lessons about life.

We're on our final play of the drive. There are only 22 seconds left in the game. We've got no time outs left. We're about 20 yards from scoring a touchdown. As I get to the line of scrimmage, I noticed that the pattern that I'm gonna run should be open. The ball is snapped to the quarterback. As I'm running my route, I bump into the defender and he falls down. Now...I'm wide open as I race toward the end zone. There is not another Cheraw player near me. I'm thinking...I'm wide open!!! I'm gonna score the game winning touchdown just as I had envisioned.

The quarterback sees me heading on my post route towards the end zone. He throws the ball to me...

The only thing I see is the brown football floating through the air.

I can't believe that this is gonna happen. The game winning touch down! Don't drop the ball Kyle!

As the ball approaches me, I prepare my hands to catch the ball and cradle it into my body...then...

Everything goes black...

Not only did I NOT catch the ball for the game winning touchdown...the pass was intercepted by Cheraw. It ended our comeback. It ended our shot at a conference title. And it hurt. I remember just laying on the ground in the end zone for what seemed like an eternity. We lost that game. I'll never forget it.

For the first time in my life, I was in tears after a football game. I cried. And I mean I cried like a baby. I never saw that dude from Cheraw. I was focused on that football and scoring the touchdown.

Lesson learned...even when you do your best...it isn't good enough for a win. Sometimes life will blindside you with something unforeseen. When that happens...you pick yourself up...and try even harder the next time.

laff 101

Sometimes you need a good laugh. I have to watch the Boondocks to get that laugh. What do you watch on tv that makes you laugh?

off tha dome

random thoughts...

i was sick all last week. as much as i wanted to blog, i just couldn't muster up the strength. back to normal now.

mike vick is in philly. good move for philly and vick. he deserves a second chance. now it's on you mike

can't believe that the summer is almost gone. what happened?

i'm really enjoying coaching kameron's football team. sometimes i have to remind myself that they are only 6 yrs old. we're havin' fun, tho.

memo to parents...if your children don't wanna play sports...don't force em to. that's the worst thing that you can do.

i'm still havin a hard time understanding the health care plan. do you understand it?

i miss the wire. can we get like a movie or sumthin?

memo to the ladies...don't give a dude your number if you have no interest in talking to him.

memo to the fellas...don't get a phone number and wait ten days to call her. that makes no sense!

just peeped the new maxwell video for "bad habits" featuring my gurl, kerry washington. smoooookin'

i was talking to one of my home girls the other day and she reminded me of my first love...football. that is so true. football has always been my love.

there have been more than 500 homicides of black kids in chicago this year. 500!!! are you kiddin me? that's scary and sad. what are we doing as a people???

never been a fan of "scary" movies. maybe it's because i don't get scared.

brett favre is back. that dude just doesn't get it. most athletes would love to just walk away. apparently, brett wants to be carried away.

memo to the judge who granted kelis all of that money from nas...that is some bulllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllshit!

is there anything nastier than a diet soda? yuck!

how bout them yankees, baby????

spandex aint for everybody. some of y'all need to keep that in mind.

as much a i love twitter, i'm not into following celebrites. who wants to follow somebody who you can't interact with. the few athletes that i follow are funny and they understand how twitter works. i'm not interested in seeing a conversation between puffy and some b list celeb.

if anything...they should follow me! my life is more exciting! hahahahaah

ok...ok...espn...you can stop reminding us that you have a studio in los angeles. who cares?

anybody remembers the push up? it was a ice cream. i want one. wonder if they still make em.

almost every girl that i knew growing up had the lil cake bake thing

if you're over 25 and you can't cook...that's not a good look. male or female.

keyshia cole...keyshia cole...keyshia cole...

from me 2 u

10 years have gone by soooo fast.

I really don't know where the time has gone. I still remember the day like it was yesterday.

August 9, 1999

On that day, YOU made me a father for the first time. The first grandchild born to both sides of our families. I had planned to name you Kyle. It wasn't until you were delivered that I looked at you and said..."Deion." And the name fit. That was my middle name. And I gave it to you and gave you the middle name...Kyle. There was no greater feeling in the world. Still isnt.

I can't tell you how proud I am of you. You've sprouted right before my eyes. These years have passed so quickly. Eight years from now, you'll be moving out for good and headed to college. And that's scary. I love your personality. You are a social butterfly. Everybody loves Deion. You are the life of the party. Everybody wants to be your friend. Be who you are. Don't ever change.

Just like your brother, the doctors said that you'd be here on August 18, 2002. They were wrong.

August 8, 2002

You were the biggest baby that I had seen in my life. A young king who we named Kameron. Most kids who are in the middle suffer from a lack of attention. Not you. You are a special dude. One of the things that stand out about you is your sense of humor. It is something that you have gotten from me. You're witty. You keep me laughing. Remember when you faked my voice when grandma called and she thought she was talking to me? You did that. I remember giving you toys to play with when you were a little boy. I would hand them to you and you'd always use your left hand. Who knew that would lead to you being ambidextrous? That means that you can use both your right and left hands equally as well. You write with your right hand but you throw with your left hand. I'm proud of you and your brothers.

It is my dream that you guys become the young men that me and mommy are raising you to be.

I love you Daddy

tha 1

I remember sitting with my crew from back home and we'd laugh about it.

I mean REALLY laugh about it.

We would sit around and joke about how WE were the ones that got away. It had become comical to us. There were the stories that we could share about this chick or that chick from back home. Or the one from college. The one who'd hit you with lines like...

"I wish we could go back in time. I really cared about you. I wish we had given us a chance."

"You and I would have made a great couple. I would have been a great wife for you."

"You know I still love you. I'll never stop loving you."

yada...yada...yada...

*yawn*

We are all successful, positive, married men. We aren't Barack but we're pretty damn good. Nevertheless, it's flattering for somebody to tell you that you were "the one that got away." I think everybody gets 4 or 5 shots at TRUE LOVE. Some of us try real hard at those shots...some make the most of those shots...and some piss em away. Sometimes it's the right person but the wrong time

I remember when I was in college and my boy Moe met a chick who he told me "was the one." The problem was after they started dating during our sophomore year, Moe decided that he didn't want to be tied down b/c he wanted to play the field. They broke it off. A year later, he told me that "he knew that she was the one and he'd do anything to get her back." He knew that he had pissed away his opportunity at a good women because of greed. I told him that he effed it up and he should try to move on.

Good thing he didn't listen to me. They just celebrated 12 yrs of marriage. She was the one. She was the one who got away but he got her back

What about you? Were you the one who got away? Or is there a man or woman who is the one who got away from you and you'd love another chance to be with them?

Hollatchaboi!

iknowwhutilike

We all have certain attributes that we look for in a person that we are interested in.

Some attributes mean more to us than others.

Some people are big on looks. Others are big on personality. Some are big on education...



I recently had conversation with an old college buddy who expressed his frustration with me about his wife's education...or lack thereof. He has been married for a few years and he knew that she only had a high school diploma. He has a college degree. His frustration has come because she has no intentions of pursuing a degree at this point.

"Man, she's different. She's not like the chicks that we went to school with. They have hustle and drive. She doesn't. I thought she did but she doesn't. She just wants to work at this little job and doesn't wanna better herself."

I tried to put a positive spin on it. But he wasn't hearing it. To him, he wanted somebody who is just as focused on their education as he was. She said that she was gonna get her degree after they were married. That was years ago and she has done nothing. In fact, she hasn't worked much during the time that they have been married.

I have a college degree. So does my wife. In fact, she has her masters degree. Could I have dated/married somebody who didn't have a college degree? Of course I could have. It's important but not as important as the other attributes that I would seek in a mate. For me, the one attribute that a woman that I'm interested in MUST have is intelligence. You gotta be smart. I'm smart. I never wanted a dumb chick. I'll take brains over beauty any day.

What about you? What is the ONE attribute that your mate MUST have? And why?

Hollatchaboi