Football is Sex Baby
Weather: 32 Degrees. Sunny. Still no fan. I'm sweating like a 2 Dollar whore on Nickel Night here!
CD: Pixies - Doolittle
"Football is Sex baby!" I don't understand it either. But that doesn't mean that I have anything against it. In fact, I found myeslf chanting it along with the other 5000 fans who were in attendence for the Season Opener of the Dresden Monarchs Game - American Football in Dresden.
Tickets cost 6 Euro. And when I found out that Ricky "Blocking" Brown - the former University of Texas fullback who was once responsible for clearing the path for Run Ricky Run Williams was on the team, the deal was sealed. I would be at that game decked out in orange. With my University of Texas flag.
I didn't really know what to expect. I knew only to not expect much. Naturally I missed most of the first quarter (have I ever really made a kick-off?), which included a fumble-touchdown for the visiting Stuttgart Scorpions on the opening play (of the season). The first thing I noticed when I found my seat was the lack of a game clock. As I said, I wasn't expecting much.
The first series I watched went 76 yards on 2 plays. The ball was in Ricky's hands for both of them. The Texas flag was raised. Germans regarded me with a quizzical look.
Play was pretty sloppy, to say the least. Botched snaps. Dropped balls. It illicited the occassional "horrible...!" from me as the frustrations grew. The German fans in my area found my remarks amusing though I seriously doubt they fully understood them. In fact, I'm not really sure they fully understood the game of football. The on-field play-by-play announcer explained the game over the loud speakers, indicating what each team was trying to do and going so far as to telling the crowd when to cheer and when to quiet down. I laughed. Yet still have respect for that. The fans truly were great and they really do want to understand this cryptic, solely American game. The University of Texas sometimes has trouble fielding 5000 fans for a basketball game and Texas fans understand basketball.
Ricky fumbled the ball on the potential winning drive of the game. On the 9 yard line. Mistakes are a death knell to victories. That and the 0 return yards the team had on kick-off and punt returns. Not once did anyone even pick up the ball and try to run with it. Slippery fingers I'm guessing. The off-key cheerleaders didn't have a clue what that involved however.
After the fumble, I got up and grabbed a beer (no surprise there). Along the way I ran into a group of Texas-Exes who were also watching the game. We shared a beer and the mutual thought that Texas is slowly conquering the world. They were good guys.
Dresden lost the game by 2 points. Time just ran out on them. That and dumb mistakes. I've actually written the team to ask for a try-out. I'll keep you posted.
After the game, the players meet with the fans in this festival area, complete with stage and, you guessed it, more beer. I made my way over to Ricky. He seemed really excited to see a Texas fan in the stands. Almost flattered that someone would recognize him. We talked briefly and I asked him how he was liking Dresden. Just then 2 beautiful girls came up to him and said "Hey Ricky..." He looked over to me with this big smile on his face and said, "I'm loving it man..." He obviously had some business to take care of so I let it at that.
A great atmosphere though. And I had a fantastic time. I'm almost embarrassed to admit how much fun I had. I need to get my hands on some season tickets.