I used to go to games events and feel like I was going home.
There's a lot of pageantry involved in opening day, flyovers, extra long TV breaks and stuff. To say that it's not important, more so than some other ones, it is. It's the first game of the year. but I got 30 starts to make. Each win or loss is equally as important.
I spent the nights before the Jets' two biggest games last year - for the AFL championship and the Super Bowl - with girls. But I don't consider that bad or foolish of me... The night before a game, I prepare myself both mentally and physically for the next day. I think a ballplayer has to be relaxed to play well; and if that involves being with a girl that night, he should do it.
I always have at least 10 index cards with me every time I watch college football games on Saturdays.
My dad and I shared a lot of football memories.
There were butterflies, otherwise, you're not really ready to play. The locker room, I remember, was quiet and we were very focused on playing that game.
All that a spectator gets out of the game is fresh air, the comical articles in his program, the sight of twenty-two young men rushing about in mysterious formations, and whatever he brought in his flask.
When (the Reds) won, we loved it because we ran into the locker room and touched all the bats and gloves and got some bubble gum and red pop. When they lost, we were upset because we didn't get the bubble gum and red pop.
As a family, we all loved the Flyers. To me, rooting for the Flyers were how I bonded with my dad especially.
My routine prior to a big game is the same for any other match. Eat, sleep, chat with teammates during the day, and then, as the match draws near, I listen to my music on the trip to the stadium and zone in.
I don't really listen to music before the game. I mean, I play it in my car on the way to the arena, but I don't really listen to music before the game. I'm usually working out or lifting weights.
I know when it's getting close to game time, I create a different playlist for each and every game. Before the game, to game time, to warm-ups, going to the stadium, I have a different playlist that puts me in a different mode.
Of course, I love football, but I'm not one of those die-hard fans that never miss a game or with rooms devoted to team colors. At the end of the day, it's just a game.
The night before games, I try to get some shots up. Early on the game day, I come early in the morning to try to get some shots up. I just try to do the same things: go through the scouting, watch some clips before the game, just try to get my body ready.
