Fast Times at Minnewaska High...

So I have been on my damn couch now for close to 4 days due to this wonderful illness I cant seem to kick. I had the same shit a couple weeks ago and thought it was gone but it has come back with a vengeance and it is ridiculous...

It is filled with a wonderful array of headache, body aches, sore ass throat, fever which includes extreme chills and extreme sweating. I think I have sweated more in the past few days and nights than I have in my entire life. So during this time it has given me a lot of time to think and a lot of TV to watch, luckily there was basketball on and no not the dreadful NCAA Tournament filled with lopsided wins and the Big Ten getting butt raped.

I am talking about the Minnesota State High School basketball tournament. I have got my fill from teams called Minnesota Transitional High School (yeah there is such a thing) to our wonderful rival the New London-Spicer Wildcats. It has actually been very entertaining to watch and I cant believe how damn big some of the kids are from the surrounding areas. Why are all of these kids so freaking huge now? Why wasn't it like this when I was playing? Why couldn't I be 6'8'' and be able to jump out of the gym? Unreal.

This time has brought me back to the playing days when looking back now I wish I would have practiced harder and lifted more so I could been a better player. I remember we would always laugh at Phil Johnsrud when he would say "try your hardest now because in a few years when you are looking back on everything you are going to wish you would have done more." Well you know what Phil, I hate to say it but you are right...

New London-Spicer just won the state title a few moments ago and all I can think about when I hear "New London-Spicer" is Carrie Wessling and how hot their girls were. I would always look forward to going to New London or having their fans come to town because then we could scope out the chicks and maybe get a chance to talk to Carrie or Angie Mattke and it would be pretty sweet. Track meets were also a good chance to interact with the girls from the surrounding areas. I remember at a meet in New London the first time I talked to Angie Mattke and yeah it was high school and awkward but I guarantee I ran faster that day and looked a lot cooler while wearing my blue 1st place medal. These conversations turned into a few inter-town dates and no doubt it was a good time. I wonder what these girls are up to now? Probably pregnant, engaged or married with kids like everyone else...

Anyway so I also remember the state tournament when one of the Minnewaska teams would make it down to the "Cities" to play in what was then a foreign land to what I now call home. The whole town would show up and the support was tremendous. I remember when we made it to state in football and our bus got a police escort out of town after a huge pep rally filled with fans and Glenwood was almost like a parade just for us. That was so damn cool I get goose bumps thinking about it. Playing in the dome was awesome too and it was unfortunate that we could not come away with the victory after a last second play buried us in defeat. It was also amazing the team we played De La Salle had a handful of D-1 players that went on to play college football and I think a two of them are playing or have gotten opportunities to play in the NFL. Us Minnewaska boys, no D-1 athletes with the exception of one for baseball. Pretty good for a bunch of white boys eh???

The hotel stays were also great. Often filled with booze and girls. Pools and good breakfast. It was always great to escape to a strip club or something and made the experience even that much better. Us that were 18 at the time anyway...the stories that were told weeks after and even to this day make it feel as if though we were some kind of rock star for one weekend. Who got to sleep in which bed with who and maybe get a little action made it that more enjoyable.

Now I am 26 and sitting on my couch and I get a little bummed looking back that those days are gone and now I have to go to work everyday (when I am not sick in this wonderful state) and pay bills and shit. Life is more stressful in every sense of the word.

Well I think I am going to dust off the old football tapes and reminisce a bit of our game at the dome and watch my 50-yard touchdown catch to relive those times...so until later, keep grinding and "Hail to the Victors" of Minnewaska High!