There are three days left to the next Bills game and I sit with a pile of season preview magazines, to learn a little bit more about game. I also got something about Fantasy Football to catch up with the stats. After 2 games and some reading, I have my first impressions:

1. It’s so different from basketball. Seems to be much more a team sport than basketball ever will be. First, the number of players on the roster is huge. And the starting line-up includes 11 players on each side. Also, you don’t see one player doing all the action, while the other 10 just stare at him in awe (yeah, I’m hitting at you, LeBron).

2. You can score by a field goal which is worth 3 points or by a touchdown for 6 points. Field goal is scored by kicking the ball through the goal post. A touchdown is when you run the ball or catch it in the opposing end zone. You can also recognize a touchdown, by all these celebrations and chest bumping by the offensive team. There is also a 2 point safety, when you’re responsible for the ball becoming dead behind your own goal line.

3. You cannot just try to push the ball forever until somebody steals it from you. You have 4 attempts – they are called downs – to advance 10 yards. Yeah, they measure in yards. After growing up in metric system I have a new challenge of figuring out how long a yard is. Anyways, if you don’t manage to advance these 10 yards, the ball goes to the other team. It’s called turnover. Finally a familiar term for a basketball fan!

4. You can try to run with a ball or pass it to a teammate. Although, you can pass only once each down and only from behind the line of scrimmage (the line in the middle).

Update: From Nat – you can pass more than once in a play as long as the other passes are lateral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_pass) and the line of scrimmage being the position on the field that the players line up for that play rather than the line in the middle. See, I’m still learning.

5. Foul? No it’s not a foul, it’s a tackle! The defensive players piling on the poor dude with a ball, forced to the ground, are stopping the offense completely within the rules. Small wonder, they have this funny armor underneath their jersey and the helmets.

6. Which was my team, again? Well, if you still didn’t learn your colors, there should be a logo on the helmets.

7. The steals are called interceptions. It looks like Chris Paul in action, you catch a forward pass and run with the ball for your life. Warning – don’t try to dribble the ball!

8. If you have long hair, you will look like Uruk-hai in the helmet!

9. Where’s the ball? Oh yeah, it must be in the hands of the player who attracts the biggest attention from the opposing team.

10. The players are HUGE. Broad shoulders, heavily muscled legs and, I swear – I saw a beer belly or two!

11. You think, it’s hard to be constantly abused, pushed to the ground and laying underneath 5 other players? Well, ask Brett Favre – it must be some real fun, because he keeps coming back for more!

I know I must be stating obvious for the veteran fans, but I’m a complete beginner and, man, am I having fun with this! It’s like watching the world through the eyes of a child once again.

Brett Favre wanted to be a trending topic on twitter?
Brett Favre didn’t like Vick taking the spotlight?
Brett Favre only thinks about Brett Favre?

Just when the dust had settled and everyone thought he was going to remain retired, Brett Favre is back. He signed a $12 million (are you kidding me?) contract with the Minnesota Vikings and is expected to play in their pre-season game this coming Friday.

He changes his mind more than a kid in a candy store and his retirement act is getting old (just like him). In the last 2 years, he probably made more headlines than his previous 16 combined and each time its more about the man not about Football (maybe it always was?). For the second straight off-season, he played games with the media, toyed with people’s emotions, and eventually made his “heroic” comeback. This time around though, he landed with a NFC team – That has GOT to piss off the Cheeseheads.

Another guy who couldn’t be too thrilled about this is Sage Rosenfels, who going into training camp thought that the starting QB job was his. This move and the $12M price tag that comes with it essentially assures that come Week 1, Brett Favre will be the starting QB for the Vikings.

Everything about the move spell “PR” move rather than a football decision for the Vikings. I personally don’t see it working out well but for the fans in Minnesota, who have been deprived of anything resembling a team – Get out your horn’s , you going to need ‘em when the Cheeseheads come to town.

He’s been vilified, scrutinized and even ostracized by some. Animal activists continue to decry his reinstatement to the NFL.  He’s spent nearly two years in prison for participating in an unlawful dog fighting ring and pleaded guilty to felony charges. He had to file for bankruptcy after losing product endorsement deals and his salary.

Through it all, he’s kept a low profile, gained a mentor in one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time and is now a Philadelphia Eagle. Of course I’m speaking about Michael Vick.

Man Behind the Mask highlights the good players do off the field. Michael Vick is no exception. Hear me out. I’m a huge fan of dogs. As a former dog owner I know what it’s like to take care of the four-legged creature. They’re loyal, playful, intelligent beasts who are good for a laugh and a smile when you’ve had a rough day at work.

What Michael Vick did with his canine friends was wrong. Dog fighting is illegal – this we know. Vick was punished and he did his time – also another fact.

However, many are acting as if Vick committed a crime far worse against humanity. They act as if he was the cause for the Holocaust, slavery and Hiroshima all rolled into one. There are child molesters who have been released on ‘good behaviour’ (thanks to the revolving door mechanism that occurs in judiciary circles in both Canada and the U.S.) in less than two years. Yet Vick is seen as the Big Scary Black Man…coming to take your children! Lock ‘em away!

Michael Vick is still a man. A beleaguered man, no doubt – but one who continues to hold his head up in times of adversity. Flanked by Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid and former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy at a news conference on August 14, 2009, Vick was soft-spoken and appeared remorseful. He acknowledged his wrongdoings and appeared grateful to Mr. Goodell and the league for reinstating him. Both Mr. Reid and Mr. Dungy were confident in Vick’s ability to perform on the field – and remain a good citizen off the gridiron.

We know he’s a beast on the field. Come on…a quarterback who rushes? You can’t beat that. But Mr. Vick is a regular man who has made some unwise decisions (just like the rest of us). Mr. Vick has a family. He has mouths to feed and children to put through college. Did you think of that? He and his mother and brother established “The Vick Foundation” in 2006 for inner city youth in Atlanta. He’s also donated money to families of the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007. Bet you didn’t know that, huh? I didn’t. But maybe you refuse to see the good this man has done and continue to focus on the bad – without all the facts. He’s just a monster to some of y’all.

We see PETA continue to bemoan his return to the National Football League. We see rabid animal lovers frothing at the mouth over a man who committed a crime – did the time – and just wants to live his life in peace. Will the ever let up? Furthermore – don’t they have jobs to go to? How many times will we see them camping outside stadiums and practice locations just to goad a former shining star?

I have full confidence that Michael Vick will come back as a dominant force this season – whatever Mr. Reid decides he will do for the Eagles. Let’s hope he’ll be Vick-torious (sorry, couldn’t help it) this season. Prove the naysayers and PETA wrong. Let him rip on the field…just not against the Colts, please and thanks.

KJ

A few things about me…

1. I’m trying my hardest to learn more about the wonderful sport we call football (and no, I’m not referring to soccer for our European visitors). Yes, I’m reading “Football for Dummies” (laugh if you want, but Howie Long is the man! Thanks Howie!) and Holly Robinson Peete’s “Get Your Own Damn Beer…I’m Watching The Game!” (I remember Holly from “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper” – she shares the same humour in this women’s guide to football).

2. I attempted to play Madden ’09 with my little brother and got creamed. He scored a touchdown. ON THE FIRST PLAY. True story. When he’s at work I think I’ll get some practice time in with Madden ’10 and beat him at his own game. Said little brother is very patient with me and my many questions when we watch football games together (“Why did they run that play?” “Man that guy is HUGE!” “Where the heck is the quarterback?” “Why are they blowing the whistle all the damn time?”) Thanks, Scotty.

3. I’m a Colts fan – partly because I love the city of Indianapolis (I’d give anything to live there after visiting a few years ago). Indianapolis reminded me very much of a small Canadian city by the name of Regina – a city I lived and worked in for almost two years. Regina is Canada’s number one football city – they’re home to the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. I’m still a fan of the Green & White despite my relocation back to Toronto. Indianapolis was a sea of blue and white during my brief visit. It seemed everyone in the city packed into the Colts’ then-home, the RCA Dome. The fans were friendly and they loved their team. And they have good reason to!
I also became a Colts fan due to the work ethic and personal life of former coach Tony Dungy. Like Coach Dungy, I’m a believer in Christ. He also subscribes to good work ethic, solid morals, keeping calm in stressful situations and bringing out the best in others. I also like his no-shouting rule (read his book “Quiet Strength” to gain more insight on that). Another reason to love the Colts? Peyton Manning and Dwight Freeney. D-Free and I have similar backgrounds. I know Reggie White (RIP) was given the title “Minister of Defense” but that’s my nickname for D. Peyton is a strong QB who is a proven leader…and it doesn’t hurt he’s a member of a football dynasty.

4. I’m a television news producer and radio anchor based in Toronto, Ontario. News is extremely important to me – the delivery, the storytelling, the pictures and sound. It’s been an amazing journey so far and I’m looking forward to what’s in store.

5. The homegirl Nat and I met through Scott Carefoot’s Raptorblog. We’ve been to a few games together (thanks to her, I got the amazing opportunity to see Big Shaq when he was with the Heat) and she’s a great friend. She’s also amazing due to the fact that she still decides to talk to me even though I’ve fallen out of love with the Raptors (and the NBA). Ha!

6. I Twitter…not ferociously, but hey, I know how to chirp. Follow me @mskimjohnson

Have a suggestion on who should be featured on “Man Behind The Mask”? Leave a comment or send me a Tweet.

Confession – I am a sports junkie

From September through January – Sunday is my HOLY DAY
I am glued to the couch, screening my phone calls and am forever apologetic to people who choose to host weddings/baby showers/birthdays on that day since I never attend.

When it comes to football, my allegiance lies with the Philadelphia Eagles. I lived 15 minutes from Gillette Stadium 10 years ago but never took a liking to the Patriots. The man in my life at the time turned my attention to the Eagles and it was pretty much love at first sight. Even though said man is no longer in the picture I remain loyal to the team that made me fall in love with the game.

Here at Heels in the Huddle, I will be ….

- Ranting and raving about my Eagles
- Doing fantasy football posts (which will reveal my love hate relationship with Jay Cutler)
- Telling you about my adventures in sports betting
- Recapping Games

You can follow me on Twitter @Nat77