Back to School- In the Bleachers' Michael Felder!

Today, Finally Friday! is happy to introduce a new feature: Back to School!  I've had so much fun with the Pop Quiz feature that I decided to profile some former student-athletes who have gone on to bright futures and get their recollections of their days on campus.  We couldn't ask for a better victim, er, participant to kick things off, either. 

If you are a sports junkie like me, chances are you follow @inthebleachers, the Twitter handle for college football writer extraordinare Michael Felder.  Not only is he the lead national college football writer for Bleacher Report, his website is home to one of the most popular podcasts in college football.  He is also a prolific tweeter, and should be your go-to guy if you want a blow-by-blow of the Today Show or Archer.  However, please don't ask him to analyze college basketball.

On second thought, please do...it's very entertaining to the rest of us. Anyway,

Ladies and Gentlemen:  Michael Felder!

1) Identify yourself!

Michael Felder: East Meck 2003, UNC-Chapel Hill

2) Exactly how big is your sports media empire?

Empire is so misleading; I just do a little bit of stuff for a lot of bit of folks. My main job is as lead national college football writer for Bleacher Report. I also own and operate InTheBleachers.net, contribute at Crystal Ball Run and do plenty of radio and podcasting as well. I'm happy in my little corner of the internet.

3)  You were kind of a big deal in high school, which is hard to do in the ultra-competitive arena that is Charlotte football.  I read where you were actually nominated for the Wendy's High School Heisman at one point.  How does a student-athlete deal with those kinds of accolades and attention while staying grounded and taking care of business?

Honestly, for me it never seemed like that stuff was that big of a deal. My head coach, Scott Stein now at Sun Valley, and my parents didn't exactly let me get over skis in that arena. It also helped that I had this truly burning desire to be the best I could. For me, football was an exercise in hard work and I always wanted more success, more wins and the like.

Oh and my parents were both teachers while I was in school. They've since moved to administration, but during that time they were teachers and school always came first and it wasn't really a negotiable thing.

 4) As a former college athlete, do you ever have the opportunity to counsel young players on what to expect with the recruiting process and the transition to college?

I've done it at times in the past. I like getting out and talking to kids; the good thing about my folks being involved in schools as administrators is there is always a student of their's that i can help and they don't hesitate to ask. For me, honestly, the recruiting process and transition always is secondary to taking care of business in high school and picking the right school. If you can do those first two things, the recruiting process and transition become so much easier.

5) What, if anything, do you miss about Football Fridays in high school?  Was it a positive thing for you or stressful because of all the attention?

I miss winning the most. That's plain and simple. The attention didn't matter to much, I went out and played football for my teammates and they were the only people I was concerned with. The stress was very real from an internal standpoint. My team was 3-8 when I was a freshman playing varsity and as we got better, eventually going 14-2 my junior year, I knew I didn't want to feel that losing feeling of my freshman year ever again. So I put a lot of pressure on myself and worked overtime because I didn't want to be the reason we didn't win every game.

6) I have to ask, since I've asked everyone else: One Direction or Justin Bieber?

Gimme the Biebs! Saw both of them perform during my daily Today Show viewing and Bieber easily blew away the EuroPop sensation.

7) You tweet a lot, and you specifically tweet a lot about food.  I'm headed to North Davidson this week, and they have a healthy tailgate scene (you'd love it- the town smells like barbecue).  Care to share a tailgate recipe with my readers?

I'm a North Carolina boy, through and through, so I've got to go with pulled pork. On Saturdays when I'm not traveling and I'm home all day I like to put a pork shoulder on the smoker in the early morning. Let him cook low and slow for several hours and then enjoy with some Eastern NC sauce lightly doused on it.

8) Do you find you like football better as a player, a fan, or a sportswriter?  The one thing I worry about as a budding writer is that I'll lose my love as a fan.

Player, then sportswriter and last as a fan. Truth be told I've never had the big fan experience that most folks have had so I don't really get into it that way. I went from playing and watching critically to writing and watching critically; I've never had that "just follow the ball" and "soak it all up" element to football viewing.

There are a lot of writers that are still as fan-ish as anyone, if you want to retain it you most certainly can.

9) We have an epidemic right now of played-out cheers in both high school and college student sections.  If I hear 'Seven Nation Army' one more time I may snap.  Any ideas to help reverse this trend?

Haha, turn your ears off? Honestly, I have no clue. We hear the same songs, the same generic cheers all over the country. I doubt they'll go away; and when they do a new one pops up to replace it. For what it's worth, I'm a big fan of "Hold That Line" and "Sack That Quarterback."

10) Finally, if you have one piece of advice to give to a current student-athlete, what would it be?

You get out what you put in. For me that meant blood, sweat, tears, a little vomit and a lot of time; but what I got out of it was an unbelievable high school football experience. I have really good high school friends who put in less, got less out of it but they were happy with what they received from a sports experience as well. I truly believe that as long as you're happy with what you're putting in; being true to yourself about what it all means to you, that you'll come away with a fulfilling experience.

I'd like to thank Michael for graciously answering our Back to School questions.  He's a good sport and a great writer!

For more on Michael, please go to the links I posted above, or search for his stuff on the Interwebs.  He's not hard to find at all! 

49-6

I'm not going to hype the East Forsyth football team.  Nope.  If you came here hoping for a glowing game report recapping their 49-6 decimation of R.J. Reynolds tonight, you are going to be disappointed.  I'm not going to hype them.

Let someone else do it.

Lets' face it:  someone will.  LOTS of folks already are.  Have I seen a better team this year?  No.  Oh, heck no.  If I must, let me give you a quick game breakdown:

1. The highly regarded East rushing attack began their first offensive series with a halfback pass that went for a touchdown.
2. Shortly thereafter, highly mobile quarterback Garrison Duncan dropped back and threw another bomb for a touchdown.
3. The Eagles had 180 passing yards at half.
4. They scored five more touchdowns.
5. Total yards- a lot
6. Margin of victory- a lot
7. Defensive presence- oh, my

There you go.  Happy?

I stopped tracking plays after touchdown number four.  I became far more interested in the crazy student section and began to wonder just what kind of guys are on this East Forsyth team. I was fortunate enough to chat with Garrison Duncan after the game.  He helped enlighten me on some of the things that make these Eagles fly.  Here's some of what he had to say:

• On his reaction when the coaches put the halfback pass in the game plan:  "I liked it.  The receivers were excited, I was excited...we had a good week of practice coming in."
• On the closeness of the team:   "We just have a bunch of seniors.  All the seniors are friends and close friends...I see these guys every day of the week.  I've seen some of these guys 21, 28 days straight. "
• On confidence gained from winning big without the dominant running attack: "I liked it.  I didn't have to run that much, the running backs certainly didn't have to run that much.  Some of the receivers figured out some of the stuff they didn't know they could do."
• On the vocal student section: "They ARE our 12th man...I know multiple games they had rosters for the other teams, calling people by name.  They're really prepared this year."

Overall, a great night for football at Deaton-Thompson.  I really, really wanted to get some interaction with the Reynolds Rowdies, but the first play of the game pretty much jacked those plans up.  Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much Coach Mike Muse is helping me, whether it's getting me more Twitter followers or printing me stat trackers.  Much like his students and athletes, I get better each time I interact with him.  I'm very grateful.

Have a great weekend, everyone!
John

Superfans!

I wrote a little about them a couple of weeks ago, when I was at Mount Tabor, but tonight they put on a show.  I'm not talking about Lavaughnte' Smith and Garrison Duncan (although they didn't do to shabby), I'm talking about the East Forsyth student section.  THIS is what I'm talking about.  They make the place FEEL like football. 

And they were the visitors tonight.  Yikes.

Meet my new friends:

Pop Quiz! Bailey Tyner- R.J. Reynolds High School

When I started this blog, I honestly never expected the kind of reception this blog has received so far.  I'm grateful to the administrators, students and student-athletes who are making this endeavor a lot of fun.  One such source of help is Reynolds AD Brad Fisher, who responded to my Twitter solicitation for Pop Quiz contestants in short order.  He assured me he would get a football player to participate (which, quite frankly, is cool because they've got bigger things to do this week). 

Imagine my surprise when my inbox received an email from one Bailey Tyner, the starting quarterback for the Demons.  He was ready and willing to do the Pop Quiz, and did a great job.  See for yourself:

1)     Identify yourself! Name, school, age and class please!

My name is Bailey Tyner, I go to Reynolds High School and I'm in the class of 2014.

2)     What is your claim to fame? What do you do? (Sports, clubs, class offices, etc.) 

I play football and baseball at Reynolds. I'm the varsity quarterback for the Demons and I'm also in Key Club, FCA and Spanish club.

3)     I grew up with a poster of Terry Bradshaw on my wall.  What quarterbacks/athletes are on your wall?  Why?

I always looked up to Nomar Garciaparra, who played for my favorite baseball team, the Red Sox. For football, Drew Brees is who I've looked up to since I was a kid. I looked up to him because he's not the biggest quarterback, but he's a winner, he's a great overall quarterback, he's a great leader and is a role model in his community. I also really like Cam Newton, he has all the confidence in the world and that's important for a quarterback.

4)     So, I watched some of your highlight videos.  How long have you been playing quarterback?  When did you know that the QB position was what you wanted to play?

I've been playing quarterback since Pop Warner for the South Fork Panthers. Going into my first season of football, I actually started out at Wide Receiver for the first game. After that first game the coach switched me to Quarterback, and since that day I knew that this was the position I wanted to play.

5)     One Direction or Justin Bieber?  Seriously.  Just between us. Nobody will know.

      Justin Bieber, definitely.   Not a big fan but I'd pick him over One Direction every time.

Ed. Note:  Big-time answer for Mr. Quarterback here…I expected “neither” for an answer.  Bonus points.

6)     Your high school is a registered historical landmark.  Apart from that, what makes Reynolds High School a special place?

The students, staff, clubs, athletic programs and the community are just a few of the things that make this school so special. There isn't a school in Forsyth County that is like Reynolds. The mixture of great academics, great art program, athletics and the diversity of the school are special. I'm very glad I go to this school and I'm proud to be a Demon.

7)     There’s a rumor of a “Gold-Out” at the stadium Friday night.  How much energy do the players get from the Reynolds Rowdies?

It definitely helps up get pumped up, we have a good group of Rowdies every year and this year isn't any different.

8)     What are your plans after high school? (College, professional ambition, etc.)

I want to play college football somewhere, so that's my main goal. If for some reason that doesn't work out, I still will go to college, and I want to major in Sports Management or Sports Medicine. Everybody wants to play professional sports, but I'd also want to be an athletic trainer, or work in the business side of sports or maybe even coach. My Dad's a graphic designer and I've got some interest in that, too.          

                                     

9)     If you couldn’t be a football player, what sport or activity would you choose?

      Probably just stick to baseball, which I've been playing since I was 4. I used to play the drums so I might pick that up again.

10) I’ll be there Friday against East.  Tell me what I shouldn’t miss about the experience.  What would you tell a first-time visitor to a Reynolds game to look for?

      Good thing you're going to be at this game because it's going to be an exciting one. Big games at DTS are always can't miss games. You're not going to want to miss a thing on Friday. The game time environment makes you want to go out on the field and strap up. You get into the game and it's just a great place to be on a Friday night. I'd tell a first-time visitor to look for our band which is good, our crazy rowdies who keep everybody pumped up,  two classy programs out on the field, great sportsmanship, great talent on both teams, an awesome game environment, amazing fans and to expect a great football game.

I tell you what, I'm starting to love this gig.  I'm so frustrated with hearing about the "sad state of our young people".  Each of our Pop Quiz contestants have multiple activities and aren't identified by one specific thing.  I'm looking forward to meeting more of the Triad's finest!

Want to take the Pop Quiz? Know someone who should?  Stay tuned to the blog to find out where we'll be next!

College Thoughts

This week is usually my favorite time of the year.  Labor Day and Labor Day weekend usually mean two things to me: the start of college football and the impending start of the season for my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers.  I look forward to this week all year long.

However, my decision to immerse myself in prep football this season has changed some things.  Certainly, my joy for the start of football this weekend hasn't been tempered.  In fact, it's just the opposite.  I can now start looking forward to August, for heaven's sake!  Another big change is going to be how I watch college football.  Tonight, across the country, there are going to be true freshmen playing football on national television. 

That's astounding.

Now, I understand that high school football is big business in places like Texas, Ohio and California.  But high school is still high school.  I've seen pictures and video of the facilities at places such as Tennessee.  I can't fathom going from Mount Tabor, Page or even Richmond County to this:



I've watched two prep games in person this season, and many more over the past couple of years.  I still have a lot of respect for those student athletes who can go from playing in front of  a couple thousand fans to lining up in a cathedral that holds tens of thousands of rabid supporters.  As you watch tonight, listen closely for the words "true freshman" and tip your cap.  Trial by fire, indeed.

Merry Footballmas, everyone.