Too Cold!!

This is the time of the year I start to wonder why I stay here. You see, if you come over to Sweden and play or coach football as an import player coming for just the season, you'll get here sometime in April. The weather will be nice, most likely some rain, but each day will get better, brighter and longer. You start playing the games sometime in May and you'll play up until midsummers holiday. The longest day of the year. Now this is a big time party for the Swedes and it is an awesome time of the year. I have seen blue skies at 02.30. It really is incredible. You celebrate this holiday, then if you are involved in football, you take the entire month of July off...no games...no practice...Why?? Well for now, let's just say that somethings are just meant to be...so if you are an import player or coach, you are most likely looking at 5-6 weeks paid vacation to go see Europe...So July will be a care free month...then August brings the end of the season and then September brings the semi-finals and then National Championship. Now, as an import player or coach, you will leave Sweden. You will notice that it is getting darker a little earlier. Maybe getting a little cooler, but over all it will have been a nice trip...a nice way to keep playing/coaching a great game and you will have made memories and friends to last a life time. This is where it changes for those of us that I call "Refugees of Love"...I am here because I fell in Love with somebody that ask me if we could move to Sweden. She was a little homesick, elderly parents and we had no IKEA near us in Topeka, Kansas. It was something I knew that some day I would have to do when we were married...so I decided to give it a try...besides I grew up in Oklahoma....I used to think traveling abroad was going to Arkansas to see my uncle.  Anyways, my wife ask me about this during a summer visit to Sweden. Oh Yeah...one of those days where the sun is warm, the ever so slight breeze is cool. You're laying in the yard looking up at blue sky that goes forever. Thinking about what to put on the grill later....Oh yeah, baby...I can live here...OK...Fast forward to the winters...dark, cold and rainy....then comes the snow and life cranks up again...snow is nice. Kids come back outside and we throw snow balls and race on sleds. Then the cold seems to stick around...it seems to always be there...you can't go outside without getting that first breath that seems to get stuck in your nose because all those fine little nose hairs start to freeze and stick together...Oh well...bottom line is I think I am starting to like it...that is probably what scares me the most...ok on to football ramblings:
EXCITING GAME COMING UP SATURDAY JANUARY 30:
On the 30th of this month will be the first ever USA vs the World game. The game will be played at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. It will be broadcast via NFL network at 12.00 noon ET which I believe will be 18.00 for us here in Sweden. If you have NFL game pass you should be able to see the game live. This should be an exciting game. The World roster right now has 43 spots filled. It is basically Team Canada and 12 friends from around the world just now. Team Canada fills up 31 of 43 roster spots. No real surprise because they play some pretty good football in Canada. We (Sweden) have 3 players that made the team. Elias Groon a big defensive lineman from the Stockholm Mean Machine, Hampus Hellermark from the Lidingö Saints and Sebastian Johansson from the Carlstad Crusaders. So we wish those guys and the team the best of luck. It will be an interesting game. I checked out the Team USA roster and it is very impressive. A lot of big-time recruits are on the roster. The world will be led by Coach Jan Jenmert who also serves as the Head Coach for team Sweden. Sweden also had Niclas Carlsson working with the strength and condition part of the world team. For more information on Team world or Team USA check it out here:
http://www.usavworld.com/2010/ and http://www.ifaf.org/
The "Hey, we scored in the first quarter this season" award:
Goes to the Kansas City Chiefs...scored there first, first quarter TD of this season...if was scored by Brian Cox...it was his first ever TD...nice...
999: Tony Gonzalez finished this season with 999 catches. I hope the first play next season is a pass to Gonzalez....
IF it were a play-off: Check this out for round one of a 16 team National championship tournament for NCAA Div 1 football. Nothing fancy, just took the top 16 in the final BCS standings. Round 1 would have been played the weekend of December 19th (8 games). Followed by December 26th (4 games). Followed by the Semi-finals on Jan 2 with the Finals being played Jan 9th. Basically the same schedule as the Bowl schedule. Here is what the first round would have looked like. The number in paranthesis is the final BCS rank.
ROUND 1:
(1) Alabama vs (16) West Virginia
(5) Florida vs (12) LSU
(7) Oregon vs (10) Iowa
(3) Cincinnati vs (14) BYU
That's the top of the bracket, now to the bottom bracket:
(2) Texas vs (15) Miami, Fla
(6) Boise St vs (11) Virginia Tech
(8) Ohio State vs (9) Ga. Tech
(4) TCU vs (13) Penn State
That would make for some interesting games and a very interesting tournament played out right through the bowl season that is in place now...well it's a dream...
The Ulitmate Question:
Will the NCAA move to a play-off format for NCAA div 1 schools before Sweden ever plays a straight through season without the 4-6 week summer break in the middle of a 10 game schedule? Hard to say, but there is a side of me that feels like I will never live to see either of those things happen....
In the meantime enjoy the football that's left...I haven't decided if I can cheer for that team that plays on Thursday night that starts with a "T" but I am a Big 12 fan....only thing mostly for sure is that with a live kick-off at 02.30 Swedish time...I'll be asleep on the couch!! Unless of course, if I get tired, I go and open the front door and let my nose hairs freeze a little...that should wake me back up!!