Monday Mirror

Well, ladies, what do you think about yesterday's games? My heart broke for San Diego. Those poor guys lost in the last seconds two weeks in a row. They were robbed yesterday. Did you see Jay Cutler crying his eyes out when he threw that touchdown pass? It was all good. I didn't really see any big upsets yesterday. Mildly surprising were San Francisco's win over Seattle and Washington's win over New Orleans. Carolina's win over Chicago might have surprised some, but didn't surprise me since I have been watching Carolina and know their capability of coming back in the fourth quarter. It's early in the season, and teams can quickly turn it around, but from what I have seen, those teams that are currently 2-0: New York Giants, Green Bay, Carolina, Pittsburg, New England, Arizona, Denver, Tennessee, and Buffalo are the real deal. Conversely, some of the teams that are 0-2: Detroit, St. Louis, Miami, Cincinnati, Kansas City and Jacksonville--probably won't be seeing the playoffs this year. These teams really are lacking in key positions and no amount of good chemistry can save them. In my humble opinion, every other team has the opportunity to still get the job done.

Let's talk about that weird play yesterday that cost the Chargers the game against the Broncos. For those who didn't see it, the Broncos were trying to score on the Chargers, who were ahead 38-32 with one minute left in the game. Cutler dropped back to pass and fumbled the ball. From the side, where referee Ed Hochuli was standing, it could have been ruled an incomplete pass, so ol' Ed blew his whistle when the ball came out of Cutler's hand. On replay, it was undoubtedly a fumble, but because Ed had blown the whistle, the Charger's recovery of the fumble was negated. Denver went on to score a touchdown, and then converted on a very gutsy call from coach Shanahan, who wanted a win instead of a tie. Good call, Coach. I loved it.

Jay Cutler, who fumbled the ball, looked like death warmed over as he waited for the review of his fumble. He knew it was a fumble. He knew he had lost the game for his team by fumbling on the one yard line. He was all set for a sleepless night as the goat of the NFL. Imagine his relief when the Broncos got the ball back. I guess that's why he cried. I would have, too. He must have felt like I do when I wake from a nightmare. Thank goodness I wasn't really standing in front of a group of people stark naked--you know the feeling.

By the way, check out the pecs on that Ed Hochuli. Geez, he looks better than most of the players. He probably feels pretty bad today for blowing that whistle. He stands a chance for losing his job. He most likely won't be officiating the playoffs--the refs get black marks for boo-booing.

I wish I had some photos from the games yesterday to share, but my flight to Jacksonville was cancelled because of Hurricane Ike. I'm sorry, folks, but I was stuck watching football at Buffalo Wild Wings. I still don't have power at my house. I can live without my refrigerator, but no hair dryer is a real problem.

Football Interrupted

I'm sitting in the dark, candles burning on either side of me, sweating in the humid Houston night, but I'm alive and my home is intact. I haven't been able to blog for a few days since I have no power in my home and my laptop has limited battery life. I had to use the battery time to edit and upload my hurricane photos.

The hurricane did not seem real to us here in Houston until Thursday when it became apparent it was heading our way. Businesses closed early, and it was almost like a holiday weekend. Stores were packed and all the gas stations had long lines. We stayed glued to our televisions Friday while the warnings mounted throughout the day. The mayor held a press conference and told the majority of Houstonians not to leave town. The officials wanted the roads cleared for those who really needed to evacuate--those people in the coastal areas. I never knew until I moved to Houston that Houston is actually on the water. Its port is one of the largest in the country; I guess I should have known.

We had power until midnight Friday night and then the lights went out. I pulled a couple of pillow off the couch and lay down in the hallway with my transitor radio and flashlight. Miraculously, I slept. Around 3 am I was awakened by a thunderous noise. The wind was blasting my house and things were falling on the roof. It was pitch black out, but I didn't want to go near the windows anyway. I lay in the darkness and trembled. I must have fallen asleep again because the next thing I remember is awakening to another thunderous wind blast. By now, it was getting light out, so I jumped up and tiptoed to the window. I was afraid to look. The first thing I could see was a huge oak tree lying across the road and into my front yard. I thought, "oh, no, my tree has fallen." I have three gigantic, 100 year old trees in my yard and a forty foot high pine tree. I just knew in my heart that at least one of them was down. I was afraid to go outside. The wind was ferocious and the rain was blowing sideways. Finally, I opened the door and craned my neck to assess my damage. My trees were all standing! Branches were everywhere, but the trees were intact. My neighbor wasn't so lucky. He had one tree stretched across his roof and another upended in his front yard. The street looked like a tornado had come through. Water was coursing down the street like a river.

I badly needed coffee, but had no power to make it. Around 8:00 I decided to go outside since the wind had died down somewhat. My neighbors were pouring out of their houses, checking on one another, oblivous to the downpour. I grabbed my camera and raincoat and started snapping photos. I found neighbors on their hands and knees in the street, digging debris out of the storm sewers so the streets wouldn't flood. I found people helping each other free their cars from debris. I found a neighborhood that I hadn't discovered before.

We all survived. We still don't have power, but I found a hotel with power and had a cup of coffee and recharged my batteries. Today, I watched football for six hours straight in a sportsbar 25 miles from home. It was a welcome relief. I saw some great games, too, and will share my thoughts on these tomorrow. For now, I'm still recovering from the hurricane experience and from doing 10 hours of yardwork in the rain.

I doubt I'm feeling anywhere as tired as the San Diego Chargers. What a sad game for them.

The Winning Shot

The Carolina Panthers were 9 point underdogs going into Sunday's game against the Chargers. In case you hadn't heard, star wide receiver Steve Smith was suspended by the team for punching a teammate in the face during training camp. Although he professed deep regret, he received a two game suspension. Smith, of course, is one of the top receivers in the NFL, and Panther quarterback Jake Delhomme has a connection with him that produces big results. No one I listen to on a regular basis was picking the Panthers to win--except me. I have been shooting the Panthers for four years, and what I saw during the preseason was plenty to convince me they are back on track for a stellar year. Unlike the guys, I pay a lot of attention to the demeanor of the players as they mill around on the sidelines. I pay attention to how they interact with each other between plays. True, your team has to have talent, but talent is pretty evenly spread in the NFL. When it comes down to it, chemistry is the defining element of a winning team. The New England Patriots have it consistently, and that is why they are perennial winners. The more showboats a team has, the lower the chemistry index. The Patriots have no showboats--not even Tom Brady. He's a terrific player, but he isn't in everyone's face telling people how good he is. Anyway, back to Sunday's game. The Panthers have the chemistry this year. I had a good feeling about the game despite Smith's absence. Jake is throwing well after his elbow surgery, and the Panthers have filled a lot of holes from last season. They faces are animated, and there is electricity on the bench throughout the game.

The game was a defensive battle. The Chargers kept the Panthers out of the endzone four times when the Panthers were threatening. The first time, the Panthers could have fallen forward and gotten a touchdown, but for some reason, a pass play was called. They were stopped on the one foot line. Fast forward to the end of the game. The Chargers scored a touchdown to put them ahead with only two minutes left to go in the game. The Panthers started the two-minute drive on their own 20 yard line. I had been scrambling around all day trying to keep ahead of the action. When you shoot football, for the most part, you try to get in front of the team so you can get the faces of the offense. I ran down into the endzone because I figured if there was going to be a spectacular, game winning play, it would have to be in the endzone. The Panthers were down by five points, so a field goal wasn't going to do it. I positioned myself just to the right side of the goal post so I could get a good shot of any pass play. I was surrounded by photographers from USA Today, Sports Illustrated, the Associated Press and a myriad of wire agencies and newspapers.

The Panthers marched down the field quickly, but they were running out of time. I threw down my long lens and picked up a shorter zoom. I wanted to be prepared for a pass play into the endzone, and the long lens would have been too much. With two seconds left to go, we all knew the last play was a "do or die." As the play started to unfold, I saw Delhomme dropping back to pass and instantly I whipped my camera around to the area where he was looking. I only saw one receiver open, and he was only about 10 yards from where I was kneeling. I focused my camera on that receiver, and boom, I saw him go up and grab the ball. I was firing away as he went up for the ball. I knew I had it timed perfectly; but I didn't know whether the camera's focus had locked in quickly enough.

When the receiver, Dante Rosario, came down with the ball, I was unaware of anything except the silence in the stadium. I distinctly heard the PA announcer say, "and that is the end of the ballgame." Suddenly, all chaos broke out in the endzone. The entire Panther team dogpiled on Rosario. It was the most emotional celebration I had seen from that team, even more than winning the NFC championship. It was amazing.

Back in the photo work room, the photographers were all huddled over their computers editing their photos and comparing notes about who got "the shot." I don't really do that. I keep to myself and am my own worst critic. However, when I pulled up the shot of the pass play at the end of the game, my hands were trembling. I was praying that it was in focus, but I didn't know. The first one in the series was out of focus--badly. The camera takes a fraction of a second to lock onto the subject, so it hadn't locked in yet. The next shot was also out of focus. Fortunately, I had started firing before the ball got to him, so by the time the ball actually hit his hands, the camera had locked in. I was pretty excited that the true "peak action" shot was razor sharp.

Women and Football

This is the first of what I hope to be many interesting and informative blogs about America's favorite sport. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of articles and blogs about football, but mine will be different. I want to write mine to entertain and educate women. I know it is a generalization, but I don't think women care much about statistics. We aren't into forming fantasy leagues, gambling on outcomes, arguing over the water cooler, or painting our faces in team colors. Our enthusiasm is for the emotion of the game, the stories behind the victories and losses, the sheer joy of winning and the gutwrench of losing. Most of us aren't going to listen to sportstalk radio (although I have my Sirius unit set constantly to the NFL station), and most of us aren't going to study the offensive and defensive schemes of the various teams so we can win the football pool at work. No, I think we women don't care much about all those details. We just love the game--the pageantry, the emotion, the come-from-behind wins, the testosterone driven confrontations, and the grace of a well-executed pass play.

When I was 8 years old, I watched my first pro game on television--a black and white set. I remember turning to my father and asking him, "Dad, what is a down?" His answer? Laughter. He was laughing at my ignorance. I will never forget it. I want women to be able to ask questions of me and of each other without fear of ridicule. I want us to be educated about the game so we can stop the men dead in their tracks with our insight. It doesn't mean we have to know how fast the new rookie can run or the amount of weight a player can bench press. All it means is that we can talk intelligently about the teams, their strengths and weaknesses, their progress throughout the season. It means we will know when a flag is thrown what the penalty probably is and why there was an infraction. It means we will have just as good a chance at winning the football pool as the guys--maybe better because we will not only use our heads, but our hearts to pick a winner. In the game of football, sometimes the heart makes all the difference in the world.

So, come along for the ride with me. I'm going to be traveling all over the country photographing pro and college games. I will be sharing those moments with you and gathering stories about players, their families, football cities, as well as providing informative articles to help you increase your expertise. I welcome your feedback and input.