Posts Tagged ‘Most’
There are many reasons to love the sport of football. Whether you are sitting on your couch with some buddies enjoying the game, or are lucky enough to be at the game with your air horns blaring, football is almost always exciting. True, the game can get bogged down by too many running plays or just terrible teams, but there are times when the excitement level ratchets up, and here are three of the biggest plays in football that can turn a mundane affair into an afternoon of excitement.
1. The Pick Six. The pick six involves the defense intercepting the football and returning it for a touchdown. Even if the game is really boring, there is always the chance that a safety or a linebacker or a corner will jump a receiver’s route and go the distance. When this happens, it is a split second affair that can send a crowd into fits of joy, or pangs or desperation (depending on what side you root for). This play can be made even more exciting if the interception and return is made by a lineman or is a long return for a touchdown. The beauty of the play is that it can completely change the momentum of a game because the offense will end up being deflated, while the defense will most likely prosper knowing it can stop the other team at will.
2. The Long Bomb. The sport of football was changed forever when people stopped handing the ball off every play and finally took the time and effort to throw the ball down the field. And once that started happening, the quarterback position became more important than ever, and people wanted to find out how far they could throw the ball. The long bomb is one of those plays where everyone can see the play developing and rises to their feet when the quarterback rears his arm back and lets the ball fly. Whether the receiver comes down with the ball is the other part of this play. When he does not, there is always the chance that a flag for pass interference could fly, and, while not as exciting as the player catching the ball, it still gets the job done. If you want to see this play in even more glory, just wait until there is a flea-flicker and you will witness the long bomb in all its glory.
3. The Punt Return. This play involves the offense for one team stalling, having to give the ball to the other team, and that team returning the ball for a touchdown. This is a dagger for one team because they will have just given the ball back to the other side, only to have six points put up on the board. The punt return for a touchdown is exciting because it involves one man avoiding an entire team of people out to get him. Once the ball is in the air, the punt returner has to watch the ball, catch it and quickly start running up the field. He could get completely pasted, or he could make everyone miss and get into the end zone. The chances of this play happening are very small and when one does happen, it can change the whole momentum of a game for one side.
All of these plays are momentum changers and all of them can bring a team back from the brink of defeat. If any of these plays happens in the final two minutes of a game, the player will probably get the game ball and be hailed as a savior. Unless that player is on the other team, in which case he will be even more hated by the other side.
John Gagliardi has done something no other human being has ever done. He has coached college football teams to 449 wins in 59 collegiate seasons.
John has only coached at two places in his 59-year college football-coaching career. John’s first assignment was at Carroll College in Helena, Montana during the 1949 to 1952 seasons, winning three conference championships in those four seasons. John Gagliardi’s next venture would bring him east to take on the head coaching position at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. The Johnnies had not won a conference title in 15 years when John Gagliardi arrived to take over the program from legendary coach and charter member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame, Johnny “Blood” McNally. John Gagliardi has remained at Saint John’s for the balance of his career. During his time at Saint John’s Gagliardi has coached the Johnnies to 28 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships and 4 National Championships.
Along the way Gagliardi’s teams have a combined record of 449-120-11 during his 59 seasons. His 1993 Saint John’s squad was know as “The Point a Minute Team” setting a national record by averaging 61.5 points per game that season, establishing a scoring record that may never be equaled in college football.
John Gagliardi and the Saint John’s University Johnnies football team has been the subject of many national publications over the years such as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and Sports Illustrated. The Today Show and CBS News Sunday Morning have also done featured pieces on Gagliardi and the Johnnies for their television shows.
During the 1999 season, Sports Illustrated feature writer Austin Murphy moved his wife and two young children to Collegeville from the San Francisco Bay Area to spend the season with the Johnnies. The result of his time in Stearns County living with and writing about the team was a book named The Sweet Season published by Harper Collins.
One of the main subjects of interest that visiting reporters have when covering Gagliardi and the Johnnies are the principles of “Winning With Nos”