Saturday, November 18, 2006

The Blind Side

Reading The Blind Side has changed the way I watch American football -- because the book explains the subtleties of the left tackle position. Now instead of focusing my attention on the quarterback, as the play begins I watch the offensive line while using my peripheral vision to look at the quarterback and running back. Once the play develops to the point where either the ball is in the air or the running back has passed the line of scrimmage, I go back to watching the ball the way I used to. By doing this, I feel like I'm not just seeing a different part of the game, I'm actually seeing more of the game. Watching the quarterback during those first few seconds is rarely useful, because unless he fumbles the snap or something, it is very unlikely that anything interesting will happen there during that time.

5 comments:

Random Michelle K said...

This may sound excessively weird, but I actually prefer listening to (WVU) games on the radio over watching them on TV. They describe as much as possible, and, to be honest, it often sounds a lot more interesting than it actually is.

Plus, since the announcers are biased, it's fun to hear them get all excited.

Unknown said...

That's a good point. Sometimes the radio descriptions are very entertaining. For me, HDTV has made a big difference in getting me excited about watching football on TV. With HDTV you see more of the field and more detail. Seeing more detail in a sitcom doesn't really matter, but for sports it adds a lot.

Anonymous said...

it's not weird. the (mostly - from that guy's perspective) accurate descriptions give your infinite mind the ability to tell it's own tale.


and, by the way, knowing about left tackle etc. is simply becoming familiarised with the game. soon, it becomes a second language, so to speak.

s

cfollymacher said...

Watching the Cowboys (my favourite team) in the 90s I realized how important the O-line (or, "the fat boys" as a friend calls em) is in an offense. Even an average QB or running back can be made to seem spectacular if the o-line can give either enough time and/or space. Which isn't to say that Troy Aikman ("God's Quarterback") or Emmitt Smith aren't great on their own.

If/when this book makes it to paperback, I'll pick it up and learn more about the game in detail.

cfollymacher said...

p.s. I've listened and enjoyed a few games over the radio before, but I gotta agree with Tom on the HD. It's amayyzing for sports.