Heir To The Hair: How I got Into Football

Hello fellow members of TSF. Before I introduce myself, let me share with you how I got here. With that, let us get started.


An Entity Unforeseen in the Maple Country:


Prior to my introduction of Football, sports for me really was not a thing. Video Games were my mainstay and the Hockey craze in Canada did not interest me. Any form of Winter based sports was also a nuisance to watch; doubly so due to the Olympics in 2006. Either way, no sport was good enough up here to garner my attention. An initial push by my friends was the CFL during the closing days of 2006 but to many of their surprise, I did not find interest in such. I had wondered "Is there a Gridiron Football player out there that has transcendent ability to change my perception?" I had asked this to my friends, and the person often brought up was Peyton Manning. While I did enjoy his audible's, I figured that the offensive/finesse style of football his team played at the time was not for me. As a result, my interests were directed elsewhere. In the summer of 2007, however, another one of my friends showed me a clip of a long haired player who played the "Safety" position for a team known for punishing smash-mouth play: my type of team. I did thank him for showing me this player as I was intrigued, so I told him that, if the time arises, I will keep my eye on the sport. However, it would not take long for me to do such a year later. That player would help me plunge into the world of football; changing my previous perceptions of the game as a entertainment form of morbid tribal warfare and extreme Darwinism. His name: Troy Aumua Polamalu.


More Complicated Than I thought; Losing Faith:


2008 was the year that football, and Troy to a greater extent, peaked my interest. His team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, went 12-4 and won something called the "Lombardi Trophy." While I was happy for Troy, I had much to learn about the sport. For one, I did not even know the positions, let alone types of plays, wide receiving routes ("slant" and "go" were often used when I watched), divisions, teams from each, red-zone, and many other concepts. Compounding the issue was that my friends knew but would never let me know more information about them. I asked myself "What good are friends if they do not assist in areas you are unsure of?" After Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl, I thought it would be best to study this on my own. However, much to my shock and horror, there were even more events that I did not know about that were going to take place. The NFL draft? Free Agency? OTA's? Minicamp? A preseason? Add in the new rule changes made each year, and I was not only getting mortified, I was growing more and more resentful and angry towards the game itself. Granted, I did not watch too much hockey, but a friend told me that football has more analytic's towards the game than baseball or hockey. Recalling this and realizing my time to study the sport was running out as the first preseason game began, I was ready to call it quits. "Too much confusion, too many concepts, too little time" I thought to myself. However, before I decided to give up all together, I had wondered how difficult was it for Troy to get into football? How stressful was it for him? What obstacles did he have to face? Considering he is of Polynesian/Samoan descent, I am sure his roots were not traced to football at all. I did however, know that the Samoan's were a proud warrior race of people. Granted, us Canadians may not have such ties, but I was proud at the fact that I do have perseverance and commitment, not to mention dedication I obtained from solving many video game challenges and unlocking secrets. Using that, I decided to give the studying another go and I would not stop until I had received a good understanding of the game. With that in mind, hard work, dedication and commitment had yielded its reward. I was now on a level where I could understand what my friends were saying; just in time for Pittsburgh's week one regular season game no less. With all the knowledge I had obtained, now it was time to put it in good use. With that, I dived deeper into the world of football... even though the Steelers did not have a good 2009.



No More Troy... Should I continue?:


Each year after that 2008 season, Troy Polamalu became my favorite NFL player. As such, it was only appropriate to have the Steelers be my favorite team. Too add fuel to the fire, each of my friends were fans but of different teams in the same division; the Ravens, Bengals, and Browns all had won over them. Each year, we would predict and project which team would win the division and eventually the super bowl. As you may have guessed, my Ravens friend Jason won it big in 2012. Carl, who is the Bengals fan, had his "in your face" moments in 2015; same for the Browns fan Alex a year earlier. However, the biggest thing that hit home for me was the retirement of Troy himself after 2014; something that rocked me to my core. I knew good things do not last forever, but I did not want it to end for him the way events turned out. I was back to square one; pondering the fact of continuing to enjoy the game.... that is until everything changed on April 28th when Pittsburgh selected Bud Dupree out of Kentucky. Granted, I knew this was not the second coming of Troy, but I did know that something about him was special. From that point on, I continued to enjoy researching the game and had found someone I could watch from the beginning while still remembering how great Troy was.




What's Next? Discuss with Others!:


All of which that accumulated throughout 2007 to know helped me get where I am know; someone who enjoys discussing the world of football. However, the NFL draft has been my bread and butter for some time; same goes for each teams personnel and draft tendencies. Either way, regardless of what the topic is, football is still something I enjoy despite some shenanigans that have been occurring over the past couple of years in the game itself (granted, the NHL has not been too much better with "making the game safe" either). In any case, I decided to venture into the world of foruming; subsequently landing me here after deciding between TSF and Steelers Fury. Regardless, it is a pleasure to meet you all and are looking forward towards being a positive contribution within the community.



Before I go, as promised, my name is AskQuestionsLater. How that name was brought up was actually when the Steelers won their sixth super bowl, I had decided that Tomlin was a man who acted first and asked questions later.




In any case, I hope you enjoyed and look forward towards discussing football with many of you in the future. Until then, see ya' towards getting to the "Stairway That Leads To Seven."

 

Do you mind me asking who is TTF?

 

Oh! Thanks!

 

TLTR, but welcome to TSF!

 

......


Either way, a good impression is the best way to show that those members will be quality additions to the forum!

 

Yep, you made the right choice.

Good to have you along AQL, and I enjoyed reading the story of how you got here.

 

No sir, the honor is mine. Thank you for having me here.