Redskins Playoff Magic

Early in the morning of January 4th, 1992 I was roused from my slumber by the sound of the phone ringing. It was a Saturday and school hadn't started back up yet so I yawned, rolled over, and attempted to squeeze in some more sleep. It was not to be, however, as my mom poked her head into my room and let me know that the phone call was for . . . me.

This was pretty unusual - but not unheard of - so I sleepily made my way to the phone. At the other end of the line was one of my mom's dear friends, Sam, and what he had to say brought me to full awake status in nanoseconds.

His neighbors, longtime Washington Redskins season tickets holders, couldn't make it to that day's playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons. They had given Sam their two tickets and he was inviting me to come along.

This opportunity came at a key time in my development. I was 12 years old and had just finished my second season of youth football. We had been living in the Washington DC area for a couple of years and I was already becoming bought into the local football team. It was cold and raining relentlessly that day . . . but there was no way I was going to miss such an opportunity!

Sam picked me up and we made our way into the District. As we entered historic RFK Stadium, they were kindly giving out yellow seat cushions to protect fans from the cold, wet bleachers.

The game began inauspiciously. The Falcons had talked a lot of talk. Deion Sanders was a particularly vocal player and there were rumors that M.C. Hammer was on their sideline to boot. The Falcons sang "To Hell With the Redskins" (a mockery of the Washington fight song, "Hail to the Redskins") and sent out 47 players to the opening coin toss.

The Redskins let their play do the talking. Rookie Ricky Ervins led a dominant running game that opened up Mark Rypien's passing game to "The Posse," (hat tip to the front five "Hogskins" for effective run blocking and solid pass protection) especially my favorite, Art Monk. Fullback Gerald Riggs accounted for two touchdowns, which was fire in the belly for this wide-eyed aspiring fullback.

On defense too, Darrell Green led a stifling performance. By the fourth quarter the Skins were sitting on a solid lead and it was becoming evident that we would be headed to the NFC Championship. When Riggs made it 24-7, effectively ruling out any potential Falcons comeback, the crowd went wild.

Someone threw one of those yellow seat cushions down onto the field. I remember it as if time slowed down for those few seconds as we all watched that cushion fall several stories to the ground. Then, suddenly, time resumed and everybody threw a seat cushion in. It was raining yellow confetti. The ref was blowing his whistle. It was pouring. It was cold. But we were going to the championship!

A quarter century later I remember that moment as if it were yesterday. That time-standing-still experience was truly magical for this young football player. I had thrown my cushion in along with everyone else but Sam held onto his and let me keep it. I still have it to this day. It's a reminder not just of that special moment, and of that Superbowl-winning season, but also of how much magic it is possible to create in the lives of children.

Thank you, Sam, for that lesson, and good luck to the Redskins today in their playoff game against the Packers!

Beginnings and Endings

Last Wednesday Katie and I went to dinner with an old friend and classmate, Nate, and his lovely wife. Nate and I were two of three Rice computer science 2001 graduates who started up companies at about the same time so we shared a special bond of cutting our teeth together. He is founder and CEO of Entrance Software, a top notch custom software company that is one of Houston's fastest growing. It was bootstrapped since the beginning and has grown organically based on smart talent and fastidious attention to customer satisfaction. As I know most of the team, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the company to anyone looking for IT solutions.

Dinner was at Sorrento, less than a mile from my house. I pass it every day and every day I say to myself, "Hmm, that looks good; we should give it a try." At last we did give it a try and it was well worth the wait. From the anchovy-cheese bread to the risotto served from a parmigiano wheel, from the tender, succulent fillet with foie gras to the delicious salads, the experience was sublime. By the time we ordered dessert it was too late to order the chocolate-Gran Marnier souffle', which bummed us out a bit. But our waiter surprised us by bringing us a snifter of Gran Marnier with gorgeous chocolate truffles. Well played, sir, well played.

Friday Katie and I celebrated a special date at Capital Grille uptown. It has plenty of redeeming qualities--many of which we tasted--but number one hands down is LOBSTER MACARONI & CHEESE. Words can't describe how rich and delicious this is so I won't even try. The citrus-glazed salmon, green salad, parmesan truffle fries, and everything else merit praise but the lobster mac & cheese clearly takes the cake. Mmmm!

Last week I was also pleased to host Angela, a Ugandan woman in search of a US university. Due to discriminatory practices in her own country she has been forced to look elsewhere for higher education. She found me through an Irish IMD classmate of mine, who had worked for several years in Rwanda--now that's a global network! When she expressed an interest in Rice University, I offered to put her up at my house and do whatever I could to facilitate her application. Although I didn't have as much time to spend with her as I would have liked, it was a real pleasure getting to know her. She is smart, capable, and would be a real asset to the next Rice class; I really hope she gains admission!

The week wasn't all sunshine and roses, though. I dropped my tablet (laptop) in a parking garage and it understandably began behaving very unreliably. It turns out that my hard drive was damaged and needs to be replaced. The computer itself is pretty worn but can be salvaged. In the meantime, I bought a new tablet, the HP TouchSmart tx2z. It is about the same size as my previous one but the mult-touch screen is much more functional: I can control everything with my fingers instead of just the attached stylus. It also runs Windows 7, with which I am very impressed. It is fast, clean, and quite functional.

Last week I also caught up with two friends with dying fathers. Obviously the subject is a pretty poignant one for me and I'm sad that others are having to deal with it. However, I'm glad to be a resource for them. If I can ease their burden at all or help out in any way, then at least there is some silver lining to my own experience. I remind myself that death is just as natural as life and that none of us are getting any younger. The best we can do is live life to the fullest and enjoy the blessing of the time we do have with those we love.

While I'm on morose topics, what a terrible, terrible football season to be a fan of the Rice Owls or the Washington Redskins--not to mention being a fan of both! My Owls are winless on the season, giving up 46 points per game! The Skins aren't doing much better with two wins and a dramariffic front office. Oh well, at least the Texans are doing well, as are Peyton Manning and Brett Favre, my two favorite active QBs.

It was a busy week for Enistic too. We have almost finalized the deal with our UK partners and will soon be ready to raise some money and get started. As many of you know, I'm not a patient person so I'm very, very eager to move this venture forward!

A Bad Week for the NFL

This was a terrible, terrible week for the NFL! It started when Peyton Manning was knocked out of the playoffs. With no Peyton, no Favre, and no Redskins, what possible interest do I have in the postseason? And speaking of the Redskins, they had major layoffs this week and my favorite employee of theirs was among the casualties. Boooooooo! To top it all off, the Texans fired legendary strength coach, Dan Riley. 

Dan was essentially the originator of modern strength training in the NFL. He supported the Redskins through three Superbowl victories and I first met him at Art Monk Football Camp back in the early 90's. Even then he was way ahead of his time, constantly using science to produce better and more effective strength programs. His goal wasn't to make his players stronger; it was to help them reach the maximum strength allowable by their genetic potential--and time and time again he achieved his goal.

He is simply the best and another team's gain will be the Texans' loss.

NFC East

The mighty Washington Redskins beat division rival Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium AGAIN yesterday. I missed most of the game while I was flying back to Switzerland, but I did see part of it during my layover in Newark. Hail to the Redskins!

Moreover, hail to the NFC East! With the Giants (3-0 and defending Super Bowl champs), Redskins (3-1), Cowboys (3-1), and Eagles (2-2), is there really any division that can compare?

A Great Day for Football

Yesterday was a great day for football in my family. My mother's alma mater, TCU, destroyed SFA 67-7. Not to be outdone, my father's alma mater, Arkansas St, obliterated TSU 83-10. Meanwhile the University of Minnesota, where both my parents earned their PhDs, beat Bowling Green 42-17.

Rice's game against Memphis was much closer, but we still prevailed 42-35, scoring 29 fourth quarter points, capped off by a 69-yard interception return for TD with only 11 seconds remaining in the game. Go Owls!

Now if only my Redskins could pull their offense together . . .

Daniel Day Lewis

In between rewriting my PPIN (a 20-page paper that defines everything I stand for and analyzes my past to understand why) and pounding my way through the 20 cases we have to prepare for this week's course on stakeholder management, I had the opportunity to watch some movies this weekend.

Friday night I revisited a movie I hadn't seen since pre-school: Howard the Duck. I was looking for something to have on in the background as I caught up on some emails so I didn't want anything too intellectual--no worries there! This movie was just as bad as I remember it but it did bring back some memories.

Saturday I threw on Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay which was almost as bad. Again, though, I just wanted something for the background while I cooked and putzed around.

Saturday evening I settled in for a Daniel Day Lewis fix. I never really knew who he was until I saw Gangs of New York, in which I found his portrayal of Bill "The Butcher" Cutting absolutely riveting. When I saw There Will Be Blood (for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor) several weeks ago I was reminded of how much I admired his acting so decided to procure his other movies. Saturday night I watched The Last of the Mohicans and this evening I just finished My Left Foot, for which he also won Best Actor. Daniel Day Lewis only seems to surface every few years but, when he does, it is a performance worth watching.

I was glad to have some time this weekend to watch some movies--one of my favorite pastimes. Also, congratulations again to Washington Redskins greats Art Monk and Darrell Green, who were officially inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame this weekend. Hail to the Redskins!

Yay, Sports!

Although I should really be studying for Finance, I must pause and say a few words about my favorite sports teams. Today I wore an old Washington Redskins t-shirt, which reminded me that I still haven't posted about Art Monk. Monk was an amazing possession receiver for the late-80's/early 90's Redskins dynasty. He wasn't the fastest receiver in the NFL, but he was the guy you wanted on your side of the ball when it was third down. Besides, the Skins had Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders, the rest of "the Posse," for speed.

What impressed me most about Monk wasn't his playing ability; it was his class. On and off the field he was a stand-up guy in every respect. I had the opportunity to spend a little time with him at his football camps when I was growing up and I can't think of a better role model for young athletes.

Earlier this year, Art Monk was elected into the NFL Football Hall of Fame. Darrell Green, another Redskin, spent nearly two decades as the NFL's fastest man and was elected into the shrine this year as well. Although IMD is very different from the NFL Hall of Fame, I'm proud that come December I will share the distinction of "Class of 2008" with them. Congratulations, Art and Darrell and HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!

Now, on to matters of more immediate importance: Rice Baseball! My poor Owls have been struggling this season. Last weekend they broke their 40-series home win streak and this week their ranking fell to #12. That's OK, though; I'm sure they're just working the kinks out early in the season. And as you will recall from my earlier post, I'm happy as long as we beat Texas. Still, I wore a Rice Baseball National Championship t-shirt on Monday as a long-distance show of support. It worked; last night Rice beat UT in front of an Austin crowd of 6,511. I wish I could have been there--and on 6th Street afterward! Stand, cheer, DRINK MORE BEER! Go, go, GOOOOOOOO Rice!