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Saturday, September 27, 2008

Cowboys vs. Redskins; But Do Rivalries Still Matter?

washingtonpost.com - The League


Pro Bowl Defensive Lineman
Charles Mann 12-year veteran lineman, elected four times to the Pro Bowl.

First of all, when I played we absolutely looked at Skins vs. Boys differently. You pointed to those games during the off season; you circled them on the calendar. There was more meaning, everybody knew that. It came from the coaches on down. The marching orders were different. We would even run plays the week before just to mess with the Cowboys heads. We knew if we won that game we were battle tested.

But it doesn't seem like there's as much hoopla among the fans now. When I played, in the 80's and 90's, there was a lot more talk during Dallas week. They'd have to shut down Georgetown; people would be hanging on the lamp posts. It's no where near that big now because the Skins haven't been that dawg gone competitive in a while. It's hard to have a rivalry when one of the teams stinks. But I think that's turning around. The Skins have grown and become more competitive with Campbell. He's picking up what Zorn wants him to learn, and the NFC East is once again the most dominant division in football. That's how it should be.

But as far as the players caring about the rivalry, one memory from 1985 comes to mind. It was the time of Riggo, and he was the trend setter -- everyone wanted to copy him. So going into the season opener in Texas Stadium, he starts the idea of not wearing suits. We're going to war, not to a wedding, so let's dress appropriately -- camouflage and boots. Everyone ran out to the surplus store.

I remember getting the largest size boots they had, 13 -- I wear 15s. But the pain in my feet was nothing compared to how nervous I was about what Coach Gibbs was going to say. He always watched what I was wearing because I dressed so well. When I got on the bus to go to the airport he just looked at me, and didn't say anything.

About 60% of us were wearing that fatigues on the plane, and somehow the media got wind of it. When we landed in Dallas they were waiting for us with cameras. So what do we do, but march across the tarmac, army style, and get onto our bus? We then marched into Texas Stadium and whooped Dallas 44-14 -- we had to. After what we pulled if we hadn't Coach Gibbs would have had our butts. So we wrecked them. You think players don't treat rivalry games different, think again.

Here's how it all got started.

But...
Rivalries don't mean anything to some players apparently...

Report: Elway to marry former Raiders cheerleader - NFL on Fox
DENVER (AP) - Denver Broncos Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway is reportedly engaged to a former Oakland Raiders cheerleader.

The Rocky Mountain News reported Friday that the two-time Super Bowl winner proposed to 41-year-old Paige Green during a trip to Italy last week.

Elway told the newspaper he was "looking forward to a long life together" with Green.
A telephone message left with Elway's secretary wasn't immediately returned.


The 48-year-old Elway was previously married to Janet Elway for 18 years. They have four children.

Elway met Green during a celebrity golf tournament three years ago.
Can you blame him?

1 comments:

Alei Kat said...

can't blame him at all. Good work, John.