Rails from the Rails 19 – Let the Music Play

Rails from the Rails 19 – Let the Music Play (as seen here)

All Aboard: "Music hath charms to soothe a savage beast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak." William Congreve

Tickets Please: In yet another glimpse into the world of the CFL footballer, I’d like to share with you some thoughts about the music that is listened to in the locker-room before a game. If you watch The Office regularly, you will have seen the episode in which Dwight and Jim go on a sales call together. Dwight insists on being left alone for a few minutes in Jim’s car. Dwight plays a rock anthem on the car’s stereo to get psyched-up for the sales call. This is a good image of a football team listening to music before a game. They are using the music as a tool to prepare for the game. I am no expert on music, but as far as I can see there are 3 criteria that football players look for when choosing pre-game music: type of music, lyrics, and the nostalgia factor.

As mentioned, I am no expert on music. I cannot define or even describe in any detail the different notes, scales, melodies, sounds, beats, rhythms, or harmonies that constitute a powerfully motivating song. But I do know that you rarely hear any folk, gospel, classical, jazz or soft rock songs before a game. From Air Supply to Zamfir, the easy-listening music does not get much air time. But harder and heavier music, from AC/DC to Zeppelin, gets the nod. Rap and rock get the lion’s share when it comes to what gets played in the dressing room. I think most of us would agree that the bolder, brasher music is more likely to get one amped up for competition. Now I remember back a few years when Clifford Ivory used to listen to gospel music before a contest. I also remember how he used to drive Sandy Annunziata crazy by belting out the lyrics for the whole team to hear. But for the most part, whether it is golden boy Michael Phelps listening to rap music before another record-breaking performance or the Toronto Argonauts listening to heavy metal before taking to the gridiron, music with loud beats or lots of base gets preferred.

Lyrics can also make a song acceptable to get the troops motivated. It seems that lyrics which encourage urgency and success are often used to help motivate. Consider the lyrics to Van Halen’s song Right Now:

Right now, hey
it’s your tomorrow
Right now,
C'mon, it's everything
Right now,
Catch a magic moment, do it
Right here and now
It means everything.

The emphasis it places on the moment can be used by athletes to think about the urgency of playing well. Or take a look at Eminem’s words in his rap Lose Yourself:

Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted – One moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?
You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime

And if you can’t feel, see, and hear the lyrical superiority of Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger over Kim Carnes’ Bette Davis Eyes then there is no amount of explaining that I can do that will help you. Lyrics that motivate will get a song some time on a locker-room iPod.

The final criterion for acceptable game day music is probably the most powerful of the three: nostalgia. Songs that remind us of the past are particularly popular, especially songs that we listened to while preparing for competitions when we were younger. Play a classic rock song by Guns N’ Roses or Aerosmith and Chris “Hard Rock” Hardy will find you and tell you how he used to listen to this song while preparing for high school hockey games. Memories of teams and games from the past often have a very stimulating psychological effect. It makes you want to “get after it”! For me, classic rock has this influence. I can remember sitting in the hockey dressing room before big games with Tom Cochrane and Red Ryder’s Lunatic Fringe playing. And when I hear that song it makes me forget the aches and pains of 18 years of football and for a brief moment I feel like I’m 15 again. Powerful stuff!

The triumvirate of music-type, lyrics, and nostalgic-effect are the keys to discerning what music will be played in a locker-room before the players take the field. If you can find a song that meets all 3 criteria, you’ll definitely have a song that guys want to hear. It seems to me that the most popular pre-game song is Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight. It combines a haunting musical score with lyrics that point towards the urgency and electricity that is in a locker-room:

I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord 
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
I've been waiting for this moment all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
And I've been waiting for this moment all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord
I can feel it coming in the air, I can feel it coming in the air I've been waiting for this moment all my life, my life.

Last Stop: Three songs with which Offensive Lineman can relate to:

1) Much Too Young by Garth Brooks

And the white line's getting longer and the saddle's getting cold
I'm much too young to feel this damn old
All my cards are on the table with no ace left in the hole
I'm much too young to feel this damn old

2) Baba O’Reilly by The Who

Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living

3) Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot

Sometimes I think it's a shame
When I get feelin' better when I'm feelin' no pain

Rails from the Rails 18 – Are you hurt or are you injured?

Rails from the Rails 18 – Are you hurt or are you injured? (as seen here)

All Aboard: “Are you hurt or are you injured? Because if you are hurt, you can still play. But if you are injured, you can’t.” – Larry Haylor, retired UWO football coach

Tickets Please: With the rash of injuries to marquee players that the CFL has been confronted with I decided I would share some thoughts I had about this unfortunate aspect of the game.

Along with many not-so-serious injuries, I have had several serious ones. My most serious injury occurred in my third year of professional football. I was playing for the Ticats at the time. In the 8^th game of the season I suffered multiple fractures in my lower leg. The tibia and fibula both “broke” with the tibia being a compound fracture: this means the bone broke through the skin. Another serious injury I experienced was a herniated disc resulting in back surgery. This was way back in 1992. And lastly, I re-injured my left lower leg in 1999 while with the Argos. I broke my fibula, again, and it was displaced and required surgery. Those are the big ones and now that they are out on the table let me address my first thought on injuries: they are part of the game!

I once had a friend ask me if I had ever wondered why a serious injury had happened to me. I think he was looking for a metaphysical explanation such as bad luck, karma, or the like. I had his full attention when I told him I knew why it happened. I told him it was because I was employed in a high risk job and that playing a violent sport such as football exposed me to such injuries. They are part of the game. If I worked at a desk all day I probably would not have a metal plate in my leg. He was less than satisfied with my answer but I think it reflects the approach most football players take when it comes getting hurt. I have heard very few players lament “Why me?”

The second thought I had about injuries and football was the relatively common disregard players have for the issue. Most guys I have played are not preoccupied with actual injuries or the chance an injury might befall them. I think if a player was overly concerned with the harm that might come his way he would not be able to focus on the game. Players certainly take precautions such as taping their ankles or bracing their knees. But when the game starts it is not something that footballers dwell on.

My final notion about injuries pertains to recovery and rehabilitation. One of a footballer’s finest moments comes when he battles back from an injury to play again. I have seen many inspirational comebacks by players who have shown their mettle by persevering through rehab to play again. I would not wish an injury on anyone, but they are character builders as well as life lessons. At least they have been for me.

Let’s all hope for the safety of CFLers this season while at the same time understanding that injuries are part of the game. At least that is my position.

Last Stop: One injury in particular causes alarm for us players: a serious neck injury. I, along with the rest of the people who love this game, was very relieved to see Jason Tucker of the Edmonton Eskimos smiling at Edmonton’s game this week. I wish him all the best as he continues to recover.

Rails from the Rails 17 – Fans Say the Darndest Things

Rails from the Rails 17 – Fans Say the Darndest Things (as seen here)

All Aboard: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Seneca

Tickets Please: Part of being a professional athlete is the inevitable interaction we have with our fans. We meet them at events, on the street, and at our games and practices. Most of these exchanges are good, some are bad, and some are neither here or there. In the category of neither here nor there a few misconceptions regularly surface. I would like to address these ideas for a few reasons: one, I think they are inaccurate; two, according to my teammates they occur frequently; and three, they are a pet peeve of mine.

The first myth I would like to dispel is the one that causes those not part of the Canadian Football Player’s fraternity to envy those of us who play because we have 6 months off every year. It is as if people think that once the season is over players go on an extended vacation until the next year’s training camp. This is certainly not the case. When I first entered the CFL over 14 years ago, off-season preparation was in full swing. The days showing up to training camp to get in shape were long gone. Off-seasons are rife with training and preparing for the next year. I usually take 1 month off from training and then it is back to the workouts. And once I start it is a 5 or 6 day a week commitment. The training sessions usually end up being at least 2 hours in duration. So, even though it is the “off” season most CFLers are hard at work. Add to that the fact that many players find a job for the off-season to prepare for their life after football. For the first 11 years of my football career I was a substitute teacher in London. Now most of my off-season work centers around speaking and appearances. Many other players fill their out of season time with other work. I doubt there would be many people envious of Brian Ramsay at 6:00pm on a weeknight. Brian would be on the GO train after a day in the office where he works as an accountant. But he wasn’t on his way home to kick off his shoes and put his feet up. He was heading to the training facility to get his workout in. And those workouts are grueling affairs where one pushes oneself to get to a new level of physical readiness. Only after this would Brian head home for a short night’s sleep before doing it all over again the next day. That is one example to show that CFL athletes have an off-season that isn’t very “off”.

The second idea I’d like to scrutinize is one that also comes up frequently in conversations with people who know we play sports professionally. This is not limited to footballers as I have heard similar things from other professional athletes I have met. It usually comes out when in the course of a conversation we hear: “Man, you are lucky to be getting paid to play a game!” Now I realize that this phrase could mean a few different things. The person speaking could really be meaning to say that they think it is cool that your occupation is a playing a sport. Or they could simply be trying to communicate the idea that they would love to be in your shoes (or cleats as we call them). I have no problem with those sentiments. But I think some people are saying that they attribute our position as professional athletes to chance or good fortune. Now, I don’t even believe in luck. I’m more likely to attribute things to providence than chance. That being said, if by luck the person is thinking of the aforementioned quote by Seneca than I would accept that. Most professional athletes, of any discipline, have been successful because they have PREPARED themselves. They have worked hard to put themselves in a favourable position for the opportunities that come their way. Luck and chance are not keys to success for athletes. More likely they have been disciplined, passionate, and indefatigable in the pursuit of their dream. There are some athletes that are so naturally gifted that they do not have to work very hard but for the majority that is not the case. Before you tell a professional athlete how lucky he or she is, be sure to let them know you understand that they have toiled for their chance to do what they are doing.

Let me tell you a quick story that illustrates the final notion that really gets my goat. My second training camp in the CFL saw me at Brock University getting ready to try out for the Hamilton Tigers-Cats. The day before the training camp started I was walking across a parking lot heading to the dorms we would be staying in. A black Camaro with heavy metal blaring on the stereo slowly pulled up beside me. Inside the car was a flabby, long-haired stereotypical “rocker” puffing on a cigarette. The individual questioned me: “Do you know if they allow walk-ons at this training camp?” As it turns out, this fellow had played highschool football a few years back and was interested in trying his hand at professional football. WOW! I actually come across this quite often. Whether it is the one–time athlete who played football years before or the big man who has never played but towers over the average guy, many people insinuate that they could be playing professional football. “I played football my senior year in highschool and I was pretty good. Do you think I should try out?” Sure, if you’d like to spend some time in a hospital or rehab facility. Sometimes I feel like responding with this: “When I was young I used to pretty good at the Milton Bradley game Operation. Do you think I should become a surgeon?” Now, I do not mean to be arrogant. And certainly there are many great athletes who were overlooked when they were young. And if professional football is a dream of yours than regardless of your gridiron pedigree I would not dissuade you from your journey. There are guys who have never played football who make it professionally. But understand that these are the exception and the fact that they succeed is usually because of their incredible athleticism. Professional athletes are a very select group of individuals who have honed their skills so that they can participate in their sport at a very high level.

Please do not take these grumblings of this curmudgeon too seriously. I may just have a burr under my shoulder pads. And do not think that athletes critique all the things that get said in conversations with fans. We enjoy the interaction. I encourage you to interact with us as you always have.

I’m sure that I, and other athletes, say perfectly inane things regularly. Maybe you’d like to tell me about it. Feel free: football@judestjohn.ca.

Last Stop: Another good quote about luck: Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit. ~R.E. Shay