Sunday’s NFL Great Moment: Baker Mayfield and Brock Purdy

This past Sunday, Fox NFL televised a great football game featuring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. the San Francisco 49ers. The game was well played by both teams, and the score of 27 to 14 in favor of the 49ers barely suggests just how in-doubt the game remained well into the 4th quarter.

Second-year quarterback (virtually an NFL rookie) Brock Purdy was having, already, a career day leading the 49ers to the win. He went 21 of 25 passes completed, for 333 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. Quite a day. On the opposing side of the line, was the Buccaneer’s fine quarterback, Baker Mayfield. Mayfield’s many credentials include the 2017 Heisman Trophy at the University of Oklahoma.

As the game progressed in the second half with the 49ers leading, Mayfield established a great passing rhythm which steadily moved the Bucs up and down the field, all the while threatening the niner’s lead. A couple of bad breaks downfield for the Buc’s sealed their fate to the obvious disappointment of Mayfield.

Although being a big fan of the niners and Brock Purdy, in particular, I nevertheless felt badly, as the clock expired, for Baker Mayfield given his fine, valiant effort.

As various players from both teams mingled on the field, afterward, my eye caught an over-the-shoulder camera shot from behind Purdy revealing a faint image of Mayfield obviously trying to wade through the throng to reach Purdy. I immediately focused on what I believed then transpired – a fellow warrior making a gracious effort to congratulate his victorious opponent.

Indeed, that is what apparently took place. Mayfield approached Purdy with a smile on his face, the kind of expression that suggests a very friendly overture. The brief conversation struck me as something much more than the typically brief pat on the shoulder coupled with a “nice game” comment. This looked to me much more like, “helluva game, young man!” Indeed, it was another amazing performance for a near rookie quarterback who was the last NFL draft pick (Iowa State) two seasons ago.

The NFL is a rough, tough arena where sentimentality takes a distinct back seat to the business of “getting results” and moving forward. Grown men invest themselves in the sport, often at a high price. Personal health and well-being are placed on the line by these players every opening kickoff in the NFL They know the risks they are taking; it takes special character to embrace the risks and vicissitudes it takes to play all-out every NFL game day. Champions do that.

I was much impressed and gratified to briefly glimpse the very human side of the sport the other night. Kudos to Baker Mayfield.

Running to Daylight: Christian McCaffrey and Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers

On November 24, 2015, I posted on this blog my impressions of a new star in the firmament of college football. His name: Christian McCaffrey who, at that time, was a sophomore running back on Stanford University’s nationally ranked football team.

                                                      Photo Credit: Kirby Lee – USA TODAY Sports

The previous evening, Linda and I were at Stanford Stadium to witness the annual “Big Game,” Stanford’s traditional contest with the University of California for local bragging rights. That evening, we witnessed McCaffrey compile a new, single-game school record for total all-purpose yards – three hundred eighty-nine, to be exact! The performance was memorable, to be sure. On display was a complete football player who could score in multiple ways: rushing, pass-receiving, throwing the football, and kick-off returns. I saw not only raw speed, toughness, and ability on display that evening, but a tangible sense of character and intelligence implicit in the way he carried himself on the field and off.

As for competitive toughness, he was and is the real deal. From an athletic family fathered by former Stanford All-American wide receiver Ed McCaffrey who went on to win three Super Bowl rings with the Denver Broncos, Christian learned about athletic competition at the elite level, first-hand, not only from his dad, but also from Lisa, his mother. Lisa Sime and Ed McCaffrey met during their school years at Stanford University in the late eighties. She was a star soccer player, there, and the daughter of former Duke sprinter and Olympian, Dave Sime who once held world records in both the 100 and 220 yard sprints. Dave Sime was the world’s fastest human in the mid-nineteen-fifties.

Recently, I heard stories about a youngster visiting the McCaffreys with his own family years ago who joined-in to play touch football with the McCaffrey kids. He later reported to his parents that “they were trying to kill each other, out there.” McCaffrey himself recently explained that along with competitiveness in the family came a sense of fair-play and balance. Should any of the clan start to become puffed-up over their own athletic prowess, they were soon whittled-down to size by the other family members. I paraphrase in the telling, but I believe the story says much about the McCaffrey athletic lineage. The story also recalls to mind anecdotes surrounding the spirited touch-football games played long ago by the Kennedy family out at Hyannis Port, Mass. – very competitive.

As for McCaffrey’s performance that night in 2015 against the University of California, I was not mistaken in my impressions. He later went on to be runner-up in the annual vote for the coveted Heisman Trophy signifying the year’s best collegiate football player. If the voting had weighted overall versatility somewhat higher, young McCaffrey would have been the obvious choice.

Christian McCaffrey’s initial stint in the National Football League was with the Carolina Panthers – on the other side of the country. I had hoped he would begin his NFL career with a team closer to us, here, on the west coast. Although he solidified expectations while at Carolina, the Panthers were not able to fully capitalize on McCaffrey’s capabilities during several seasons, and I always felt badly about that.

Then came the big surprise! In late October of last year, Linda and I were in Waco, Texas, at a pre-game tail-gate party for Baylor University’s homecoming game against Kansas; our grand-daughter, Megan, attends Baylor. While talking football with the party’s host, he mentioned, “Did you know that Christian McCaffrey has just been traded to the 49ers?” To which, we replied, “Fantastic: hard to believe!” He was indeed correct. The Niners were loaded with talent (when all were healthy), but the coaches and ownership felt early-on that they needed a “closer” to take the team to the Super Bowl. Their choice was Christian McCaffrey, and they traded important future draft picks to land him.

Since McCaffrey’s arrival and because of his contributions, the 49ers offense has risen to an obvious, new level. Opposing defensive coordinators now face a real problem playing the 49ers because of McCaffrey’s triple-threat capabilities in the backfield.

Brock Purdy…WHO?

Along with McCaffrey’s arrival early in the season, the abrupt rise of the Niner’s third-string rookie quarterback from the University of Iowa to the starting position in early December after season-ending injuries to quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo has further galvanized interest in the 49ers. Indeed, they have won their last eleven games and lead the NFL in the won-lost column. Brock Purdy, their twenty-three year old rookie, has displayed unbelievable ability and poise while leading the team to their last seven wins. Saturday’s convincing playoff win over the Seattle Seahawks truly cemented Purdy’s credentials after surviving a difficult first-half of play.

                                                                                    San Jose Mercury News Sports

 “Folks, this is not normal!”

Like McCaffrey, Brock Purdy brings something extra to the party. That special attribute is easily glimpsed watching him in the huddle and on the sidelines. Purdy’s demeanor is decidedly low-key and self-effacing – as is McCaffrey’s. Former quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who led the Pittsburgh Steelers to several Super Bowl titles years ago, knows best. As part of the familiar commentary round-table for major NFL games, he turned to the camera and the TV audience after the Niner’s playoff victory Saturday to say: “Folks, this is not normal!” I paraphrase here as he went on to explain that it is inconceivable and unprecedented that a rookie NFL third-string quarterback with no league experience would come off the bench mid-season to do what Brock Purdy has accomplished so far. Like McCaffrey, Purdy is a special player in any number of ways.

I leave you with this: Could not happen to two more deserving players!

Go Niners!!

College Football Today: Running Toward the Wrong Goal

An article in this morning’s local paper has determined my blog-subject for this week. For some who are football fans, my take on the state of college football will ring true; others will disagree. For those of you who do not follow football, the issues involved and the lessons to be learned from the discussion apply to many of our social and governmental struggles.

The problem in college athletics is MONEY. Yes, the corrosive influence of MONEY is polluting yet another aspect of our lives (see my blog of 8-11-13, The Best Government Money Can Buy? Follow the Money!).

The article which appeared on the sports pages of this morning’s paper is headlined, “FAN UPROAR KEEPS GAME IN BERKELEY.” What game? No less than one of the great rivalries in college football, the so-called “BIG GAME” which has been played virtually every year with few breaks since 1892 between Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley!

Yes, this has long been a truly BIG game. Until several years ago when Stanford replaced venerable old Stanford Stadium with a modern, downsized version, all of its 80,000 seats were occupied every other year when Cal came to town by fans who reveled in the rivalry. Perhaps you have heard of “THE PLAY” which occurred in the final seconds of the 1982 BIG GAME at Cal; it was replayed over the national networks for days because it was undoubtedly the greatest/most unbelievable/zaniest play in the history of football. I am sure you can still find it on the internet. It is worth your time and trouble. I mention it because it typifies the uniqueness of this game and this particular rivalry. Anything can – and does –happen in the BIG GAME.

  

           Postcard addressed to Pennsylvania postmarked Nov.14, 1904 at Palo Alto, Ca. w/ 1904 BIG GAME score: Stanford 18, Cal 0     

 If Not At Berkeley’s New Stadium –Where?

What was the proposed alternative to playing this game next year in Cal’s just-completed, on-campus, 474 million dollar stadium/facilities renovation? How about the NFL San Francisco 49ers’ expensive, grand stadium now under construction in nearby Santa Clara? This new stadium is at least 40 miles south of San Francisco (they will still be called the “San Francisco 49ers” despite the move to Santa Clara). It so happens that the new 49ers’ stadium is also located much closer to Stanford University than to the Berkeley campus of Cal who would be “hosting” the game in 2014.

Why would the athletic department and the coaching staff at Cal consider        such a ridiculous proposal? You guessed it:

 FOLLOW THE MONEY! 

My ticket stub from the 100^th BIG GAME, Nov. 22, 1997

 According to the reporting in the article, the Cal administration and the coaching staff joined the athletic department with plans to go ahead with the proposal – that is until they received an avalanche of fan protests. Amen! Cal just spent 474 million dollars renovating their Memorial Stadium and ancillary facilities, and then they would rather not play there because they can make more money playing the BIG GAME in the new 49ers facility currently under construction – near Stanford.

My goodness, how ludicrous is that?

Does it not make one ponder the likelihood that perhaps 474 million dollars was too much debt to incur in the first place by Cal in order to have a first-rate facility on-campus with which to recruit the best athletes for their program? Is that truly not “good enough” to host the BIG GAME? I have always enjoyed the high caliber of football played by Stanford and Cal within athletic programs which ostensibly had not “sold out” to the money which comes with athletic success to the detriment of fundamental academic charters. I long believed that we fans were still seeing STUDENT/athletes on the field. Now I fear that many major college and university programs are in the process of “selling-out” not only their loyal fans, but their academic missions as well.

Here Are the Indicators:

1. The aforementioned news article.

2. Huge athletic department budgets and bulging salaries for the head football coach which dwarf the academic salaries of even the most prolific faculty scholars. Although extremely well-paid, many coaches are ready to jump-ship after a brief tenure for a larger salary and a “better opportunity” at another school. This has become more than merely “professional advancement,” all at the expense of academic integrity.

3. I question the dedication of many big-time programs to the concept of true STUDENT/althetes representing their schools. I hear of too many ridiculously low graduation rates among basketball and football athletes that convey the taint of big-time, money-based college athletics. Many colleges and universities have become athletic farm systems for the NBA and the NFL. Like major league baseball, those professional sports should develop their own farm systems. I propose that college athletes be barred from the pros for four calendar years once they first take the field in college – unless they have already gotten their degree. I am tired of seeing two-year athletic wonders leave campus early for lucrative professional offers. I do not begrudge them their professional opportunity; I just do not like the pretense and the hypocrisy that would have us believe that they are in college for an education. I wonder how much studying they really did or even intended to do during those truncated college years of preparation for a pro career. How can schools run meaningful athletic programs while dealing with a revolving door which provides a quick exit to the pros?

4. The ridiculous scheduling of games, not for the convenience and enjoyment of athletes and the fans who buy expensive tickets to attend, but for the almighty TV dollar.

As an alumnus of Stanford University and a follower of Stanford football since 1960, I have witnessed the virtual extinction of the long-traditional Saturday afternoon games at Stanford Stadium. I fondly recall the sun-drenched tailgates which began in the morning under the eucalyptus trees surrounding the stadium and the building anticipation of the 2:00 kickoffs. I recall the slanting rays of the late afternoon sun over the edge of the stadium glinting off the band instruments across the way, the whole scene backed by the bright red and white sea of the Stanford student section. I fear I will not see this wonderful sight very often again because games are now often scheduled for 5:00, even 7:00 for the TV minions.

Often the ticket purchaser has to put up with TBD game times – for the scheduling benefit of the networks, of course. I am willing to bet the TBD flexibility is more than a scheduling convenience for the networks; I believe as the season unfolds, they pick and choose winning teams to televise prime-time so as to maximize their viewer-base….and their profit, of course. The implied message to the fans faced with TBD: “Just deal with it, folks!”

In the early years, the rare, nationally televised game at Stanford Stadium meant a meaningful contest was about to be played; there was an air of excitement on campus. For a long time now, that excitement has faded into the numbing realization that television means a long, drawn-out game with action on the field constantly being held during countless, long television commercials. “Just deal with it, folks!”

5. My little grandson Matthew (age 6) has been a huge Stanford fan with a fascination for Stanford’s recent, great quarterback Andrew Luck  (Grandpa has something to do with that!). I promised him I would take him to his first Stanford game this year, but I want him to experience Stanford football as it used to be, as it should be. The ticket prices today are very high, and sitting under lights at 9 pm with my grandson on a cool October evening is not what I had in mind. It is a shame that these games are not even conducive to a youngster’s proper bedtime!

Is Anyone in Charge Listening to Us, the Fans?

“You Are Running toward the Wrong Goal!”