Monday, August 10, 2009

Out of the Garden - 08-10-09

I must say, I had the most different, interesting day today. I got to do something I have never done before. This sky might give you a hint. What does it bring to mind? A horseshoe perhaps? If it did make you think of a horseshoe you are getting warm, and I don't mean because it was nearly 90F today. My DB took me to Colts Training Camp to watch the Colts football team get ready for the new season at their place of practice in Terre Haute, IN.

I must say if you aren't a football fan you would have been bored to tears here. I, being a big fan of the Colts, was thrilled to go. I didn't quite know what to expect. So we hoofed it over to the practice field to watch all that goes on. On the way I did have to stop and admire the beautiful stand of Iron Weed and Jeruselam artichokes that were blooming along the edge of the tree lined creek. The trees are what kept us cool in the shade while watching the practice.
There were a good number of fans there. Some of the very young got their photo taken with "Blue" the official Colts mascot. The line for autographs was quite long. People line up way before practice starts at 8:30 a.m. to get the autographs of their favorite players.I don't know how official this fellow (below) is but I can assure you he was a very serious fan. He stood the entire time during the practice in his very warm get up. He also posed with any fan that wanted their photo taken with him. He is also seen at every home game I hear. The players were quite close even though my photos don't make it seem that way. It was interesting hearing what the coaches said to the various players. Instructing them on technique and routine. The big camera in the sky was filming all of it. There were actually two of these big towers filming the practice.
The quarterbacks had their routines to run through together. They split the different players up together to practice the different plays. Then they would have little skrimishes. I was amazed at how they came crashing together and very few actually hit the dirt so to speak. The football field had grass on it that looked like a golf green.
I would say that if you ever get a chance to go watch your favorite team practice you should do it. It is fun. The crowd gets into the repetitions by ooing and awwing over good catches and runs. If it is like this set up there are different things for the kids to do, like a slide and wall climbing. Of course there is some serious fan shopping that can be done.

Heck if all else fails just people watching is amusing in a situation like this. People know they are among the very devoted fan base and will dress up like you can't believe, such as the young lady that was pregnant and she rolled up her tshirt and painted horseshoes and her favorite players numbers and names on her tummy. I wish I had gotten that picture. I just wasn't quick enough. Actually I think I was in shock. ha... I hope you all had a good Monday too. Have a great week.

21 comments:

  1. Sounds like you had a great time. Can you imagine playing when it is this hot?

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  2. Lisa -- Sounds like you had a fun day, in spite of the heat. I took my son once or twice when he was much younger and the Dallas Cowboys had their training camp here in Austin. It was cool to see and we got Jimmy Johnson's autograph.

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  3. I have always wanted to see the Bears practice during their training camp! I'm glad you had such a good time, and it's motivating me to make it to the Bears' camp one of these years!

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  4. That's my alma mater. :) My roommate scored a lot of mums while we went there - they'd pull out all the mums and put them on the compost heap when the blooms faded. She rescued many and hooked up her relatives. :)

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  5. it sounds like a lot of fun. The guy in the unofficial costume is quite the Colts fan. People do love their teams!

    I see high school boys practicing football and it is horridly hot and humid these days! You know those pros are given excellent care and hydrated!

    Love the natives by the side of the road! It certainly seems like fall is approaching!

    gail

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  6. Hoofed it over, ha ha! I must comment on ironweed. I've always heard it prefers moist areas, and it's not that I don't believe it. Heck, it tends to grow naturally in such areas, like you saw along the creek. BUT I didn't know this when I planted some next to my front porch where there's an overhang and the hose from the rain barrel doesn't reach it. In other words, it's DRY! I do water it once in a while, of course, but it's one of the driest areas in my garden, and it gets well over six feet tall each year. I love it!

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  7. If I was Blue, they couldn't pay me enough to wear that costume in 90-degree heat. The other guy in the strange head gear must be nuts since he isn't even getting paid. I have to give him credit for originality tho.
    Marnie

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  8. Lisa, I was expecting to see some birds here today...:) I'm not a big NFL fan, but I do have my favorite sports teams, especially the Cubs and the Illini, so I know how exciting it is to be able to see your favorite team up close like this. I am a Bears fan, if anything, but I did cheer for the Colts the last time they were in the SuperBowl--not the year they played the Bears, of course:)

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  9. No where near as good as your Monday, great post.

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  10. People watching is one of my favorite activities. It looks like you had a great day.

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  11. Sounds like a fun day, Lisa. Watching in the shade must've been a lot more pleasant than playing in the heat, but I guess they're probably used to it.
    The ironweed and Jerusalem artichoke are beautiful!

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  12. Well, you KNOW I love the Colts too as Peyton played down here for TN! :c) And, I adored Tony Dungee. Hated to see him retire, and it will be interesting to see how things go this year. I love to see Peyton and Eli attending each other's games!

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  13. HA Lisa, I was looking down the comments to see if anyone mentioned dreamboat Peyton and of course someone else from TN did! He is near god status here, local, well not really from TN but playing at the hallowed halls of UT. You have no idea. Did you get to see him? Could you make out his face? Were they wearing numbers? His is 18 in case you didn't know! Double HA
    Frances

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  14. Thanks for reading this morning....I went to the Bears training camp years ago. We took the kids and had a ball. It was when Gale Sayers was with the team.What fun!

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  15. Lisa, you had a fun day! My place of work is just down the street from the Denver Broncos training camp and we were inundated with traffic the other day when practice was open to the public. I hear a good time was had by all, but not sure if our most fanatic fan - the Barrel Man - was there. That guy you pictured does look dead serious!

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  16. You had fun and found some great flowers, too!

    I can't imagine how these athletes do it. Talk about a love of the game.

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  17. Fun post Lisa!
    We went to Vikings training camp one summer. My husband loved it but I was "bored to tears." I'm definitely not a true fan (plus I didn't have any knitting along!)

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  18. Dear Lisa,
    I think having the teams fight it out on the field with a football is much better than fighting it out with guns or clubs....
    I like the idea of the game just not very good at sitting long enough to watch one. I guess I could take my knitting!
    Glad you had fun!
    Sherry

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  19. Good to get out of the garden and have some fun!

    Sounds like there was much to see...on and off the field!

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  20. Yes, I would have been bored, but I'm really glad you had a good time! :-)

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