It's OK to Over Eat

Happy TG, I hope you were able to gather with friends or family and share food. Sometimes we feel guilty for getting stuffed at holiday time. I had TG dinner twice, lunch with parents and dinner with in-laws. Shall we say, I overindulged?

Let me take a stab at describing the philosophy of a favorite professor, Dr. John Buckman. His belief was that it was OK to over eat at times. In fact, it was psychologically healthy.
“Eating forms the basis for all future human relationships. Mother feeds the infant in a very intimate and archetypal way. That need is satisfied and reinforces the bonds between people. Therefore, we should get together with friends on a regular basis and enjoy the closeness and satisfaction of food, even if to excess. Come together on holidays, birthdays, and reunions… once a month should be about right.“

Lets break some bread together...then hit the gym. -James

Football funda-mental

The game is on the line. Free throws or a field goal are needed to win the game. Why does the opposing coach call time out? ..To psych out the shooter or kicker, of course. Give them time to think….

The Tennessee Vols are having a down year. There is much gnashing of teeth and finger pointing. This is basically the same team as last year- especially in skill positions. These are not “bad players” as some fair-weather fans have alleged on the radio call-in shows. Repeated mental mistakes have plagued the team. The coaches draw up the x’s and o’s but do not make the throws and catches. They are responsible for setting the psychological tone and focus.

The pre-season ranking was number 3 by the Associated Press. We should resist the hysteria of accepting such accolades. Even the head coach was talking about it. Do I hear… national championship? The wind blows the hardest at the top of the flagpole. Every one is gunning for you. No place to go but down. True, you can’t control the voters of polls. But our Sports Disinformation Department may be part of the problem when they are feeding copy to national media before a single down is played.

By the way, don’t ever expect sports writers to accuse themselves of hype, over-exposure, and being at the root of the dis-ease. They thrive on the controversy, bulletin board taunts and dirty laundry that seem to occupy the headlines. Consider the SI Jinx for another example of what happens when the mind gets overblown. “If it bleeds- it leads” applies to sports broadcasting as well as the evening news. After all, they are in competition for the priviledge of selling beer and Chevy’s.

When the coaching staff allowed the cameras of ESPN into the private lives and locker rooms at the beginning of the season it sealed their doom. It is no wonder hands aren’t holding on to punts and passes. It’s not surprising passes are being placed rather than thrown. This is not Chess. It is not a thinking game. It is instinct, discipline, reaction to patterns, and repetition through practice. At the instant of peak performance you need to tune out the world. If a football is hurled 50 mph from 30 feet away you can't be distracted.

When you let TV cameras into your private moments it is like the time-outs mentioned above. The mind gets crowded by the baggage. In the movie, Bull Durham, the Kevin Costner character, Crash Davis, gave several good suggestions. “Don’t think…it’ll only hurt the team.” "You’re thinking too much. Don’t let ‘em into your kitchen”. --James