Hearing Timo announce: “Here come the Johnnies” still gives you a moment to pause and fills you with immense pride.
When you get back to Campus, no matter how long it has been, you immediately know you are indeed HOME.
You prefer your pizza in square slices because after 4 years of Gary’s you know that it simply tastes better that way.
You are well aware that God is indeed one of us and that Fr. Don gave him a “B” in Theology.
The color purple is banned in your house because it is the color of that place where all that is wrong and evil in the world originates from.
You revere and respect those Johnnies who went before you while educating and supporting those Johnnies who have come after you.
Others say you are a nice guy, unless someone says something negative about SJU.
You call them: Tommie, Mary, Frank House Rat Hall and the Sem, not those inane formal names on the signs in front of those buildings.
During the latter part of summer you inexplicably get a craving for Caramel Apples in a bowl.
Your vehicle has at least one Johnnie decal, plate surrender or other item identifying that you are a Johnnie. Better yet one should have all of the afore mentioned items plus Johnnie License Plates.
You realize that Fr. Dan Durkin is always lurking, and therefore he is indeed the sneaking Deacon.
You take great pride in the fact that being a Johnnie is an honor and privilege while coming with great responsibilities (you always act like a Johnnie) and someday when you are remembered your hope is that others will say “He was a good Johnnie.”
We are well under the 6 month mark till the greatest day on the calendar, and I ask all in the Nation that is Unrivaled; will you be ready to Johnnie Up on Saturday September 1st? If you are indeed true and loyal the answer is a resounding YES!

Not sure about all of you in the Nation but this is exactly what I am going through as we make our way though the final week of Johnnie Football and look to take out a LOT of frustration when the boys make the trip down to St. Paul and visit the Pipers of Hamline this Saturday. I am asking myself now what because it is going to be a very long off-season in my household that is for damn sure. But hey, at least once the calendar turns to the new year my wife( yes the one my Dad refers to as the Woman you live with….see the Tommie article from 3 years ago and you will understand) allows me to begin the countdown for kick-off 2012 .

I mean let’s be honest; Johnnie Football is simply a priceless experience for any and all who are lucky enough to be exposed to it. And regardless of the score or final record (yea I know this year has not been what we expected or wanted but again, support our current Johnnies without hesitation and in an all in manner or feel free to not consider yourself a true Johnnie) the entire experience of a Johnnie Football Saturday cannot be matched anywhere on the Planet. I would never trade any of the Johnnie Football Saturdays that I have been lucky enough to experience, if you would then you are neither a true Johnnie nor a true member of the Nation that is unrivaled.

From the countdown we all live through each week, to the stocking up of “supplies” for the Tailgate, to the actual tailgate event, to the current Johnnies who get “IT” stopping by, to the pre-game warm-ups, to the announcement “Here come the Johnnies” and to the gathering on the turf of the Natural bowl to mingle with players, families, and friends after another Johnnie Victory, the whole game day experience is simply heaven for me and I assume all in the Nation. I think you all would agree with me that all of this is proof that God is indeed a Johnnie because why else would Johnnie Football Saturdays be just so perfect and precious? And if Johnnie football Saturday’s are not proof enough feel free to find Fr. Don at the next Game, he will verify that God is a Johnnie since he gave him a B in Theology class!

So this Saturday it is over. It will be many months before many of us get to see each other, life events will take place, we will lose our great Johnnie Seniors like BIG and Lightening to graduation, and we will read about some very smart High School Seniors making the best damn decision of their ever so young lives, (feel free to ask our young LB’s Thompson and Rose, they will concur on this point for sure) the decision to become Johnnies come Fall of 2012!

As we close out the 2011 Season let’s be sure to be all in on Saturday, the boys deserve it for God’s sakes. Find a few of the current Johnnies after the game and maybe thank them for representing SJU and those of us who have gone before them with such pride, honor and dignity, in what anyone would call a challenging year. Personally I thank all of the great Johnnie parents who come to the Tailgate, take a look at these ramblings on our site, and of course have given us some fine young men who get “IT”! To these fine young Johnnies like: BIG, Lightening, The Minister of Defense, The Mad Stork, KONG, The Tuna, GQ and Rain man, I say that we in the Nation do consider you our owns sons, and we are damn proud of you. Keep it up.

Time to Johnnie up for the final time here in 2011. See ya at Gabe’s before we head over to Hamline, and then…well Hell, NOW WHAT!

And while we have the Minister of Defense and King Kong behind the Stork while the Johnnie “D” is out on the Field it goes without saying that the Mad Stork is our first and best line of defense for each play on every Johnnie Football Saturday. This is a Johnnie who has come to Collegeville and embraced all that being a Johnnie means and requires, and when one is a D lineman there are even greater expectations to live up to as the Johnnie D-Line is indeed unrivaled. But the Stork has lived up to all expectations and then some!

Each week our own Stork tends to his position on the line of scrimmage as if he is tending to a flower garden during the summer. He is very possessive of his plot of turf and does not take kindly to opponents coming into his garden and trampling all over his turf( especially when the game is being played on the Turf of the Natural Bowl). So as the other MIAC offensive players make their way to the Stork’s parcel of very protected turf he warmly welcomes them with a fierce tackle, maybe some hair maintenance advice, and a well versed History lesson, well is MAD you know, and to this end he is a double major in English and History. And at times he likes to not wait for the offensive player to reach his plot of defended land, so he simply meets them on their side of the ball, as he did many times last week against our future head coach and his Knights.

In addition to his play on the Turf our own Stork is one who fully understands, appreciates and embraces all that “IT” is and means. Each and every week after the game is finished you can find him either taking pictures with any and all who approach him, speaking to youngsters who’s dream it is to be a Johnnie Football Player or simply thanking those Alumni who have come to the Holy Land to support him and the rest of our Johnnie squad. In my opinion the Stork is demonstrating the textbook attributes of being a Johnnie, character and honor.

So why not take a moment this week and find the Mad Stork after the game and thank him for not only getting “IT”, but living “IT”, and proving that being MAD is actually a good “thing”, especially when it comes to guarding the defensive line of scrimmage each and every Saturday.

So will you please join me in thanking Todd and Jenny Grill for not only sending us Connor, but more importantly giving us and the Johnnie D-Line The Mad Stork!

Stork, we are very pleased and proud to call you a fellow Johnnie. We look forward to a great final two games of the 2011 campaign and are very happy we get to see you patrolling the Turf again net year for us!

The Oles are rolling into Collegeville and they are looking to make us sing a sad song! Is the Nation all in and ready to Johnnie up as we get to support our boys for the final time in 2011 at home? Don’t make me tell the Stork that you are not! See ya at the Tailgate.

But how one approaches this ever so violent yet passion filled game is also a very key ingredient in my mind. And when on the Defensive side of the line of Scrimmage the attitude and desire to not allow the other side to impose its will is what IT is all about.

Passion, attitude, emotion, the desire to NOT have another’s will imposed on him and the love of the Game…..these are not words that describe just any football player, rather they perfectly describe one of our own, yup I am speaking about current Johnnie Defensive stalwart Jake King, going 6’1 and 230 while sporting #47, or as we like to call him….KONG!

Why is Kong the emotional leader of the Johnnie “D”? Maybe it is because Kong did not start his collegiate career at SJU, rather he chose to attend another school for a year, and once he had the time to reflect he re-thought his choice he realized that there is NOTHING like being a Johnnie, therefore he got his hard hitting rear-end to the 56321 where he has undoubtedly shown that he gets “IT”, both on and off the turf of the Natural Bowl.

Heck even by his weekly 10am (or so) visit to the Tailgate he seems ready to it some one, and I would assume if the Natural Bowl was not available he would line up out on the asphalt of I-94 to proudly represent SJU! This is the attitude and emotion that needs to be the “M.O.” of each and every Johnnie, every member of the coaching staff, and the Nation that is unrivaled as we look to run the table on the remaining 3 games of the 2011 season.

Be all in, be passionate, be emotional, be there and be in support of our fellow Johnnies ….or be all out…..that is the policy, end of discussion! Don’t make me ask KONG to pay you a visit at your office!(Well he is an accounting major so maybe you could have him help out a bit, but God forbid the spreadsheet does not balance!)

So let’s all take a moment and realize that we indeed can learn a thing or two from one of our younger Johnnies. Let’s all be as passionate, and emotionally invested in the remaining Johnnie Football Saturdays just like Kong is. To John King and Gayle Januschka, the Nation that is unrivaled thanks you for sending us not just Jake but our own KING KONG! We are damn proud to call him a Johnnie.

See everyone at the “Ville on Saturday where we will all see what a talented Offensive mind can do (unlike our current Offensive coordinator, who defines incompetence in any language) as we welcome our future head Coach Kurt Ramler and his Knights of Carleton.

Each Fall we are truly only promised 10 glorious Saturdays in which we can witness Johnnie Football, and then only roughly half of those are games that take place at Collegeville( which as we all know is simply the most PEFRECT place on Earth to catch a College game). So I ask you, do you really appreciate each and every game day? Do you endure the work week because you know that at the end you get to witness one of the most precious events known to man? On Johnnie Football Friday’s do you leave your office with a bigger bounce in your step? Do you not need the alarm clock set for Saturday morning’s because these days are much like Christmas mornings of your youth, where the anticipation is basically intolerable? It is my sincere hope that you have answered yes to all of these inquiries and that you, like myself, are ALL IN when it comes to Johnnie Football, and those186 fellow Johnnies who suit up in the Red and White’s for us all.

Yes the 2011 campaign has not been what all of us would have chosen or would have expected in a million years, but regardless of the won-loss record our boy still need all in the Nation to give them 100% support both at home and on the road. If you are not out there cheering, yelling, and dying with each play then quite frankly I don’t really think you need to even show up for any of the remaining games! I have grown a bit exasperated with too many folks quietly sitting on their hands in the stands, when our fellow Johnnies are out their busting the butt’s for all of us who have gone before them.

Have we all gotten so spoiled by the previous generations of teams and their successes that we have now abandoned our current boys? If we are not playing for a title or a rivalry victory can we not get up and do all that is needed to support and root these fine young men on? Have we all taken the decades of success for granted and now that we have hit a small bump in the road are bailing out on Johnnie Football, John and the boys? (Like most Minnesotans do when their sports teams are not winning….I can say that since I am not a native).

Again, this is NOT a team of faceless college athletes out on the turf giving their all for SJU, these are not professionals who go out after games and shoot themselves in the leg while clubbing at 3 in the morning, these are not highly pampered D1 players who seriously make one question the phrase “student-athlete”, rather these boys are Johnnies which means they are us and we are them.

I challenge all in the Nation and others who support Johnnie Football to get excited, get loud, yell and cheer and get to the point of being ALL IN for the final four games of the 2011 campaign. In summary, be ALL IN or feel free to be ALL OUT (I will yell and cheer loud enough to make up for your absence).

To my fellow Johnnies like BIG, Kong, Tuna, GQ, Rain Man, The Minister, Lightening, The Mad Stork and Csonka, I (and the Wingman) personally guarantee that we are indeed ALL IN for those precious remaining Johnnie Football Saturdays. We know you will continue to make us proud both on the Field and off of the Field.

Time to head to St Pete and show our Golden Gustie friends that this is NOT the year to “think” everyone can rollover the Johnnies.

Be unrivaled…be ALL IN!

The 2011 Season will end for the second year without a playoff appearance and  over at Hamline come mid November, and once the final gun sounds on the 2011 campaign the we will see our own THE BIG Graboski( #7 Brent Graboski) and Lacrosse Lightening(#17 Sam Pederson) complete their stellar careers as Johnnie Football Players. But more importantly they will be barreling towards graduation (really guys, skip a class or two so you do not have to leave the 56321, trust me there is no better place than Collegeville and SJU) and entry into life, and having known these two young men for the last 4 years I can assure all that they will continue to do us proud as Johnnies as they enter the “real world”.

The final season of their careers has presented these two young men with numerous challenges, yet they continue to exhibit not only Senior leadership on the field but more importantly demonstrate what being a Johnnie is all about off of the field. These two continue to be self deprecating, all about the TEAM, supportive of the younger members of the team, thankful to all who come to support them each Saturday and continue to succeed in the classroom(which we all know will benefit them greatly come next May).

So if you are able to make it to any of the remaining games this year why not take a moment either at the Tailgate (they come by early, you know how those receivers are), or on the field after the Game and not only thank them for their play on the Field but for being damn fine young men who have embraced what being a Johnnie is all about. Character traits that are far more important than any final score or won/loss record.

To Jeff & Nancy Pederson and Jim & Brenda Graboski, we thank you for sending us not just BIG and Lightening, rather we thank you for sending us Brent and Sam. And while they may be your boys, they are now and forever part of our family, and we are damn proud to have them.

BIG…..Lightening, you have given us a great 4 year “run” at wide out, you have played with pride, honor, heart and dedication, and you have done so in the Johnnie tradition. It is now our honor to warmly welcome you to the Nation that is unrivaled, the Johnnie Nation. You both do get “IT”; I know you will never forget “IT”!

Enjoy the bye week (seriously Macalester bunch of flakes), and let’s be ready to Johnnie up as we head to St Pete next week!

It is my opinion that now is not the time to abandon our fellow Johnnies as there are still 5 games in the MIAC gauntlet to be contested and this old Johnnie feels that we will rise up again, hopefully sooner as in this Saturday than later! And while all who support Johnnie Football are a bit shell shocked by the results so far in 2011 let’s all take a moment shall we? This is D3 Football for goodness sakes, our fellow Johnnies have not come to Collegeville to prepare for a career in Professional Football, rather they have come to be educated and exposed so that when they leave the 56321 they are well prepared adults who can contribute and add value to society.

I would assume that all in the Nation that is unrivaled would join me in hoping that our “boys” take what life is currently throwing at them and use it to grow and learn, because it is NOT what life throws at you it is HOW you handle it that is most important. So boys, this is a real tough life lesson but one that is going to help define you as a Johnnie and a Man going forward.

And as we who have gone before you learned being a Johnnie comes with some pretty important responsibilities, accountabilities, and even requirements. A few of the tenets of being a Johnnie include: Be kind to your fellow man, share what you have with those less fortunate (unless they are a Tommie), take care of your family, live up to your word, be a good friend and neighbor, appreciate what you have and who you have in your life, love and live a full life no matter what path you choose and last but not least ALWAYS be true to the best damn acres of land on the planet, aka Collegeville. All of these requirements are not easy, nor should they be because that is not how life is, so again I implore all of our current boys to learn, grow and absorb from what is currently going on, then hit all of the upcoming Saturday afternoon challenges head on, just as a Johnnie should.

Gentlemen of the 2011 Squad, you will go on to do good if not great things in your lives, you will meet the love of your life, you will experience great joys such as the birth of your children (and them someday enjoy moving them into their Freshman dorm either at SJU or CSB), you will also experience sadness because it is an unfortunate part of life, but most of all you will surely experience additional life lessons like this season has challenged you with so far. You are now better prepared for these future events, so file what has takenplace  away in your mind, and when you need to meet another challenging scenario in your life simply recall and leverage this experience to assist you in the future event. This way you have learned from this life lesson vs. this experience (as painful as it is) going to waste.

2011 Johnnie Football Players, the Nation is and will be here to support you, and support you unconditionally. You are us and we are you. No matter what the score or final record is please know that all of us who have gone before you are very proud to have young Johnnies like yourselves representing us and all that is SJU.

Time to get back to the ‘Ville for a Johnnie Football Saturday…….. simply a day that is unrivaled!

So why do all Johnnies take such great pride in attending Homecoming, and why do so many of us truly feel that we are indeed at Home when on the grounds of the 56321 zip code? This a very challenging question to answer. Maybe just maybe we Johnnies all feel that getting back to Collegeville and SJU is home because when there we feel like we are home because:

There is nothing like a “Combo” heated up at Bo Dids! Well then there is Gary’s Pizza, either way a good choice!

The Natural Bowl (sorry I do not call it Clemens Stadium) is still one of, if not THE best setting to see a college football game in the USA!

The cuisine and friendship at the Tailgate is simply unparalleled, generations of Johnnies, parents and players gathering to share stories and all that their tailgates have to offer.

This is a time when if you have not seen one of your Johnnie buddies you will run into them on Campus and in a blink of an eye the years will melt away and it will seem like you are actually active Johnnies all over again. Really who would not want to go back!

This is the place where you met who is simply your best damn friends on the planet. And here at HOME this Saturday there is nothing like having a beverage in a RED cup with them and realizing just how special this friendship is.

Where else does the PA Announcer advise that there is Mass after the game, and this is done during the game no matter what the circumstance of the play on the field is. But then again we all know that GOD is a JOHHNIE.

The colors of the leaves, the bell tower, the scent of the grills, the current Johnnie and Bennies, the Monks and Priests ambling about ,and the 186 of our fellow Johnnies taking the field, all indications that you, as a Johnnie are indeed home.

The feeling we all get once we exit I-94, quite frankly I cannot adequately describe it, so let’s just leave it at….we are HOME!

When in Stearns County and on campus it just feels that all is right in the world, doesn’t it?

It is the MIAC’s version of the Catholics vs. the Convicts! Auggie Tech is rolling into the ‘Ville so let’s warmly welcome them with hip-hop music, crooked hats and pants worn a bit too low!

It’s the 2011 edition of HOME-coming for all of us who decided NOT to attend a College but rather become JOHHNIES, it is unrivaled!

In all honesty I was not actually present at the game as work requirements hindered my ability to make the road trip to Moorhead with the Wingman this year. Damn Corporate America, getting in the way of something so HOLY as Johnnie Football……what next outsourcing jobs overseas, layoffs, no pay raises, increased medical coverage costs and an attitude of more work with less? Wait, I thought I was writing this back when another BIG Johnnie Wide Out, Kyle Gearman, owned the Cobbers! We are indeed living thru all of this as we speak.

All in all the stats were a bit ugly, and without a doubt in favor of Concordia. However the only stat that counts is in the Win/Loss column, and I think all of us in the Johnnie Nation will gladly surrender every stat humanly possible if it means a Johnnie Victory! I know all of my neighbors in Woodbury would agree as they see the bottles and swear words flying out of my garage during Johnnie Football Broadcasts, so if we win then they do not need to keep their kids and pets locked in the house and away from that very loyal Johnnie Mr. Hacker!

It now seems that the Johnnie magic is back, the “D” seems to have found a lineup ( Hillman, King, Rose and Fischer to name a few) that works well together while the offensive side of the ball was lead by one of our Johnnies who gets “IT”, Brent( the BIG) Graboski yet again proved that having a rather BIG target out there can and does benefit the offense and the QB. Be sure to stop by the Science Lot this Saturday and thank Mr. and Mrs. Graboski for sending BIG to SJU and the Nation that is unrivaled.

And if you are really interested in the stats take a look at the SJU site but for this Old Johnnie all that matters is that God is a Johnnie and we prevail in OT!

Game #1 of the Conference gauntlet is now in the books. As we all know each week is a BIG game for the Johnnies (if you only wanted one game a year that mattered you would have gone to the Corner of Cretin and Summit for school!) so as we welcome Auggie Tech to the Ville this week please remember to wear your pants low and your hats crookedly….it is Homecoming 2011 as the Catholics take on the Convicts!