Hogs, big men, earth movers, wide bodies, grunts, space eaters. These are the common monikers sports fans hang on those fine men who have chosen the path of little to no fame in the game of Football, that path being an Offensive Lineman.
The old saying that if you want to become anonymous you become an offensive lineman seems to ring true at every level of Football, even at SJU! But alas all in the Johnnie Nation, I think it is fine time we change this behavior and take a moment to recognize and thank those fine young men who we so proudly depend on, the Johnnie Offensive Line.
While most of us are watching the pass play develop or the ball carrier speed past the line of scrimmage these fine young men are grinding it out with the defensive players for each and every play of the game. And while nobody cheers for their effective and timely blocking they are indeed noticed when Joe (Boyle) goes down or there is little running room for Harry (Awe) to maneuver in. But how does the 2009 Team average 395 yards of total offense per game? How does the team have 10 rushing TD’s and how do you explain a 5-0 start (hey someone had to block for Russ to make that 49 yarder last week) if it were not for the fine efforts of our Johnnie O-line!
So as we look to pummel the Pipers this coming Saturday in St. Paul maybe take a moment and simply watch the ballet( albeit with a bit of brute force) that Mr.’s Percival, Dirkes, Juba, Anderson, Gilbertson and Sowden( and all the other front line Johnnies not named) perform on each and every play. And when you go down on the field afterwards why not approach one of these fine (large) young Johnnies and offer them a bit of Johnnie Nation gratitude for a job that is often thankless, but undeniably necessary for our continued 2009 success!
The Nation that is unrivaled is yet again blessed with a group of Johnnies who understand their role, who appreciate the opportunity to walk onto the turf of the Natural Bowl and who realize that personal fame and fortune may not be in the cards for them during their playing career, yet they persevere without comment or complaint.
Johnnie Nation, won’t you join me in expressing a big “Thank You” to our own 2009 Johnnie Offensive Linemen. Heck, Gags would not always recommend these young men as potential spouses to his CSB students if they were not indeed damn fine young men and of course fine Johnnies!
It’s time to hammer on Hamline. It is time to let the O-line have their day in the Sun( well maybe snow flurries this weekend) and it is without doubt time to Johnnie up as we look to post a 6-0 record in St Paul on Saturday!
