Dreaming (Literally) of Glory Days

...Three plays before, they'd run a screen to my side for a huge gain, and I wasn't about to let it happen again.....I sniffed it out this time, and keyed in on the running back. I had to get to him before the guard got to me. So I shed my blocker, sprinted toward the back, waited for him to catch the pass, and...BOOM!!!!.....

And just like that, I awaken to realize I'm not, in fact, playing high school football again. I'm on a plane home from the Dominican Republic. The 'running back' was an old lady in the row front of me, startled that I'd just form-tackled her seat back. Lindsey, who'd been asleep on my shoulder, fell forward and smashed her head on the tray table.

My dream had become a bit too real for everyone.

It wasn't the first time, either. During one of our early sleepovers, Lindsey awoke to me furiously screaming "Pass me the f***ing ball!" I've also been caught at the bottom of a pile ("Get off me!" with a violent scissor-kick) and the victim of poor officiating ("That's a FOUL!"), amongst others.

Springsteen cheerfully mused about guys dreaming of glory days. But I don't think he meant it like this.

I literally dream that I'm back in the game.

I'm not sure why it happens. (If you search the internet for the meaning behind your dreams, it just tells you you have anxiety.) Maybe I need to start playing more football? A group of friends invites me to join them Sunday mornings, but I turn them down because 1) I don't want to get injured, and 2) I don't want to miss the beginning of the 1:00 games.

But I don't think that's it, anyway. Besides, it's too coincidental that this dream came the morning after I'd missed not one, but two NFL playoff games, because of our Dominican Republic vacation.

Clearly, the lesson to be learned here, is to never let that happen again.


Sunday Picks
(Sorry for not picking yesterday's games. Like I said, we were away.)

Dallas (+2.5) @ Minnesota (1:00 ET). New Orleans and Indy bounced back nicely from their lackluster regular season finishes. I think Minnesota's case was different. They weren't packing it in. They're just not as good as they were to start the year.

Jets (+7) @ San Diego (4:00 ET). This is somewhat of a hedge, because if the Jets keep this close and perhaps even beat San Diego to make the AFC championship as I fear they might, I won't be able to bear it.

Last Week: 3-2
Record to Date: 40-40-3