The Agony

It was all heat and sweat. Controlled anger and subdued agony. Driving themselves beyond known limits. Pushing bone, sinew, and muscle. Expanding capability, while honing ability. Intimacy with a few acres of dry, chalk-lined practice field. Controlled fury.The last three weeks of August. Snatching gasps of fiery summer air. Every inspiration burning the tongue and throat over 3 hours of practice. The heart is a furnace. The air its fuel. Blood thickens despite hydration. Ears pounding. Dangerously elevated heart-rates. Sprints, agilities, power trains. Sled drills, Full contact. Three times a day, two in full equipment. Profuse sweat flooding every pore. Brutal, full contact drill and scrimmage. All measured, yet seeming eternal. Meetings. Chalk talks. Special Teams run-through mid-day. All to play the game. Sacrificing everything to be part of the team. At night, sultry stillness. Craving and needing rest for recovery. Before claiming deep sleep, meditating on the gladiators of past millennia. They trained to extend their life. We train to see who we are. To play. "Coach, we who are about to sweat, salute you! Will we ever play a game?" The Agony Fall Camp '74