Tae-Bo Football?

In my travels, I have gotten quite proficient at answering the question, "THEY PLAY AMERICAN FOOTBALL IN EUROPE?" However, it should now be no surprise that football in Europe is just the tip of the iceberg - football is now literally a WORLDWIDE GAME. Case in point: JAPAN!

My former University of Arizona teammate Brad Brennan runs the best corner routes in the world - and now does so for Fujitsu in Japan!

Two weeks ago at the Las Vegas Bowl I got to catch up with a former University of Arizona teammate, wide receiver Brad Brennan, who was one of the first players to ever play in Japan. He has now been playing in Japan for over 7 years, and his stories were as crazy and hilarious as mine from Italy! The two best Brad did a VLOG about - TAE-BO TRAINING and INDOOR BBQ! Check it out!

TAE-BO TRAINING - CLASSIC!

INDOOR BBQ - IS THIS SAFE?

Brad came to Japan to play for the Onward Skylarks back in 2000. He later joined the Fujitsu Frontiers, who he has now played for 6 seasons. The Redwood City, CA native and cousin of Heisman-trophy runner up Colt Brennan never dreamed he would have been in Japan for so long, "Other people in professional football play the game of getting cut, signed, cut signed, etc... but here I am in a foreign country, playing the game, getting paid and having this cultural experience, and still playing at age 29." He said in one article, "I want to leave a legacy - that I helped and influenced in a positive way Japanese football."

Just like me, Brad fell in love with the culture and looks at his teammates as family. He will head over in early 2009 to try to bring the Japan X Bowl Trophy to his team/corporation - who he works for full-time (players in Japan are not allowed to have any professional experience, and must also work as full-time employees for the company that sponsors them!) I visited Japan two years ago in Japan, and he showed me around Tokyo and introduced me to Japan football. What an experience!

An explanation of football on a Japanese website...

... and a Japanese player Blog! I love it!

Japan's top league is called the "X LEAGUE" and is comprised of 60 teams over 4 divisions (X1, X2, etc.) The top league contains 18 teams, of which they are split into 4 regions. They play a five game regular season and three weeks of play-offs in the fall, as well as a tournament in the spring. The camaraderie and teamwork of football is the same around the world!

At the University of Arizona, Brad went from a walk-on to starter as a FRESHMAN! After leading the Pac-10 in yards per catch for multiple seasons, he capped his career by scoring the go-ahead touchdown in our 1998 Holiday Bowl victory over Nebraska.

ATTAWAY BRAD!!! Keep representing America Football around the Globe! To read more:

X LEAGUE: www.xleague.com
ARTICLE ON BRAD: Click HERE

~ J. Twice

Rothenburg: Christmas Capital

Inside the magical Christmas store in Rothenburg, Germany

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Some people think that the capital of Christmas is Santa's house at the North Pole (Canadians especially think this way) - but having traveled to Europe this past year I can tell you that the REAL Christmas Capital of the World is ROTHENBURG OB TER TAUBER, Germany.

Rothenburg's Kathe Wohlfahrt is Christmas Paradise.

We stumbled upon this information by accident as we made our way through Upper Bavaria's Romantic Road in Southern Germany.  As we explored the walled city of approximately 12,000 residents, we found ourselves standing in front of the massive Kathe Wohlfahrt's Christmas store.  Inside, it is Christmas 365 days a year with thousands of square feet full of ornaments, decorations, or any other type of Christmas paraphernalia.   

Snow was no where to be found in June, but Christmas spirit was everywhere!

Christmas markets, or Christkindlemarkte, are a centuries old tradition in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.  There is even a Christmas store in Innsbruck.  So don't send your wish list to the North Pole - head to Rothenburg!  (For more information, click HERE.)

Post-card perfect streets in Rothenburg... but what else would you expect at Christmas Capital?

~ J. Twice

A Suite Win by the Wildcats

Sam Boyd Stadium played home to the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl.  Before the game, a one-hundred yard long flag was displayed by veterans and the national anthem was performed by none other than The Hoff - David Hasselhoff.  (His daughter is a student at Arizona.)  Click the picture to make it big and save it if you want a desktop wallpaper.

In stunning fashion, your University of Arizona Wildcats shocked #16 ranked BYU 31-21 to win the Las Vegas Bowl!  It was an incredible experience, a well played game, and another "life experience" to add to my ever increasing list.

With good friends and former Wildcats before the game...

... and my wife, who was attending her first Bowl game ever!

Sean Johnson - the world is yours, my friend!

We arrived at the stadium two hours early, and headed up to the club level to enjoy some of the complimentary food and beverages.  As we walked around, there was a dead give-away to know whether or not a table was being held for Wildcat fans or Cougar fans.  The BYU tables were lined with Caffeine Free Diet Coke (as the mostly Mormon fan base does not drink caffeine), the Wildcats with rum & coke... which may have played a factor at overall crowd volume during the second half.    

Mandatory Fisheye Photo #192.  The stadium filling with red as the Wildcats get "crunk" before the game at midfield.

We were lucky enough to be in a suite for the game, courtesy of our good friend Sean Johnson and his brother Chris, who works for Wells-Fargo.  It was very comforting knowing that in such troubled economic times, banks are still managing to fill their luxury boxes.  The AIG box was noticeably vacant...  

The Arizona Fans in the Wells Fargo Suite.

KICKOFF IN THE PIONEER LAS VEGAS BOWL.

When the game got underway, Arizona struck first on a 71 yard post pattern from senior quarterback Willie Tuitama to Terrill Turner down to the BYU one yard line.  The Wildcats controlled most of the first half, although there were many fumbles by both teams.  Willie has started the last four years, and managed to break just about every record I set.  He is a great guy, and it was awesome seeing him go out on top!  Speaking of quarterbacks, halfway through the first quarter the door opened and it was...

THE CULLIGAN MAN, KEITH SMITH!!!

Keith Smith played quarterback with me at U of A, and really was the one who taught me how to play the game at the college level.  He led our team to its last bowl victory - the 1998 Culligan Holiday Bowl - and was named MVP of the game.  Afterwards, the stadium announcer declared that from now on, Keith was to be known as "THE CULLIGAN MAN."  We never let him forget it.  He is now the offensive coordinator of Newberry Park High School in Southern California (just down the road from George.)  

Pistol Pete!

Pete Hansen is a man of many talents.  He was the one who found the opportunity in Catania and told me to pursue it.  He is also one of the funniest 6'10 guys you will ever meet.  In an excerpt from the upcoming REALLY PLAYING FOR PIZZA book, I describe Peter and his call about Catania:

I received a call in late September from an old college football teammate of mine, Peter Hansen.  “Pistol” Pete, as he was affectionately known, was somewhat of an enigma – a modern day Lincoln look-alike with a heart of gold.  He came to the University of Arizona as a 6’10 quarterback and left as one of the most beloved athletes on campus, lettering in both football (as a jump-like-Shaq-field-goal-blocking-specialist) and in basketball (after coaches noticed him playing pick-up ball in the gym during the summer.)  Since graduation the “Pistol” had bounced from country to country in Europe, playing both basketball and football for a handful of teams while earning little more than room and board yet having the time of his life.  I would get a random email from him every six months or so, describing his wild times in exotic sounding places like Cannes, Barcelona, or Copenhagen.  Then he would vanish without a trace like the Red October.  My type of guy… living the dream.  Although his latest call came with an idea.

Sean was liking what he was seeing in the first half...

Arizona lining up in a Trio Left formation (if they shared my terminology.)

In the second half, BYU struck first to take the lead 14-10, but Arizona answered back with 21 consecutive points to pull away.  In that span Willie Tuitama threw a pair of TD passes, and sealed the game with a 6 yard TD run.  He finished the game 24-35 for 325 yards and  2 TDs.  Attaway Willie! 

The Arizona D played tough all night, and put constant pressure on BYU QB Max Hall.

Arizona may not have the most famous marching band in the world, but we do have one really happy male flag bearer...

... and the crowd's reaction.  Chris was loving it!

On an important tangent, Chris was sporting MY FAVORITE SHOE OF ALL-TIME, the Michael Jordan Eleven.  Inspired by a tuxedo shoe, they are the lightest Jordans ever made and also the most popular.  They came out in 1996, and were probably the reason the Bulls won 72 games and Jordan's 4th title that year.  I was a sophomore in high school at the time, and never did own a pair myself.  (For those of you still Christmas shopping for me - here's a perfect idea...)

Keith went NUTS when he spotted a fan wearing his old, blue #12 jersey.  It was another incarnation of "The Legend of Seven."  (A highlight film made of Keith in high school.)

In keeping with the tradition started way back with Harry Carson in 1985, the game ended with the proverbial "Gatorade Dump" on Coach Stoops (to read a brief history of the Gatorade Dump, click HERE)...

...and the proverbial rushing of the field by the U of A student section.  Arizona actually leads the nation in "fields rushed" - having done it 4 times in the last 3 years - and my dream for the program is that one day others will be rushing the field if they get lucky enough to beat us.  It's just is a little cliche when you beat Middle Tennessee State and the fans want to tear the goalposts down. 

Confetti rained down over the crowd, which made me think about my own post-game confetti celebration...

... in the 2005 Grey Cup!  I still remember the feeling being up on that stage with my teammates, celebrating a triple overtime victory at BC Place in Vancouver.

The post-game revelry continued for over a half hour.

JOHNSON BOYS!  Of no relation to me, but they are now all officially my 'brothas from anotha motha' - from left to right Chris, Brian, Nathan, and Sean.

Christie flashing the peace / victory smile... the Wildcats are now a perfect 1-0 in Bowl Games Attended by Christie Chorley - a stat we'll look to add to next season!

A great end to a great weekend!

~ J. Twice

To read the espn.com article or watch highlights, click HERE.

Vegas, Baby, VEGAS!

The Wynn & Encore are the two latest additions to Las Vegas Boulevard, also known as The Strip.

Las Vegas is a city that needs no introduction - world class hotels, shows, gambling, and all around debauchery.  We arrived on Thursday for a three day stay to attend the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, featuring my 7-5 Arizona Wildcats against the 10-2 BYU Cougars.  It was an incredibly fun time... but three days was definitely enough.  Here's some of the details:  

The "South Strip" is home to New York, New York & MGM Grand.

Christie in front of the Venetian.  After visiting the real Venice this past season, we noticed that the Vegas hotel is a bang on replica complete with the Doge's Palace, Rialto Bridge, and singing gondoliers.  The only things missing were the rude locals, dirty back streets, and prevailing wet smell.

The thing I was looking forward to most was seeing a bunch of former teammates.  It had been 10 years since Arizona was playing in a bowl, so people were coming out of the woodwork to see the Cats.  The furthest visitor to come was Brad Brennan - who just returned from playing football in JAPAN!  (More on him next week... some of his stories of football in another culture trumped even my own!)

Peter Hansen is a one of a kind guy... he would describe this photo as "sexy."

Peter Hansen - aka "The Pistol" - is a very good friend of mine and the one who actually made the connection for me to go play in Catania last season.  He is 6'10, and is the only person I have seen who could successfully jump in the air and block field goals.  During his time at Arizona he blocked 7 KICKS!!!  Unbelievable... prompting the NCAA to actually change the rule which now prohibits players from jumping "over the falls" to block a kick.  Peter was an avid blog reader, and even dropped a few Epperson and Mangano references over the weekend.

From left to right D. Hall, Sean Johnson, Keith Smith, and Peter Hansen.

Also joining us in Vegas was Sean Johnson, who is one of the nicest guys in the world and arguably the Cat's #1 supporter.  Earlier this season Sean and his family hosted us, along with George and Laurie, for the Arizona/Washington game.  Fellow Arizona QB Keith Smith was also there.  Keith preceded me at quarterback at Arizona, and was the MVP of the last bowl game Arizona played in... as well as one of the most heralded quarterbacks to ever come out of Southern California.  (In fact, George saw Keith play in high school, and during a scenic lunch in Cefalu last season, christened Keith's 90 yard touchdown run in the CIF Championship the best play he had ever seen.)  Rounding out the posse was Derrick Hall -- aka "The Hawk" -- who currently coaches at Delaware State and was notorious for stripping the ball loose.

ESPN Radio Interview with John Schuster and Brad Allis for 1290 The Source.

On the morning of the game, I had an early wake-up call to be a guest on the Arizona football pre-game radio show.  We arrived at the Mandalay Bay Sports Book at 8:30am, and I must have still been a little groggy from staying out until 5, because I gave my official prediction for the game as: Arizona 176, BYU -4.  (Yes, that's negative four.)  I had a tremendous time chatting with the two fun hosts - John Schuster and Brad Allis - and we covered a broad range of subjects from European Football to Arizona Recruiting.  They also took great pride in asking me how it felt for my records to be broken.  (Which I answered as politically correct as possible!  SAC!)  

On the way out, I passed this store and had to give a shout-out to my Italian friends!

Posing with Chris Johnson in front of Fat Tuesday's.  This is the BEST watering hole in Las Vegas, which is SLURPEES ON STEROIDS.  Seriously, the strawberry and pina colada mix is the best lava flow east of Hawaii.

The Palm Trees in front of the Trevi Fountain made me realize that this was Vegas, not Rome.

When we were traveling through Europe this past summer, we often commented how Vegas had ruined the whole thing because we had seen it all before on the Strip!  Seriously, if you can't afford a trip to Europe, just book a quick layover in Vegas and you can see it all in an afternoon!  We made it a point to walk through all the "mock" European places that we had visited, including:  Bellagio (Lake Como), Paris (Paris), Monte Carlo (Monaco), Caesar's (Rome), Venetian, and Excalibur (Neuschwanstein).  Let me just say: they are all smaller, but are  much cleaner and have slot machines!  I am still waiting for a Sicily-theme hotel or one that has an entire replica of the Austrian Alps.  

Outside of the Venetian!

The Mirage and Caesar's on the Central Strip.

Shopping at the Forum Shops in Caesar's Palace was like strolling in Rome!  (And 365 days of blue skies per year!)

Playboy's Girls Next Door signing autographs.

The Girls Next Door - aka Hugh Hefner's 3 Playboy Girlfriends - were signing autographs in the mall.  They have become famous through their crazy reality show.  As a side note, immediately to behind this mob was a sports memorabilia store where the great Pete Rose signs DAILY autographs.  Literally, EVERY SINGLE TIME I have been to Vegas I see Pete Rose their.  This day Pete had no line...

~ J. Twice

Arizona Memories: Holiday Bowl

Today we are in Las Vegas to watch the Arizona Wildcats play BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl.  The Arizona Daily Star Newspaper was kind enough to let me pipe in with my own few memories in the paper today.  Click HERE to read the article!

GO CATS!

~ J. Twice 

Austrian Sled Training

St. Albert, Canada: The Sledding Capital of the World

With the Edmonton winter in full swing, we decided to take the opportunity to begin our sled training for the 2010 Winter Olympics, as well as for our upcoming tour of duty in Austria.  We layered up, grabbed Christie's vintage GT Snowracer, and headed to the hill!   

I like to augment my training with older, vintage sleds.  This one, circa 1954, was the original sled of Pierre Leuders, a famous Canadian Bobsleigh champion.  Those serious about the sport call it "Bobsleigh" - I just call it sledding. 

She may be cute... but she's fast!

Christie grew up on the hills of Alberta, racing her brother Kyle down the steep slopes of the prairies on a variety of equipment.  The fastest was the GT Snowracer, but they have been known to use a wooden sled, a plastic disc, and the ever popular inter-tube.  She gave me a crash course in sled safety before clearing the course for my first attempt.  It was an exhilarating experience - my cheeks will never be the same!  And yes, there are steep slopes on the prairies.

Speed Demon!

If football doesn't work out... at least I have a plan B!

I hope to continue my training when I get to Austria with my new teammate Andi Proeller, a wide receiver who spent many years competing for the Austrian National Bobsled team.  He gave me a few pointers when I was there on my recruiting trip, and as you can see, I have implemented some of them into my rigid form already (above).  If I get good enough, hopefully I can qualify for the 2010 Olympics, which would mark the first time someone has competed in two completely different sports.  (As you recall, I will also be competing in male pairs figure skating with Giuseppe Strano on the Strano/Johnson Team.)

~ J. Twice