Why Do They Call it Camp? Pt - 1

Tuesday July 22, 2008

10:33 PM.

I step out of the car and am immediately hit by the hot, humid, Pennsylvania air. The drastic change in climate is nature’s way of telling me what’s to come. 

The parking lot is filled with a row of cars worth most people’s salaries, so I know I am in the right place. The truth is the emotions felt showing up to training camp seldom change. The change today is the reality that I am a long shot to fly with these Eagles.

‘You will be an NFL fullback,’ I repeat for probably the 100th time since I landed in Philadelphia two days ago. I’m trying to convince hotel walls, empty rooms, and most importantly, myself.

We are entering university dormitories, but this camp will in no way be scholastic. This is an introduction to the National Football League.

A crowd has formed around the entrance to the building and almost instinctively the mob begins to rumble as new faces approach. Today’s goal for anyone wearing a media badge: catch a glimpse of the young men designated to be the future of the franchise. The 20-plus cameras heading my way tells me this is a level of scrutiny I’m unfamiliar with. 

Athletes come in all shapes and sizes, but players are not complicated creatures.

What comes so confidently on the field combines with mounds of insecurities off it. By now most players begin to understand what the media is there to do – tell the story. Even if the story is but a quick glimpse into this NFL dream. 

The years of speeches from coaches are meant to prepare you for this, to instill team principles so you don’t crave their attention. ‘A player who wants to be heard is putting his own voice over the team’s.’ #CoachSpeak

It’s a difficult skill to master. Whether an introvert or extrovert, you want to be assured the glimpse is not only giving justice to the dream, but also the dreamer. The reporters approach. With every step, my insecurities begin to mount. It is no easy task putting off a nonchalant demeanor while also squeezing your luggage to show off the beach muscles.

A silent message to the media: I could take you or leave you, just make me look good. If I can nail this veteran trick, I will at least look like I belong. 

Click, click, click. The cameras and recorders all spark up and I anticipate the onslaught of questions I have already prepared answers to: ‘How do you feel coming into your first NFL camp?’ ‘How are you going to transition into playing fullback?’ 

And then I look around, realizing no one has asked me anything. The cameras are all pointed at the fourth-round pick whose car I drove up in. It’s the first blow to my ego and I humbly scamper over to a picnic table where other undrafted free agents have gathered. Everyone chuckles at the notion we all expected to be allowed behind the velvet ropes. 

We aren’t living the dream just yet.

This is a shockingly different feel from the concert a few days ago. My new teammate received two tickets to a Kenny Chesney concert. And it turned out to be something I will never forget.

Some of the concert goers discover we’re about to begin training camp for their beloved team. ‘You guys are Eagles players?’ And in a moment, we pass from random fans sitting in Seats 21 and 22 to NFL superstars. The fact we haven’t made the roster yet isn’t relevant. They get to tell their friends about singing ‘Summertime’ with Eagles players. And I get to feel the warm embrace of the bright lights.

WALKING INTO MY DORM ROOM offers no hint this is the big time. It was like walking into any dorm room - desk, bed, window, wall. There is a touch of nostalgia from freshman year back at WSU and I smile at the irony of ‘big time NFL training camp’. This room will be home for the next couple weeks, or as long as I can survive.

Again, the message is clear - I haven’t made anything yet.

I take comfort in the knowledge the superstars will also be sleeping on wooden cots, but then I hear moving trucks. Looking out the window I realize the veterans have been here before. Mattress after mattress is unloaded and carried in by delivery men. Everything from A/C units to hyperbaric chambers are unloaded. There is even a Nascar simulator set up in one room. 

Those who can afford to bring a slice of home, have.

'I’m starving, let’s go!’ A late-round pick from a college I had never heard of is smiling in the doorway. Legend has it he sent his Pro Day to every NFL team on YouTube and his phone rang before the draft was over. Our bond began when we both set out to be the hardest worker in the weight room. 

It dawns on me that I am a little winded from the climb to the fourth floor. Rookies are assigned to rooms on the top level of a building with no elevator. After every practice, the warming comforts of my bed will be delayed by a climb that each day will only begin to feel longer. 

A group of rookies have decided to save money and head to the cafeteria for dinner. Veterans go out for a final meal before the doors are locked and hell is unleashed. 

Right now, my bank account consists of a signing bonus that after taxes ends up being $10,000, and the few extra bucks I could salvage. One might think with your room covered, $100 a day would suffice. But then you realize the flight home is a week’s work of pay. This is why the $50 saved from a nice dinner out is not just a choice, but my only choice. In a month, that $10,000 maybe the only thing I have left of my dream. 

The ‘cafeteria food’ is sautéed shrimp, grilled steak and lobster tail with little cups of melted butter. This is a welcome to camp from the cooks but also symbolic -- a feast before going off to battle.

"A cornerback out of Michigan will no longer be chasing the dream with us. No amount of Lobster can hide that elephant in the room."

Those who are fools grab a plate and walk the line, the trick is to start at the end of the buffet and work forward. This way you can see the good stuff they hold till the end when most people’s plates are full. Another veteran move is to grab two drink cups, in precreation for Camp Risk No. 1 – hydration. 

We feast, totally forgetting about the conditioning test in the morning -- 16 half-gassers. But what better way to excel than after filling up on steak and lobster. 

Conversation is light and easy; ‘Man, the Packers don’t even report for another week!’ ‘Atlanta doesn't even have a conditioning test!’ But a cool chill comes to the air when someone asks ‘Anyone seen Nate?’ 

A cornerback out of Michigan will no longer be chasing the dream with us. No amount of Lobster can hide that elephant in the room.

About the Author: Jedidiah Collins is a former NFL Fullback and current Director of Financial Education for Brighton Jones.