Ryan Long

How many "sane" people WANT to get punched in the face?  Or kicked, how 'bout choked out?  I think I'm in the majority who would rather watch it, then be an active participant...But that's just me though.

How many times have you witnessed that guy or girl talk a big game, and never REALLY get into a fight?  It's nothing but loud talk, idle threats and posturing.  But when it comes time to knuckle down, they don't want any part of the action.

Not my man Ryan Long.  Ryan is one of the few who actually WANT to get punched in the face.  Well, he DOESN'T want to get punched in the face, but when you cage fight, it kinda comes with the territory.



 



But this is the thing about Ryan, he's not your average, on TV, highly paid, highly endorsed fighter.  He's a family man with a full time job.  And still he makes the time to train, provide for and support his family.

 



Anyone who has trained for anything (with the intent of actually participating in said event/sport) knows that it takes a lot of discipline to follow through to the end.  Did you know that after Ryan's last fight (29SEP12) which was a Saturday, Ryan was back in the gym training that Monday? 

Of course you didn't, because Ryan doesn't blow his own horn (I'll do that for him!).  Ryan has the H.E.A.R.T of a champion.  He stays humble and works his ass off, whether you acknowledged, know, or appreciate it.



 

Well I appreciate Ryan, keep moving forward and kicking ass fam.

Seriously...Who does this...?

Every beginning to Football Season, I can't help but think of my little mans Nick Gavin.  Seriously, I can't.  I mean, I'm a football dude, I am.  But this little guy (he's not little anymore, but to me he will always be my little dude) is the epitome of the "football spirit".  Let me take you on a trip to memory lane...

 

I first met Nick when he was 4, maybe 5.  And if you ever met him, you know he isn't the biggest kid in the world (neither am I though...).  So I go to Tim Gavin's house when I first move to Maryland, because he invited me over and I had NO friends in the area.  I had no idea what was in store.  Made no reservations, I just went to see what was what.

 

So I get to Timmy's crib, his Mom's and Pop's where mad cool (to this day, I feel like they're MY Mom's and Pop's) and his little brother (Nick) was CRAZY cool.

 

We kick it for a minute, and Nick tells me that one day he wants to play football.  Well, anybody who knows me, knows that football is the way in with me (or just about any sport).  So I tell him that I play and that we can run through some drills, so he can see what it feels like to be a REAL football player.

 

I teach Nick the basics of "tackling".  So before we know it, we're basically running two man Oklahoma drills with the two of us.  I don't know where my head is at (this is LITERALLY the FIRST time I'm at Timmy's house) but when when Nick comes to tackle me (I'm on my knees 'running' at him in the drill) I "juked him". This, being a Tail Back, was a natural reaction.

 

What I want you to do is look at the picture below.  This is an estimate of the fireplace that the Gavin's have at their home.  This is the fireplace that will be the focal point of this story....

 

So, Nick Gavin comes to "tackle" me.  I "juke" him.  As a 4 year old kid, he' coming FULL STEAM...He misses (if you see the fireplace above, you can imagine the rest of the story...).  His nugget hits into one of the fireplace bricks...'Till this DAY, I still feel bad...Nick rams his nugget into the fireplace (I STILL can't believe it!).  Seriously, after 2 maybe 3 minutes, he has a nugget the size of a basketball chillen on his forehead.

Me being the "new kid" in the neighborhood and it's my first time in Timmy's house, I'm thinking....,"fuuuuuuuuuccccccckkkkkkkkk".  Seriously, I am.  But, there is something in this kid's eyes that tell me something else.  Don't get me wrong, he's crying because he just took a header into a fricken fireplace. But he has this look like, "I'm gonna tackle your black ass before you go home"...Seriously...that's what I saw.

After about 3-5 minutes of "babying", Nick Gavin put on his "big boy Lancer Pants" and wanted to go again!  This 4 year old had a Watermelon chillen on his forehead and he STILL wanted to tackle ME!

At this point, I KNEW this kid was special.  I knew NOTHING would stop him, even though life would through him many, many curve balls because of his height and size.  Although he may have paused, this kid had NEVER stopped.  His heart and determination are what set him apart from his classmates.

The only 2 dudes I love younger than me, more than anything else are Booshi Bear and Nick Gavin.  I want nothing but the best for BOTH of them.  Nothing....