Perry DubeCommunications Profile

Within the Realm of Sports

I was lucky enough to attend the Oregon v Stanford game last night. Unbelievably, I was able to scalp a ticket just before game time for $40. As far as the atmosphere goes, it was very comparable to being at an FSU spring game. The true fans were older alumni, and while they were knowledgeable, the place never once got to a fever pitch. 

I was decked out in FSU gear, but all the Ducks fans were surprisingly nice to me, even after the game. I had at least ten Oregon fans approach me and say "Go kick the s*** out of Bama for us".

On the field, I couldn't be more impressed with Stanford. Had their special teams not have gone straight into the garbage in the fourth quarter, I truly think that game would have ended in a 20+ point spread. Even with the special teams gaffes, that was still the second most impressive performance of the season in my mind, FSU v Clemson being the first. Make no mistakes, Stanford is not your average Pac 12 team. They are big, tough, powerful, and have speed on both lines. Stanford is everything that every Big Ten team wishes that they could be.

After seeing them play live, Stanford is truly the last team I would want to play in Pasadena as a Seminole fan. Of all the contenders, Stanford is the team I truly believe matches up the best against the Noles, followed by Bama, Baylor, and Ohio State. Luckily, I don't think it will come to that. I don't see Bama and Baylor both losing, and if Ohio State goes undefeated and beats Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship, I think they would jump a one loss Stanford. 

Regardless, last night was fantastic. I truly do not think it makes a difference who Florida State plays in the championship. All signs point to us being the best team in the nation this year, and I believe we will prove it January 6th. I hope to see a lot of you in Pasadena!

Writing SamplesBlog Discussion of the Current BCS Situation

In seeing the way that Jameis Winston conducted himself both as a visiting recruit and as a student athlete, I can assure you that he will not go down the Johnny Football path. A few stories that speak to the character of this kid:

  A good friend of mine is an equipment manager for the team. He has plenty of stories about our kids being ignorant and

disrespectful to the equipment staff, but has nothing but wonderful things to say about Winston. One story in particular shows exactly why. After practice each day, the players are given fresh towels for showers. After they have showered, the players are supposed to drop these towel in front of the equipment room to be washed for the next day. Rather than doing so, most players just throw their towels down by their lockers, leaving the equipment staff to roam around and clean up after the players. One day after practice, my friend was one of the last ones left on the staff and was preparing to go pick up the towels from all over the locker room when he heard a knock at the door of the office. It was Jameis. He had picked up every single towel that his teammates had left all over the locker room. He apologized for his teammates conduct and dropped them all off in the appropriate place. Mind you, this is a kid who was splitting his life between being a full time student, a full time baseball player, and a full time football player, yet he took the time to complete this act of kindness

A day before I moved to San Francisco, I was at AJs, a popular bar for students in Tallahassee. As I was about to leave for the night when I saw Jameis and Darby hanging out in the back part of the bar. Seeing as I was about to move from Tallahassee, I couldn't help but approach the two. I went up and said something to the effect of "I never do this but I am moving to San Francisco tomorrow and had to tell you guys how much faith I have in the both of you for this upcoming season". Darby stared at me like I was speaking Mandarin Chinese. Winston did just the opposite. He looked me straight in the eye, shook my hand, and said "Thanks so much man, good luck in San Francisco".

In the Elite 11 Camp program, which is run by Trent Dilfer and is televised on ESPN, Jameis clearly showed why he was the number 1 ranked QB in the class. Not only was he the absolute best player in every drill he participated, but he also had the best knowledge of the playbook, and was the most popular among the campers. But none of these things is what impressed the most about Winston. In one team meeting towards the end of the camp, Trent Dilfer got choked up in trying to communicate to the campers how important it is to seize the day. In relaying this point, he began to speak on about losing his son to heart disease at the age of 5, but became too emotional to finish his statement. While most of the participants of the camp sat there dumfounded and uncomfortable, Jameis stood up and proudly said "Coach, you may have lost one son, but this week, you gained 24 more". From that day on, Trent Dilfer predicted that Jameis would win the Heisman and would be the first pick of the NFL draft. This was two years ago. Dilfer has never wavered from this prediction, and it looks like he may be right in the end. 

At this time last year, Johnny Football was being photographed drunk at clubs and bars, accused of never going to class, tweeting at the world about things he should never have, and generally just being a cocky ,arrogant teenager. Lets not even compare Jameis to Johnny. They are a different breed. Jameis is a class act and will continue to show that to the world.

 

Writing SamplesContribution to Florida State Football Thread

Social Media InfluenceFacebook

Nearly 170 likes on a Facebook photo of myself at the Stanford v Oregon game.

Social Media InfluenceTwitter