Extra Post (For Credit or Otherwise) 2: Explanation of the NLPF (Restore the Order)

When I was first contemplating this story, I wanted to use real, current (and speculated future) NFL teams in the story. It was summer when I was forming the idea and I came up to the MUC nearly every day to study and keep connected with the world. One night out of the blue I just created a whole new league: the National League of Professional Football. I couldn’t think of how to make the real league to totally fit with the storyline I had in mind.

Rules and regulations are basically the same between the real and fake league except those regarding ownership that I have brought up in my short story. Conferences are organized in the same manner. Team names in the NLPF are based off their real NFL counterparts, except the New York (Buffalo) Knights, which are a movie tie-in that will be explained in my final revisions. I’ve been trying to figure out an appropriate name for Detroit so that is why a question mark currently follows the city. To keep some consistency, I’ve decided that the league will have a history that parallels the NFL. The following is a list of the teams:

National Conference

East

New York Dragons-NYK

Philadelphia War Hawks-PHI

Washington Braves-WAS

Dallas Roughriders-DAL

North

Twin-City Norsemen-TCN

Green Bay Greens-GB

Chicago Bruins-CHI

Detroit ?

South

Carolina Wildcats-CAR

New Orleans Cajuns-NO

Tampa Bay Pirates-TB

Atlanta Silver Hawks-ATL

West

St. Louis Big Horns-STL

Phoenix Red Birds-PHX

Bay Area Miners-BAM

Seattle Ospreys-SEA

American Conference

 

East

New York (Buffalo) Knights-BUF

Boston Minutemen-BOS

Miami Sharks-MIA

New York Rockets-NYR

North

Baltimore Crows-BAL

Pittsburgh Steel Workers-PIT

Cincinnati Tigers-CIN

Cleveland Bulldogs-CLE

South

Indiana Chargers-IND

Houston Longhorns-HOU

Nashville Oilmen-NAS

Jacksonville Leopards-JAX

West

Kansas City Indians-KC

Los Angeles Barbarians-LA

Denver Raptors-DEN

San Diego Thunder-SD

Week of Dec. 7 – 13: Free Post 2: Jacob Robnie Character Sketch

*Name: Jacob Joseph Robnie

*D.O.B.: November 1, 1985

*Place of Birth: Omaha, NE

*Height: 6’5”

*Weight: 185 lbs.

*Hair: Brown

*Eyes: Green

*Distinctive Physical gestures, habits, tics: Easily excited during football games.

*Preferred clothing: Work (News)-Business casual. Work (football) team wear Daily- Shorts/jeans, t-shirts, concert tees

*Has friends? Who: Many friends include news staff, players and staff on sports teams in the Denver area

*English use: Yes.

*View of Money: Wants to have enough to support himself and his son. Doesn’t particularly care if he ends up rich or not.

*Sense of Future: Tries not to predict it.

*Leisure time: Spends it with his son when he can. Goes out with friends from time to time. Takes son to team owner’s Rocky Mountain cabin.

*Attitude Toward Sex: Hasn’t had much interest since wife died.

*Attitude Toward Religion: Agnostic. Feels that organized religion has become too embroiled in money and hatred.

*Alcohol Consumption: Occasional beers with friends. Somewhat light on alcohol.

*Employment/Feelings About: (Aug. 1998-Jul. 2014) Denver Post-Photographer, loved the job, quit upon acquiring Denver Raptors (Jul. 2014-???) CEO/Owner/GM of Denver Raptors football team, reluctant to take job but devotes all time toward it to keep team in town.

*Class Consciousness: Starts upper-middle class, pay raise bumps him to upper-class.

*Ethnic Background, How Relates To: Mix of German, Scandinavian, Welsh family. Doesn’t factor into story much.

*What Are/Were Parents Like: Mother and father were both respected journalists.

*Fears: That he’s going to let his son down being a single father. That he’ll let his team and city down.

*What They Want From Life: He’d like to be a good father to his son. Wants to keep the Raptors in Denver.

*Other Notes: Was once married to Sandra Hunt, daughter of former Raptors owner George S. Hunt, until she was killed in a car accident a year ago. Ever since he’s become closer to his seven-year old son Kyle, spending more time with him. Journalism major graduating from U. of South Dakota.

Week of Dec. 7 – 13: Process Post

So the semester is finally over. Time for me to go through with finals, hope that my studying will be enough and look forward to the extended break. It’s also a time to look back over the last few months of my academic life.

I will admit I could have done better, especially in this class. The stress of juggling homework, newspaper and, early on, a job got to me too many times. Completing the job with all my effort is something I’d like accomplish do come next semester. 

The part of this class I enjoyed most probably would be the short story. Afterall, this is a story I’d had in my mind for so long. Even to put a small portion of it on paper made me happy. Of course it is nowhere near complete. The 750 words for each chapter, while enough to complete the assignment, could have been 1000 words per assignment and I’m still not sure I would’ve been able to fully develop it. In any case, I still enjoyed the opportunity.

I really can’t think of anything I’d change about this class other than maybe have a longer short story section. While poetry was interesting, it’s never been anything that caught my interest. As the old song lyric goes; “I’m nobody’s poet.”

Anyway, I’d like to say thanks for the opportunity to help me expand on my creativity. I said earlier in the year that I hope to go further with writing. I really think this class will be a huge boost to get me to that point, and for that I thank you.

Week of Dec. 7 – 13: Free Write 1: How the Mighty Have Fallen

“How the Mighty Have Fallen”

“How the mighty have fallen. The weapons of war have perished!”

2 Samuel 1:19-27

It isn’t like me to quote the Bible often, but with the last passing weeks it has become relevant in the town they call Foxborough.  

Here resides the one they call “Wonderboy,” a name stolen from another mighty weapon of war.

Here resides the man with a plan, the one with a brain; A truly mad genius and his plethora of photography equipment.

Here resides a mascot named Pat whose indulgence in the world’s oldest profession has brought great shame upon his employer’s name.

At a time neither ice, nor snow, nor wind, nor sleet could stop them.

Oh how the times have changed for an unlucky few.

At a time they were automatically put in the greatest game of all.

Oh how the times have changed for an unlucky few.

At a time their mad genius looked as if he knew The Gambler’s philosophy: “Know when to hold ‘em, fold ‘em, walk away and run.”

Oh how the times have changed for an unlucky few.

They used to hoist trophies over their heads.

Now they hold questions above them.

They are the New England patriots.

They were once the mighty.

They are now the tumbling.

They were once the Champions.

They are now the cheaters.

The torch is now to be passed elsewhere, the song it is finished.

For this philosophy has now come true:

“How the mighty have fallen. The weapons of war have perished!”

Week of October 12-18: Process Post

This week gave me a little bit of a surprise in class. This week as we read our poems I felt a little bit nervous about it. I chose to distribute copies of my first poem from the class. As can be a  danger in poetry, I was afraid that people wouldn’t have any understanding as to what I was talking about in my first poem. Some of the language did have added depth to it.

First we started off reading the poems of the members of our group. It really impressed me just how far many of my classmates had come with only a few weeks of instruction. Albeit, I have no clue how much experience they’d had beforehand, but they were impressive nonetheless.

Then came the opportunity to read our poems out loud. I was the third in line to read, still very nervous. When my turn came I made it through the reading just fine with minimal stumbling in my speaking. Following it: silence. I was afraid I’d just failed to connect to any of the audience. However, after the silent seconds dragged out for what felt like minutes, a voice spoke up telling me that it was a very good poem. Everyone seemed to get a general idea of just what the main story line was and found it enjoyable. This was a huge confidence booster. I only felt bad that I couldn’t give a few better comments on the other poems.

Week of October 12-18: Memoir Prompt

The very first trip away from home that I have a great recollection of was a trip to a family reunion in Oregon when I was four years old. Granted, this wasn’t my first trip away from home. I have been told about some instances in which my parents would take me out-of-town with them at a very young age. These, I understandably have little to no memory of.

            The trip to and from the reunion was almost as big to me as the destination itself. I was with my great aunt and uncle for the trip. Instead of taking the direct and easy flight, they opted to take the train from Omaha to Sacramento, where we’d drive the remainder of the way to Rogue River, Oregon. After a few days at the reunion we’d drive to Portland to visit my Uncle George, then after a few days take the train back to Omaha.

            We set out only a few days after the Fourth of July, 1994.  I remember the segment of the trip taking us through Colorado the best. After getting through Denver, the train started into the Rocky Mountains. I can remember just being amazed to the degree a four year old would be as I saw snowpack in July. Throughout the day we would transverse tunnels, canyons and rivers and by evening we were racing through western Utah. As the week progressed I got to see the West Coast, even getting to take a trip out to the Pacific Ocean. Sadly however, I never got a chace to walk right up to the mighty sea.

            Probably the biggest change I later realized was that I had a rare opportunity for my age, I got to see much more of the country than most people by that time and I felt very lucky for it.

Week of Oct. 5-11: Process Post

As I have said many times before, I don’t see myself as much of a poet, or as one who gets excited about writing poems. However, up and coming is the dramatic monologue number three. This one, I once again plan to dig into a snippet one of the story ideas that I have tossed around in my mind. This one, however, will be different from the first, in that instead of a backing track (song), this one has a larger story line. WIthout giving too much away, it will be seen from the point of view of a fictional character who’s dealing with a big change in his life; a major business transaction that he’s debating in his mind. It isn’t based on any specific event from history, however it does detail a story that could very well happen. I’ve gone as far as making the long trip to Sioux City and buying a biography of one who was in the position this character is facing. Not only will it be research for this monologue, but maybe even research for the continuation of the story. I do hope, in time, to write these stories beyond any 30 line poem.

Meanwhile, I must say i found the tabloid project from last week fun to do. The headline that stood out the most to me was about a woman who had gone digging through 103 burial plots looking for her husband’s because he’d been buried with the week’s winning lottery ticket.

Week of Oct. 5-11: Memoir Prompt

Some men get by on their looks alone. This isn’t that man. Some guys strike a woman dead with their looks. Once again, you’ve got the wrong guy. But yet, there are some men who can at least show a little determination in their faces. Now I think we’re getting somewhere! Enter Robert Nielsen. Nineteen year old sophomore Journalism student out of Papillion, Nebraska. He’s a little beyond description, but we’re going to try out best.

First off, there was a time when he stood higher than the rest. However with the crossover from elementary to junior high, his standing caused him to blend in with the rest of the crowd. His deep green eyes aren’t the piercing type, and let’s be honest, sometimes they give off the “glazed over” impression. This means he’s deep in thought, a place he travels many times every day. The hair is even harder to describe. As if it were the passing seasons, it reverts between gold and a dark brown. Those long strands just can’t seem to come to a consensus sometimes. And that skin will take you straight back to the homeland of his ancestors. Not quite as pale as snow, but he almost seems to be gaining ground on the cold powder. It’s obvious that his descendents are northern European. Scandinavian (Danish) and Welsh to be precise with some German mixed in. He frequently takes on that rugged look across his face, occasionally contemplating going for the infamous goatee but never quite building a consensus for it.

Week of Oct. 5-11: In Class Activity

Not going to be used for the first few weeks, eh?

You wished you could take that little claim back.

All the while it was too late.

And to my dismay your claims were correct this year.

But when the chilled winds came blowing, I was back.

I’ll hold on to your Wayfarers, your Bruce Springsteen/Journey/.38 Special playing device,

your airline ticket stubs that you’ve neglected to take out.

Most of all I’ll give you some protection whenever the weather turns another bold shade of depressing.

Just not too bold.

I can’t stick around for the flakes!

Week of Sept. 28-Oct. 4: Process Post

I can say in all honesty that, as a man who cannot and never will claim he is a poet, I enjoyed the first poem assignment of the year. However, as noted on that very piece of paper, there could definitely be some changes made to it. I know we are going to do summaries of the who, what, when, why, where and how on all of these poems so I’ll try not to get too into that portion. Though I will go as far as saying that the poem is based off a story I’ve had in my head for a while. One of many in fact. Many of these stories take their themes from some of societies’ best poets; musicians. A poem could never encompass all that I have planned for that particular story, but I will try as hard as I can to make sure there are no “cop-outs” in the final product while still maintaining the overall theme and let the audience know it’s base.

And for being a non-poet in a class spending a significant amount of time deep in poetry, I also had fun with the second poem, based off probably one of my most vivid childhood memories. My sister has always told me of how rare it is for people to picture the image of a memory in their heads (even though I feel it’s much more common than she lets on) and she doesn’t believe me when I say I can. I believe this poem really helped me to make a strong counter argument.