Tag Archives: football

Greater – Movie Review

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Have you seen the movie Greater? We came upon it when we were looking for something to watch over the weekend. I just wanted a fun entertaining movie that we could laugh at. I saw Greater and thought, “I love a good football movie. Let’s watch that.”

Greater is  the inspiring true story of Brandon Burlsworth, a college football player. From the time he was 12, he wanted nothing more than to play football for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. We learned early on that the story takes place in Harrison, a place we spend a lot of time because it’s the nearest big city to us. He works and works and works and gets the opportunity to walk on to the Razorback football team.

His catch phrase for motivation because “How bad do you want it?” I now have that hanging on my wall so I can see it every day when I’m thinking about the goals I sent for myself.

The movie beautifully captures his remarkable journey, starting as an undersized walk-on player and ultimately achieving the prestigious title of All-American offensive lineman at the University of Arkansas.

Driving through Harrison yesterday, I saw signs on the street corners for the upcoming Brandon Burlsworth football camps. I wonder if I would’ve noticed them if I hadn’t watch the movie?

The movie is truly uplifting and you will find yourself cheering Brandon on through the whole film. Watching his perseverance, faith, and determination are truly amazing. My short review: What a story, what a legacy!

CTE is NOT a Laughing Matter

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When I saw the logo for The Opening, I was stunned. Speechless is a state you find me almost never. But…

What can you possibly say about a group using a death skull inside of a football helmet as their logo? The Opening describes themselves as “four days of dynamic competition for the nation’s most elite high school football prospects”. 

With all we currently know about CTE and what causes it, using a logo like this is a mockery of the truth of what can happen to youth football players whether they are elite players or the average kid who starts playing a collision sport at the age of eight or younger. Risk everything? Really?

Horrifying.

Sponsors of these events are Nike and Riddell. Speechless again. These are groups who know  what is going on with concussion in football. Why would they choose such an image? 

So I’m writing a blog post today when I really can’t even adequately express how I feel about the fact that large companies, who should know better, would chose such an image to portray their product. 

We need to protect our children’s brains, not risk everything! Everything is a life or death issue. CTE IS life or death and it’s real and it shouldn’t be mocked or belittled. People are losing their sons and daughters due to collisions sports being played with no regard to the fact that a concussion is a brain injury and should be treated accordingly. 

Be aware! For more information about concussion and CTE, visit StopCTE.org. Also, if you are a parent or parent group interested in stopping repetitive brain trauma in youth sports, please join the Save Your Brain Campaign. 

 

 

 

My Story, My Why

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On Sunday, the Oklahoma City Listen To Your Mother Show finally came to fruition. After submitting my story, auditioning, being accepted, rehearsing with my fellow cast members, the day had finally arrived. banner The show took place at the Will Rogers Theater. 

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The amazing 2016 cast met once again for the show.

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We watched as the theater filled up.

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Finally, it was time to take the stage. 

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I listened to the stories of my fellow cast members. Stories that did things to my heart that made me love this group of people like no other.  

table

 And then it was my turn. My story was called A Question of Guilt. It was my story about how I felt after reading the book Concussion and how it relates to the fact that my son had at least five concussions while playing football from ages 8 until 20. The story that has given me the mission to tell every single person I can that it’s not “just” a concussion and that helmets do not prevent concussions. Every. Single. Person. Everywhere. Anywhere.

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After the show was over, I went down to meet a friend of mine from twitter. We’ve been tweeting for years (I can’t even remember how long!) and I was so excited to finally meet her in real life. 

nita

And then the most amazing thing happened! People that I didn’t know started coming up to me and thanking me for sharing my story. One young mother, with tears in her eyes, told me that she had been worried about letting her little boy play football and that my story was confirmation for her. This, my friends, was the cherry on top of an already awesome experience!

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I love that I got a chance to be a part of the 2016 Oklahoma City cast. I love that I got to share my story. And maybe, just maybe, my story will save another mom the guilt that I felt when I realized that a helmet did not protect my son’s precious brain. That is my goal. One mom at a time. Until I’ve told everyone.

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Many thanks to the producers Mari Farthing, Carolyn Bechtold, and Jennifer Smith for choosing me as a member of the cast. Thanks to my castmates for being completely incredible people (whom I love) and having the courage to share your stories. Thanks to Lyndzee Story for helping me with my hair and makeup. Thanks to Sheradee Hurst for the fabulous photos. And, finally, thanks to my incredible husband for always being by my side to love and support me. 

If you have a story to tell, I can’t encourage you enough to seek out your local Listen To Your Mother Show and apply! It will change your life. 🙂

Book Review: Concussion

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ConcussionConcussion by Jeanne Marie Laskas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh my goodness. When I saw the trailer for this movie, I knew I had to see it. When I saw the opportunity to read the book, I jumped on it. I couldn’t stop reading it and stayed up all night to finish it.

This book is about Bennet Omalu, the man who discovered Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) which he found in the brain of a former NFL player, Mike Webster, who played for the Steelers. Omalu, from Nigera, comes to America to work with Cyril Wecht. He admires Wecht’s work and works hard. As long as he gets his work done, Wecht doesn’t mind if he studies brains. Every brain tells a story, he thinks. He feels like he can tell what happened to the person by reading the brain. It is because of this he eventually discovers CTE. He’s eventually able to study more former NFL player brains and is sure of his findings.

The book is about Omalu’s fight to get the word out about CTE against an eight billion dollar entertainment entity, the NFL.

If you have a child who plays sports, are a coach or a trainer, I highly recommend this book. It changed my life. The one most important thing I learned in this book is that helmets do not protect from concussion! When I read this, I felt like a child abuser because I felt my son was always protected because of his helmet.

Excellent, excellent book. I look forward to the movie.

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Punked…again

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By a box.

The first time was on April Fool’s Day. I was looking for dress shoes to wear to Lyndzee’s bachelorette activities. I knew exactly where my shoe boxes were because I remember feeling happy when we were unloading the truck and seeing boxes labeled “Lauri Shoes”.

shoes

When it came down to it, though  I could just find the one box. And when I opened it up? There were no shoes inside it.

Well played April Fooler.

Today, I was looking for my second slow cooker to take for Lyndzee’s rehearsal dinner. I went into the box that said, “2nd Slow Cooker” on the side and, you’ve got it, there was no slow cooker in the box.

slowcooker

Punked…again.

There were indeed baking and kitchen items in that box. I found our third blender. Who in the heck needs three blenders? But no crock pot.

I was also looking for a red raincoat that I have. I knew I had seen it but couldn’t remember which box. I opened up a box and found my Death Row tshirt.

deathrow

When Brandon was in high school he played at both tight end and defensive end. The boys on his O-line senior year called themselves the Death Row. And they were good. The team won the district championship that year. They also made me an honorary member of the Death Row. Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling now just like the day Mike Crews gave the shirt to me. 🙂

Anyway, while I try and figure out what is in all of those boxes, I don’t believe a word of what’s written on the sides of them. And I’ll probably just leave them packed. Blender anyone? 😉