Sports Then and Now

Football is an incredibly physical sport. Those playing at the top of the game all require specific diets and workouts for their position, ensuring that they’re in peak physical condition by the beginning of the season. However, all positions require strong athleticism and benefit from specific workouts. For any aspiring athletes hoping to play at the highest levels of competition, it’s important to know the basic form of a football workout.

For a football workout, the goal is pushing each area of the body to its upper limit — focusing on those most important on the field — through targeted workouts. Here is a basic overview of effective workouts for each area.

Upper Body Workout

For expanding one’s upper body strength, nothing beats pressing. A good upper body workout should include a combination of flat bench press, military press and inclined dumbbell press. Pressing is great, as it works out the most important muscles in the upper body: your pectoral, deltoid, and triceps.

Along with presses, a good upper body regimen should include sets, which are great for lower back strength. Finally, you’ll want shrugs for your upper back and neck. Varying between these exercises will help build your entire upper body and get you powered up on the field. Read the rest of this entry →

The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month was perfection personified as a wide receiver during his NFL career.

Known for his fluid movement, grace and jumping ability during his 13 year NFL career, Paul Warfield was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and key performer for the Miami Dolphins during their 17-0 campaign in 1972.

Because the role of the wide receiver has changed so much and today’s star receivers get the ball thrown to them so many more times than in the pre-1978 era, Warfield is often overlooked when discussing all-time greats.

But, think about this. Warfield averaged 20.1 yards per catch for his career (427 receptions, 8,565 yards) and 19.9% of his receptions went for touchdowns (85). By comparison, Julio Jones has averaged 15.5 yards per catch for his career and a touchdown in 6.9% of his receptions (46 TDs in 669 catches). Antonio Brown averages 13.4 ypc and a TD in 8.7% (70 of 804) of his receptions. Terrell Owens averaged 14.8 ypc and a TD in 14.2% of his receptions. Even Jerry Rice, considered the greatest receiver of all-time, averaged only 14.8 ypc and a TD in 12.7% of his catches. Read the rest of this entry →

The way we develop is always a wonder to behold. It’s easy to get lost in the grand scheme of things, especially with how busy and upbeat modern-day life is. But once in a while it’s nice to take a breather and take a look back at how we used to be. One good way to appreciate how far we’ve come as the new generation is to appreciate how much we’ve grown since our forefathers.

The realm of the NFL will always be one that is held close to the soul of the nation. The athletes who are worthy enough to play in the league are no less than legends in their own right. Sure, we can easily compare modern NFL players with each other. There are many sites that provide fantasy football stats for the extremely enthusiastic football fan. But there’s a certain sense of nostalgia in looking back at how things and people used to be.

So, how exactly is the new generation of NFL athletes different from the legends of old?

Only The Elites Get Into The NFL

While this hasn’t technically changed over the past years, this is still an important thing to note because the competition for the spots on the rosters has only grown fiercer. NFL athletes earn an average of about $2.1 million per year and only 1% of all college football players ever actually make it into the NFL. The modern NFL player is very well paid. In fact, they are far better paid than their older counterparts who still needed to find side jobs in order to sustain themselves.

A big part of this is because not many people paid for athletes to compete. Football wasn’t as popular or as profitable as it is today. Read the rest of this entry →

Bucky Pope caught 10 touchdown passes and averaged 31.4 yards per catch during his rookie season in 1964.

Even though Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp was a third round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft and a third-generation NFL player, his emergence as a star receiver for the Rams conjures comparison to another small school player who made an immediate impact more than 50 years ago.

With a 5-7-2 overall record, the Los Angeles Rams didn’t have a lot to celebrate during the 1964 campaign. However, one bright spot was the emergence of eighth round draft pick Bucky Pope. Known as the “Catawba Claw” because he played his collegiate football at tiny Catawba College in North Carolina, Pope proved to be one of the greatest deep threats in NFL history.

He emerged as a deep threat with a 65-yard touchdown reception from Bill Munson against Detroit during the second week of the season and over the year caught 10 touchdown passes, including six touchdowns of 48 yards or greater.

In a 42-14 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in week six, Pope caught four passes for 141 yards, including touchdown catches of 48, 68 and 18 yards from Roman Gabriel.

Twice facing Vince Lombardi’s Packers, Pope had a 55-yard touchdown reception in their first meeting and a 95-yard score in the final week of the season.

Overall, Pope caught 25 passes for 786 yards and 10 touchdowns. His 31.44 yards per catch were the second highest single season total in NFL history.

Unfortunately, Pope’s amazing rookie season proved to be something he could not repeat. He hurt his knee during a preseason game in 1965 and didn’t play at all that season.

He caught one pass, a 14 yard touchdown pass, during the 1966 season. In 1967, he caught eight passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Included in that total was a 48-yard touchdown catch against the Eagles that would prove to be the final touchdown catch of his career.

Clearly no longer the player he had been in 1964, Pope was released by the Rams and spent a brief period of time in camp with the Atlanta Falcons before playing in three games, with no catches, for the Green Bay Packers in 1968. Read the rest of this entry →

The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month played in five Super Bowls with three teams during a 14-year NFL season, but is likely best known for being the ultimate third-down situation back during his time with the Dallas Cowboys.

When Preston Pearson was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the 12th round of the 1967 NFL draft out of the University of Illinois, there was no expectation that he would develop into one of the most versatile backs in the NFL. In fact, given that Pearson was a two-year starter in basketball and never played a snap of college football, he was a long-shot to ever play a down in the NFL. Read the rest of this entry →

Triumphs and tragedy are two words that perfectly exemplify the life of Aaron Hernandez. Growing up in the Connecticut suburb of Bristol, he was a three-sport star, winning the Gatorade player of the year, awarded to the best football player in the state. However, while Aaron succeeded on the field, his time in Bristol may have led to the beginning of his downfall.

A Troubled Past

According to a book written by his brother, Hernandez was sexually assaulted numerous times when he was as young as 6 years old, by an older boy they used to hang out with. Combined with having an abusive father that not only struck Aaron and his brother but also Aaron’s mother, it’s clear he was brought up in an extremely toxic environment. Through it all, Hernandez kept his experiences hidden inside his own head due in large part to being taught that seeking help was a sign of weakness growing up. He kept moving forward.

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