Sept. 26, 2005
BOOMER GRIGSBY - Rookie Diary
Week Two - September 16, 2005
Well, we weren't sure if we were going to keep the Rookie Diary going after training camp, but here we are, back again on kcchiefs.com. I got tons of feedback from friends and fans, and if you all are willing to put up with me, then the least I can do is write a regular Rookie Diary.
So last Sunday was Opening Day in the NFL, and Game One of my NFL career. I don't think there is a better place to make my debut than Arrowhead Stadium - the loudest stadium in the world. It's unbelievable. An unparalleled experience. I felt like Russell Crowe in Gladiator when I was running out of that tunnel and onto the field. Every time the people in the crowd rise to their feet it releases every endorphin in your body. It's like in the movie where the masses in the Coliseum are giving the thumbs up or thumbs down sign because they all want blood, especially defensively, they want you to wipe everybody out. There isn't a more exciting atmosphere to play in.
Personally I got to run down on kickoff and punt coverage and on the return teams. One of the big changes for me was realizing that doing my job may not result in big stats and everything. In college I was used to playing every snap of defense and being the stud making 20 tackles a game. Now in the NFL my main responsibility is to be a cover guy and a backup linebacker.
Also, I had never played a noon game before too, so that felt early. In college we always played late afternoon or evening games, so I didn't really know what to do with myself when the game ended around 3:30 in the afternoon or whatever.
So this week is Raider Week. I've never really had a big rival, so I'm excited about this. It's fun to be able to go out and say publicly that I hate the Raiders and people will support me. I hate Oakland now. I can say that and mean it and not step on anyone's toes. I can paint it on my chest and drive to work with no shirt on and that's acceptable. Can you tell I'm excited?
In practice this week I got to run look squad against our offense. The way I look at it is I get to face the best offense in the NFL every day in practice. It's proven that this is the top offense, and the only way to get better is to go against the best. Hopefully it will just make me a better football player. When I finally do get a chance, I will know that I'll never face a better tight end than Tony Gonzalez and a better running back than Priest Holmes, so I'll have already seen the best.
I've heard that the Black Hole is pretty intense in Oakland. I heard that even little old ladies will be giving us the bird as the bus pulls up, and people will be throwing stuff at us. My personality is to give the bird right back, but you have to restrain yourself and be professional about it. It's all good, though.
I'm also excited for my first regular season road trip. We didn't stay overnight on either of the two preseason road trips, so this is the real deal. For my first road game to be a big rivalry game and on national TV on ESPN and everything - it's going to be fun. To be honest though, I can't imagine I'll be any more excited than I was for last weekend's game at Arrowhead. But sometimes it also feels great to be hated. So I'm pretty sure I'll relish the boos and hecklers coming from the crowds.
One of my best football memories was getting thrown out of a game in high school and having the opposing fans screaming at me and throwing things at me as I got escorted from the field. They hated me so much that I knew I had gotten to them. You know you must be a decent player in order to be hated that much. So hopefully the Raiders fans will hate us that much when we leave the field Sunday. That will mean we cracked their heads open and took the prize.
Talk to you next week,
Boomer
