"The more plays I get in the less tired I am"

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RyanChristiansen
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"The more plays I get in the less tired I am"

Post by RyanChristiansen »

"The more plays I get in the less tired I am."

This is a quote from a college player who turned pro, which I ran across in my research. On the face of it, it sounds like an exaggeration or an outright lie to be funny, but in context it sounded genuine. And I think there's something to this. Has anyone run across articles about players in the pros who say they get better toward the end of the game? I imagine for some guys, adrenaline takes over, kind of like fighting in a war zone, and as you get closer to your target (to winning), things feel easier.

On a related note, I wonder if players who play more can play more? I'm thinking about baseball as my point of reference on this. Nowadays, pitchers are in maybe a five-man rotation and they're only expected to put in five innings, and they literally can't get in more innings in that. If they try, they fall apart. "In the old days" guys would pitch in three-man rotations and pitch complete games. I read in an old newspaper article about a pitcher who was upset because he had been signed by the Cleveland Indians and they wouldn't allow him to play winter ball in Cuba. He was concerned he would lose his endurance.

In football, before substitutions and larger rosters, guys played both ways. I imagine for some of them it did feel easier as the game went on, especially if they were more fit than the other guys they were competing against.

Just some musings on a day I can't get motivated to do real work. :-)
"Five seconds to go... A field goal could win it. Up in the air! Going deep! Tipped! Caught! Touchdown! The Vikings! They win it! Time has run out!" - Vikings 28, Browns 23, December 14, 1980, Metropolitan Stadium
Reaser
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Location: WA

Re: "The more plays I get in the less tired I am"

Post by Reaser »

I've seen players talk about it in regards to injuries.
JuggernautJ
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Re: "The more plays I get in the less tired I am"

Post by JuggernautJ »

I can only speak to my personal experience on the sandlot...

We played (usually) from about 10 am until the late afternoon (sometimes until sun down) and I can really only remember one time (in almost twenty years) becoming exhausted. And it was the heat that did it, not the amount of time we played. Then, during daylight savings time we played on Wednesday nights, too. And, of course, we played both ways.

Some of it was enthusiasm and adrenaline. Some was determination. And some might have been the positions I played (at mostly Center and Linebacker I didn't have to sprint as much as a wide receiver, which I was playing on the day I became exhausted in the 100+ degree heat). And, although I played sports almost every day I can't claim to have been in anywhere near the condition of modern pro athletes...

So, I would have to say that part of it is (self) perception and, as Yogi would say, "98% half-mental."
I do think economics has a lot to do with the modern perception, especially as far as something like "pitch counts" goes. One isn't going to take any chance on a 100 million dollar player getting an injury due to "over-work" nowadays.

Specialization also comes into play. A 300 pound lineman just can't run all day (and they aren't supposed to). Players who are built to run (WRs, DBs, RBs) are probably more able to play continuously and more often.

Anyway, just some musings of my own... thanks for the trip down memory lane... and yeah, I should get back to work, too...
lastcat3
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Re: "The more plays I get in the less tired I am"

Post by lastcat3 »

It's simply endurance. People that have really good endurance can feel this way.
JohnH19
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Re: "The more plays I get in the less tired I am"

Post by JohnH19 »

I have heard many running backs say they get stronger when they get more carries as the game goes on. Of course, a punishing running game also wears down the defense which makes the ball carriers more effective.
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