Most of you know I'm going to be traveling to Japan this weekend for 12 days, returning just in time to get Fort Awesome ready for its third Draftsgiving Day bash.
I've been telling you all that the trip is related to work, but I've gotta come clean -- The real reason I agreed to travel so close to my favorite late April holiday (screw Administrative Professionals Day) is because I've been invited to speak before the Japanese Parliament as they consider recognizing Draftsgiving Day as an official holiday.
I'm sure you're as surprised as me. You're saying, "Capt. Awesome, why should I really believe that the Far East has any interest in a sport they never see live and have no athletes in? C'mon."
First off, I can't hear you through this computer unless you have VOIP, which you don't, so stop talking to the screen. And lose the attitude.
Second, the NFL has held exhibition games in Japan 13 times over the last 20 years, 12 times in Tokyo (including in 1993 when the Eagles brought Rich Kottite overseas, lost to the Saints, and for some reason brought him back to the Saints). And no Japanese NFL stars? Are you pretending like WR Noriaki Kinoshita didn't light it up in NFL Europe last year? Did he or did he not lead the league in kick return yards?
The fact is it's only a matter of time before Draftsgiving becomes a worldwide phenomenon, embraced by all cultures and nations (except for those lousy Cowboys fans, who only care about peddling evil and strife). Already, if you type Draftsgiving into Google you get hundreds of different hits worldwide -- just look at this screencap.
Tomorrow, I'll post some basic rules for celebrating the holiday so you can start to prepare your own Draftgiving Day commemoration, and hopefully I'll find time between meetings with Japanese royalty and politicians to keep up with the postings.
Until then, start praying the Eagles don't take another undersized defensive lineman.
2 comments:
Judging by that classic football movie, the Replacements, Japan could become the greatest exporter of offensive linemen the world has ever known. Could you imagine a line of sumo wrestlers? As they say in the Replacements, those guys are trained to push people around.
Of course, we'd probably have to work on their foot speed to keep the defense from just running around them. Fortunately, it is a long way around.
Good luck with the hard sell, cap!
You're going to Japan? When did we invade, err....liberate Japan?
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