| | By Doug Brien
Special to ESPN.com
Editor's note: What is life in an NFL training camp like? Kicker Doug Brien takes you inside the camp of the New Orleans Saints with his weekday diary for ESPN.com.
Thursday, July 20
THIBODAUX, La. -- One of the things I enjoy about training camp is
getting to know my teammates better. Spending a
month living in the same dorms, eating in the same
cafeteria and training in the same weight room
gives you the opportunity to get to know the real
person behind the teammate. You also get to see
some of their quirks, which are often interesting. It's
kind of like the string of TV shows: "Survivor," "The
Real World" and "Big Brother," only NFL style.
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| Brien |
After only about five days I have noticed some
interesting traits of a few teammates. This morning
when I was in the locker room showering after lifting
weights, I noticed Jared Tomich making a cup of
coffee -- rather frantically. Just when I thought he
was finished, he poured ice water into the brew. I
jokingly said to him "Are you some kind of caffeine
freak or something?" He looked me straight in the eye
and without hesitation said, "Oh yeah, totally!" I asked
him what the ice water did. He said that ice water
cooled the coffee enough so he could pound it. I
then asked him how many cups he drinks a day and
he told me roughly three or four. I have known Jared
for three years now and I had no idea he was a
coffee fiend.
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One of the things I enjoy about training camp is
getting to know my teammates better. Spending a
month living in the same dorms, eating in the same
cafeteria, and training in the same weight room,
gives you the opportunity to get to know the real
person behind the teammate. ” |
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A couple of days ago in the cafeteria I learned
something else. After I had gotten my food I was
waiting in line to get a drink behind Ricky Williams. He
put some ice in a cup and then added orange juice,
grape juice and finally apple juice. It looked
disgusting. When I asked him about it he told me
that it was good, so I tried it. Low and behold, it
wasn't bad.
Just think of things that I would miss if it weren't for
training camp! Now I know if I need to get on Jared's
good side (if you ever see him in person, you will
know what I mean -- he is rather imposing at about
285 pounds with a bald head and a goatee), I can
offer to buy him a coffee. Or if Ricky is down because
he only rushed for 150 yards, I can cheer him up with
his favorite fruit drink.
Material from kicking.com.
Visit Doug Brien's web site at http://www.kicking.com
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ALSO SEE
Doug's diary: Enjoying southern hospitality
Doug's diary: No rest for the weary
NFL Training Camp 2000
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