Temple University Athletics
Travis Manger Blog: May 20
5.21.08 | Football
Senior Travis Manger (Newtown, Pa.) is concluding his academic career at Temple University. The tight end has shared his thoughts twice each week about classes ending, final exams, and graduation. His final blog will appear on Friday.
May 20, 2008
This is weird. It's two days before graduation, and I'm printing out a syllabus. That shouldn't be happening. Didn't I just finish finals less than a week ago? This year there is only a four-day break in between the end of finals and the beginning of Summer Session I. Last year, I remember having a little over two weeks to relax before summer school started. It was so nice getting away from school for a couple of days, but now it's back in swing.
I had my first Yoga class on Monday. I'm looking forward to it, because I've always heard good things about the practice. It's supposed to help big time with flexibility and stress relief. Two of my former teammates were also in the class-- Adam DiMichele and John Haley. In the first class the professor talked about the class and what we were going to be doing and what we would learn. She also made sure to mention that just because it was a two credit class in Yoga doesn't mean it's going to be an easy "A." This morning, we had our first real class, and WOW, am I sore. At the end of every football workout we always do five to 10 minutes of abdominal work that is never very fun. Well, this felt like 80 minutes of that. My neck, shoulders, calves, hamstrings, and core are all sore right now. I can tell this will be a very rewarding class. In six weeks it'll be interesting to see what I've gotten out of this class.
Last Saturday we held our Junior Day here at Temple. This event generally kicks off recruiting for the Class of 2009. There were around 60 recruits and their families who attended the event. Included in the event is a tour of Lincoln Financial Field and our campus. Recruits also get lunch, provided they pay a small fee per NCAA rules. My responsibilities for the day were to introduce myself to recruits as they arrived in the Club Level of The Linc, as well as give the tour of the SAC (Gittis Center) once the activities moved up Broad Street to campus. In all, I gave the tour of the SAC four times. I'll admit, the first time I was a little nervous, but there are not many times where you're going to be talking and 50 people, including Coach Golden, are listening to you. I'm used to the other way around where we're all listening to Coach.
Despite the pressure of trying to make an impression on the recruits, it was a lot of fun. I enjoy talking to recruits, especially about Temple. One kid told me he had expected nothing before he arrived, but at that moment he was blown away by what we're doing here. The event culminated in Beury Hall where the recruits and their families were shown our 2007 team highlight video. Made by Fran Duffy, it is one heck of a video. I know he put in some strenuous hours putting that thing together, and man, does it show. It gives me with goosebumps every time.
The Junior Day was fun, but it also was a very long day. That being said, I don't think I got off my couch on Sunday except to go eat! I relish days like that, I really do. Especially now with school drastically lightening up, I get a chance to catch up on reading. I subscribe to seven different magazines, ranging from Men's Health to National Geographic to Adventure to Bark (dog magazine). I also have a stack of books on my desk about three-feet high that I've been wanting to dive into all semester but haven't had the time. I'll read practically anything too; German Shepherds for Dummies and Hamlet sit next to each other on my shelf. It's always nice to get days like Sunday to relax, read, and watch movies, especially since the rest of my week is always so hectic. Yeah, school has slowed down, but this is the time of year where football coaches are most active, which is absolutely fine by me.
Well, all eight of my grades are in, and I'm happy to report that I passed that science class that I badgered on about in previous blogs. I've never been so happy to get a C before. The rest of my grades were fun, all As and B+s. All in all, they are very good grades considering the number of things I had going on this semester.
Today the graduating seniors-- Marcques Henderson, Abioye Oyeyemi (nicknamed "B"), and I-- posed for pictures with Coach Golden in our cap and gowns. Marcques is an extraordinary dude, I have to say. He's in the Marine Corps, he played football at Temple, and he's about to graduate. We simply know him as "B", but Abioye is one of the hardest workers in the weight room I've seen. He's also an excellent student. They both are. I'm definitely bringing up the rear in terms of GPA in this graduating class, that's for sure.
As of this writing, we're t-minus 40 hours and counting until commencement. As the hours have ticked by, I've started to think about the past four years and the changes I've seen in myself and my friends. To be honest, my football career went nowhere near the way I saw it going when I was a senior in high school. But you know what, that's okay. I left high school as a quarterback, and that's what I expected to play. I'm now leaving college having played tight end and long snapper. It's not what I expected, but if it hadn't happened, I wouldn't be what I am today. I also wouldn't change anything that happened to me. College, and life in general, are filled with ups and downs, but my ups have been much more significant than any down I've suffered here. I probably cherish the downs more so than the ups just because they helped shape and define my character and personality that I have today. Yeah, my playing career didn't go as I planned four years ago, but if that hadn't happened, who knows, I may not have discovered how badly I want to coach.
Travis Manger takes a load of clothes to his car.
Ah, enough of the sob stories. Wednesday night I'm hopefully off to Washington, D.C., to cheer on the Phillies. It'll be nice seeing the new Washington Nationals ballpark, which is located on the banks of the Anacostia River. Speaking of Washington, D.C., I found these two two-month old German Shepherds in a shelter in Prince George County a.k.a. Marcus Brown's territory. I've been two seconds away from dialing the number all day.
I do want to take a moment to encourage you all to check out Phil Bartocci's blog. A wide receiver, Phil is studying abroad in Rome during Summer Session I. He will be writing a blog every week chronicling his travels. Like my athletic trainer friend Max, Phil also suffers from the same chronic disease known as being a Dallas Cowboys' fan. Seriously, I've met maybe one Cowboys' fan in my life who was actually from Dallas. At least when the Eagles win the NFC East and get to the playoffs, they actually get to the NFC Conference Championship game. The Cowboys can't even get by the divisional round. If anyone should get the popcorn ready, it shouldn't be Cowboys fans, T.O., it should be Temple football fans. Sorry, I tend to get on tangents about such topics. Phil is good friend of mine, and he will be checking in from across the ocean every week. Personally, I think he's nuts for taking eight credits in Italy, especially since he's Italian. Me being German, if I got a chance to study abroad in Deutschland, there's no way I'd take that many credits. I'd take three maximum! One thing I can guarantee you about Phil's blog is that the scenery will be much improved. Seriously, I'm pretty sure you guys would rather look at pictures of him in Rome than pictures of me moving my grimy furniture out of my house!
Well, the next time I talk to you guys will be post-commencement! I hope you all have an enjoyable couple of days! Until next time Owls fans: Stay classy.
Fight, Fight, Fight for the Cherry and the White!!!
