"Excuse me, sir????"
"Huh (startled?!) ... yes?"
"Would you like a vegetable or chicken dinner?"
Still coming to consciousness, the bent-over flight attendant extends his arms toward me, his hands beneath two foiled-covered dishes. Should I question the type of vegetable in the non-vegetable dinner, or beg explanation of the chicken dinner's accouterments. I don't, I am still struggling to remember where exactly I am, and why this kindly young Indian man asking me what I would like for dinner.
"Uh.... chicken is fine. Thank you."
Woken 35,000 feet above the North Atlantic, I am handed a tray with nearly ten small dishes and what looks like an empty soft tortilla. Staring at me is my neighbor to my left, a short, overweight, dark-skinned, thick-mustachioed man. He's finished his meal, and seems to hope I choose to accept my meal, find it distasteful, and offer it to him. The aromas arising from my tray are unfamiliar to me, but not unappetizing. Why would I find my meal distasteful? I am a well-heeled traveler and know airplane food standards have made leaps and bounds from the days of microwaved meatloaf. No, my friends... I suppose my neighbor thinks I might find my meal distasteful because I am aboard Jet Airways, an Indian airline company, bound for Brussels, Belgium. Perhaps, he hopes, red curry disagrees with me.
For those who haven't already stopping reading, perhaps I should start at the beginning.
Luca Cantini, the head coach of the Reggio Emilia Hogs contacted me in early December. His team, located predictably the town of Reggio Emilia, Italy, was in search for an offensive line coach. It seemed a great opportunity to build my resume and put into action my first true coaching position, but I balked on the offer. I was determined to find a job in football in New York. I had recently moved to the Upper East Side in New York City to be closer to my girlfriend Meaghan, and the last thing I was prepared to do was pick up and move again.
Football work in was New York proving difficult to find, mostly due to my lack of contacts in the area. I was unhappy with my job at a few nightclubs in the city, and I began to reconsider the benefits of taking a position again overseas. A call from my old team, Les Flash de la Courneuve in Paris really sparked my interest. Their new head coach Dexter Davis, a former NFL player and coach, contacted me around New Year's, inquiring on my interest in the Offensive Coordinator with my former team. I was overwhelmed by the offer, and told him I was extremely interested. This call showed me my destiny might lie back in Europe, this time as a coach. Unfortunately, the Flash decided against officially offering me the position and signed a QB from the University of Georgia. The opportunity had past, but I realized the possibilities that were presently afforded to me, a paid coaching position in Europe.
I had stayed in contact with Luca, gaining insight on his team, and the small, north-central Italian city of Reggio Emilia. Luca was an extremely passionate and forthright with the positives and shortcoming of his organizations. Luca orated the Hogs were not the richest team in the largest market, but a closely-knit organization with a love for game of football that was beyond anything I would ever see. The end of January was approaching and Luca again approached me with the offer and deadline. I believed he sensed my hesitation the first time I turned him down, and repeated insisted his team needed an Offensive Line coach badly, and I would be well taken care of.
The Hogs would pay for my flight to and from Italy, as well as rent me an apartment near the city center. I would have internet, cable, a local cell phone, and a car at my disposal. I would receive a salary, but as Luca put it, we biggest benefit would be to live in the most beautiful part of the most beautiful country in the world, Emilia-Romagna. I would fly over as soon as possible to work with the team in preparing for the spring season and opening game March 20th against the Bologna Warriors.
After much contemplation, soul-searching, and other hopefully insightful thoughts; I made a decision that to many of does not seem difficult. I decided to accept Luca's offer, and I was to leave for Italy on February 6th.
So after a tough, heart-aching, see you soon to Meaghan in New York, I flew into Raleigh to collect my football possessions and re-pack for a four month trip back to Europe. Two days later, I am awoken high above the North Atlantic with a noseful of turmeric spiced-chicken and a new adventure ahead of me.
I hope you decide to join me, whether on the ground here in Italy, remotely through this blog/email.
