After returning safe and sunburned from my annual summer tour of NFL training camps, I am bound by tradition and my employer’s expectations to tell you a little about what I learned. So here goes:
— I learned that there are many different beer offerings (and many places to buy beer) at Minnesota’s Target Field. I learned this because the Twins were hosting the Tigers last Tuesday and the park is three blocks from my hotel. Target Field became the 47th different Major League ballpark I’ve seen a game in, and no, that’s not a typo.
— I learned that Fong’s Pizza is the place to go in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, if you want a kung pao chicken pizza, which you definitely should. I learned this because the trip from Minneapolis to St. Iowa is now the 41st different US state I have visited.
— I learned that Bowling Green, Kentucky, is home to the National Corvette Museum, though I didn’t stop there. I was very eager to finish the last long drive of my trip on Saturday evening — 4 1/2 hours from Westfield, Indiana, to Nashville, Tennessee. Maybe next time.
I also learned a thing or two about the seven different teams I visited, because this is the best time of year for an NFL reporter to hit the road, ask questions and get a feel for how the season is shaping up for the teams. Most people are pretty relaxed this time of year. There aren’t many injuries yet. Nobody has lost a game yet. It’s a time when you can get people talking, in a relaxed environment, about their plans and expectations.
So here’s a stop-by-stop look at the soccer stuff I learned over the past two weeks on the road.
