Blog Entries:   Sunday, December 3, 2006- Afternoon “Comin' Up BIG” “Big Scene, Big Dreams!” Scooting around the awe-inspiring complex here at Disney's Wide World of Sports, fans can see why this is an ideal place for athletes, at whatever age, to live out their “BIG” dreams. For starters, each year this 220-acre facility (that's right, nearly 47 square miles of sports paradise) plays host to over to over 170 amateur and professional events! And, guess who ranks “Number 2” behind only pro baseball as the biggest draw at Disney's Wide World of Sports?? You guessed it…”Pop Warner Football, Cheer & Dance”. Whether I'm walking across one of four beautifully-groomed football fields to interview team coaches at the end of a great game, or stepping onto the immaculate outfield grass of the major league ball park where the Atlanta Braves play their spring training home games, or sitting in the stands at the 10,000 seat “Milk House” Arena at the center of the complex watching an expert Disney's WWS facilities crew engineer the floor for this week's Pop Warner Cheer and Dance Nationals, I can tell why athletes and fans alike get jazzed by how “BIG” this place really is. No wonder they call it “the home of exhilarating experiences which ignite passion and fuel the spirit.” To put it simply, if you can't get pumped about being here, check to see if you still have a pulse! “Big Seasons, Big Hearts” “What's your record this season?” You hear that question from one fan to another as you file into the stands for the afternoon slate of games today. The answers are mostly the same “ We're 12 and 0”, or “We're 14 and 0”. Rarely do you hear an “11-1” or “12-2”. That figures. I mean the teams that make it to Pop Warner's Super Bowl Week are all BIG winners. Just imagine, of some 8,000 Pop Warner football teams that start the season in late August, these “64” teams have emerged as the very best in America. I talk to Jon Butler – Executive Director of Pop Warner about this fact and he tells me , “At our Coaches Meeting last night, I reminded everybody that they are already ‘winners', and that regardless of the outcome of any game down here, 5, 10 or 20 years from now, their kids won't remember the score, and sometimes even who won and who lost. What they will remember is the experience. We all want to make sure that it's a great experience. That's why all our coaches and team parents and fans need to step up BIG and make sure they display the values and sportsmanship that Pop Warner is all about throughout their entire stay at Disney's Wide World of Sports.” Amen to that, Jon! Pop Warner Super Bowl Week is, first and foremost, a great “learning experience” for young student/athletes. And, if today's games are any indication that coaches and their teams have taken Jon Butler's words to heart, then this is going to be a banner Super Bowl Week for all of Pop Warner. “Big-Time Plays, Big Time Sportsmanship” This afternoon's football action included the “Battle of the Beltway” between Baltimore-Washington area Midget D- I juggernauts Marshall Heights and Dale City . The Marshall Heights Bison's Andre Ford is one of the most respected coaches in all of Pop Warner. Through his job with the U.S. Post Service, and his dedication to youth sports, Coach Ford reaches out to help parents and teachers in Marshall Heights, Maryland to connect with young men “Big Time” . It's no surprise to anyone who knows Andre Ford that Bryant Gumbel and HBO Sports did a feature story on thre Marshall Heights Pop Warner program a few years back. You see Andre Ford has never been a man to accept the idea of “close enough” whether in school, sports, family or community service. His ability to instill a sense of purpose and possibility, and the value of hard work and determination, in each and every player who's been lucky enough to work with him makes Coach Ford an inspiration to his team and to the Pop Warner Family nationwide. That Marshall Heights signature of “hard work and determination” was on display in full-form today as the Bison rolled to a 28-0 win over a tough Dale City Tiger team. Man alive, that Bison blazing speed on sweeps, and in off tackle counters, was something to behold! And “passing ?” Well… “Jump back, Jack!” These dudes can connect - air-mail express! I asked Coach Ford about how he kept the Tigers defense off balance this afternoon. “ ‘Speed' is what we're all about. Speed to the outside allows us to set up our passing game. Also, we had the depth on them today. We could put in more fresh players. That's a good Dale City team. We just wore them down.” The late afternoon game between two more Midget powers – the New Haven, CT Steelers and Palmetto, FL Raiders proved to be cliffhanger. I mean, this one went right down to the last second, and then-some! With the score knotted at 8-8 at the end of regulation play the lights were turned on from the big towers overlooking the Field # 4 , and we went to a “Kansas City Shootout” format. The winner would move on to play Marshall Heights in the next round of the week's quest for a Division I Midget National Championship. “So, how does this ‘Kansas City Shootout' work”, fans asked each other. Well, you see when two teams are tied at the end of regulation, they go to an overtime format that allows each team to go on offense from the other team's 10 yard line. Whoever scores the most points (by field goal, or touchdown, or extra point after a touchdown) wins the game. If they both score the same amount of point in the first overtime, then they go to a second overtime. Actually, about four or five years ago, I remember the Midget Division I Championship Game between Alaska and Marshall Heights went to “four overtimes” before the Bison managed to win it! Anyway, so in this game, New Haven won the coin toss and went on offense first. On the first couple of cracks at a score, they ran the ball to the Palmetto five yard line. But, on 3rd and goal to go, they fumbled and Palmetto recovered! Okay, so now it was the Raiders chance. In two tries they hammered the ball down to the seven yard line of the Steelers. Then, on a third down play that was reminiscent of last year's NCAA National Championship between Texas and USC, Palmetto's quarterback took the snap and sprinted out to his right. The Raider blockers cleared the way and he sprinted into the end zone for the winning score! A great win for the Raiders and a tough loss for the Steelers. But, the very best part of this game? It was watching and listening to all the fans, players and coaches AFTER the game. People from both sides were standing and applauding both teams. Players and coaches were hugging each other, congratulating each other on what a lot of folks will remember as one of he best games ever played at a Pop Warner Super Bowl Week. Yep, sounds like New Haven and Palmetto took Jon Butler's words to heart….”Years from now, it's not the score…it's the ‘experience' that they will remember” There's something about that last game of the day at Disney's Wide World of Sports. As the field-lights play over the grass, fading sunlight bathes the arching stucco walls of “The Milk House”, and crimson cumulus clouds drift over the complex, you know what dreams are made of…Pop Warner dreams, Disney dreams. “Comin' up BIG!” That's what I'M talkin' about. More of Bob's blogs soon…