From the "Oh-Do-I-Wish-I-Had-Thought-of-This-First" Department comes the combination - the collision, if you will - of two of the greatest parts of life. As John Madden would say, "Here, see, we got a football game. There's the eleven guys and this big, green field and everything and they're playing football. And then - BOOM! - there's a pigeon and, y'know, that pigeon, he's gonna play football in the National Fooball League."Read all about it, including what I believe is an exclusive interview with the pigeon and his spokesman, Mo Willems, at Football Outsiders, a site highly recommended by yours truly.
Football. Children's books. My basement is a shrine to both at once. How many people can claim that? (I'm counting hands ... let's see ... there's me ... and, uh ... the resident seven-year-old's got his hand up ... so that's ... two. Me and the boy, and we share the same basement.)
And really, honestly, if the pigeon was going to play in the NFL, what other team would he join? (I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be too happy with that video's caption, either.)
The Autumn Wind is a Pigeon
Blustering in from sea
With a rollicking song he sweeps along
swaggering boisterously
His face is weather beaten
He wears a hooded sash
With his silver hat about his head
And a bristly black moustache
He growls as he storms the country
A villain big and bold
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake
As he robs them of their gold
The Autumn wind is a Raider
Pillaging just for fun
He'll knock you 'round and upside down
And laugh when he's conquered and won.
