Both of these vids are classic.
I remember Freddie.
Living in a VW van on the beach while playing NFL football? Well, he liked to surf, wanted to save his money, and wasn't, despite the ink that his lifestyle brought, trying to promote an image of himself as a kook. It's just who he was, and he was comfortable in his own skin.
Showing up at camp or home games wearing shorts and flip-flops? OK... same thing.
Showing up at a black tie and tux dinner as ordered by chain-smoking head coach Tommy Prothro, here comes Freddie into a banquet room full of teammates and coaches and their wives, all formally attired, and Freddie comes in wearing one of those tuxedo-printed T-shirts, shorts and flip-flops, and a Pabco Paint hat? Yeah, well... he had his differences with Prothro and so did everybody else. Freddie just acted on them.
Coming to the line in a tight game making mouth-noise like a dragster warming up, and then peeling out at the snap? Opposing players found it distracting. That was the idea.
On one series he missed a supposed assignment for some reason or another, and was reprimanded by his coach, Ray Malavesi. Hetries to tell MAlavesi what happened - Malavesi was having none of it. When being hollered at a second time on the same sort of play when he had played it as well as he could, we see Freddie running to the sideline, taking off his helmet and handing it to the coach and saying, "Here, Ray - you go in and play!" What are ya gonna do?
For any Freddie fan, this oration at Don Coryell's funeral is must-watch. For those who missed him as a player, it's a great insight into who he was as a player. Thanks for putting it up!
For Fred Dryer, while he took his job seriously and was very good at it, football was still a game.
