Special Teams

One of the funniest "opera fan" moments I've had was when I walked out of the stage door after a performance of Siegfried. In that opera, like all of the other members of The Ring Cycle, I play only sporadically. Consequently, I get to shuttle in and out of the pit quite frequently; I come in, play about four notes, and then leave for upward of 45 minutes at times. It's a nice job if you can get it. On that particular night, I was rushing to get home when I encountered a breathless very enthusiastic man (obviously a sports fan too) who said "Hey, you're the piccolo player, right? You're like special teams!" The confused look on my face must have betrayed my ignorance of the finer points of football so he went on to explain, "You know, you come in, kick a field goal and leave!" A more apt description of my job I had never heard. I have used the analogy ever since.

I believe Eli is also practicing for a career in special teams. He absolutely loves to kick (see the photos in the previous post as well); he can hardly stay still. I'm a bit worried as to what this means for when he comes home! :-)