Inside Detroit Lions Training Camp

I don't know about you, but I had long assumed that an NFL training camp session would look fairly similar to a high school football team's practice: You know, a lot of huffing and puffing from the players, sidelines littered with Gatorade squirt bottles, and a coach or two wielding a clipboard and a whistle.

And then I actually attended an NFL training camp session and realized that I was wrong.

It is more than just a practice, it is pure entertainment that is, in some ways, more fascinating than The Big Game itself. If you blink, you might just miss something, so I was fortunate that The Hubs was present to run interference for me (that's a football term) and provide an explanation for things that I thought I understood but in actuality did not.

This is my second Detroit Lions Training Camp post. (You can find my first one here.) But unlike my first post, this one provides a blow-by-blow of what The Hubs and I experienced from beginning to end as guests of head coach Jim Caldwell...

And so it begins...

Lions staff accompany Scott and me onto the field at the exact moment that players are exiting the locker room. I join the line right behind tight end Eric Ebron, the Lion's first round draft pick (and 10th overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Entering "no diet" territory 

As the players proceed to the field, Scott and I are led into a comfortable and inviting area reserved only for special guests. Complete with a canopy, flooring, and Honolulu blue tablecloths, this was the perfect place to stop...

 ...and eat. (That's Lions Executive Chef Joe Nader looking on, left.) The menu that day included gourmet chicken and lamb pita sandwiches, spanakopita triangles, chicken skewers, and Greek salad. I really needed two plates:

Here Scott and I are (with full bellies, I might add) about to head out onto the field to see the players' practice up close:

Photos, please

The field is teeming with photographers. They are E-VER-Y-WHERE. The only other place I've seen cameras with long lenses like these are when paparazzi are chasing celebrities down on TMZ. And off in the distance, yet not too far away from the field, are all the TV news trucks. FYI: Those tall silver sticks are called masts, and they enable reporters to report live on location:

The eye in the sky

Meanwhile, the Lions have cameras of their own rolling: Two videographers are holding court -- 40 feet in the air -- on cherry pickers:

Practices are recorded so that the players and coaches can break it all down later in a room that looks nearly identical to a college lecture hall.

Looking back

The view of the special guests tent from the football field. Just looking at it now makes me want another pita sandwich...

Paying tribute

Above the tent hangs this flag: In March of this year, the Detroit Lions mourned the loss of William Clay Ford, Senior, who had served as the organization's owner since 1963. In Ford's honor, Lions players will this season don a patch on their uniforms that is identical to the flag.

Thank you, Coach!

Scott with Detroit Lions Head Coach Jim Caldwell, who is just all-around awesome. While his players took a break between drills, he came over to welcome us and say hello.

Past and present

I caught Scott looking on, deep in thought, as members of the offensive line -- the position that he used to play -- ran through drills. Having walked in these players shoes for nearly seven seasons, Scott knows what these players are about to do before they do it.

In the video below, Scott gives a recap of the day's training camp session thus far...

Breathing room

Members of the Lions defensive, including defensive end Ziggy Ansah, linebacker Kyle Van Noy, defensive end Jason Jones, and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh taking a break between drills.

Just in case

Lest anyone get any ideas to run up on the players, there is security on standby.

The refs

The actual referees that call games during NFL games during the season are the same ones that attend training camp. And unbeknownst to many, these referees already have a primary job -- they are lawyers, doctors, airline pilots, and educators.

Marquee players

Detroit Lions Quarterback Matthew Stafford in action. We were literally standing a stone's throw away from him when this photo was taken...which makes focusing on picture taking rather difficult when you're constantly looking over the shoulder for a flying ball.

Similarly, Scott and I were right in the thick of it when wide receiver Calvin Johnson -- aka "Megatron"-- ran this play. I'm not even kidding when I saw him running in our direction with break-neck speed, I did the sign of the cross and said a silent prayer that I wouldn't become spectator roadkill.

No blue chips, only black ones

The Detroit Lions are among a select group of NFL teams that have installed Zebra Technologies' real-time tracking system. The system involves players wearing a tiny black chip under their should pads, which will help teams to evolve training, scouting and evaluation through increased knowledge of player performance. This chip can actually detect the speed, distance, and duration of a player's run.

Just like old times

Near the end of practice we are greeted by a very familiar face: Lions Athletic Trainer Joe Recknagel, whom we refer to as simply "Trainer Joe." Having been with the Lions organization since 1980, Joe was a part of the staff when Scott played for the Lions.

Lights, camera...

The many faces of Reggie Bush: A crush of media descends upon the running back the minute practice ends, and he handles every question like a consummate professional.

Under the rainbow

This photo, courtesy of the Detroit Lions, captures the perfect ending to a wonderful summer afternoon.

I blew my car note on discontinued lipstick

Toilet paper. Water. Cereal. Office supplies.

Buying in bulk can be a wonderful thing.

But the most coveted (and unusual) item I’ve purchased in bulk is none of the above, yet I’d bet the farm that, you, too, would have done the exact same thing I did – if you had been given the chance.

We've all been there: Faithful to a particular cosmetic item; loyal as can be. We've grown to depend on it day in and day out, and it has come through for us – pun intended – with flying colors.

Then, one day...Poof!

In comes word that said item has been discontinued. Without nary a warning. To say that the disheartening news is crushing is a complete and total understatement: You are beyond hurt and even wonder – secretly – if this shrewd, illogical business move is somehow personal. How could they: Don’t they know how hard it is to find lip color that you can wear during a night out and to the store to pick up a loaf of bread?

This happened to me…

One fine day in 2004, I ran to the MAC store in my local mall to pick up a tube of my favorite lipstick called Bronx. Bronx is – I mean, was – a taupey matte that went with everything. As the clerk plucked what appeared to be one of the last available tubes, she says to me lackadaisically, “You know, this has been discontinued…”

I heard nothing else after discontinued.

I bought out her remaining stock and then took a seat on a nearby bench to wallow in my sorrow and collect myself for fear that the disturbing news had rendered me unfit to get behind the wheel and drive home.

My next move?

I called the MAC hotline. Apparently they had some program where customers could request to purchase discontinued items from their headquarters – but only for a limited time and only on a first come, first serve basis. The sum total I spent on this lipstick is now murky, as this was ten years ago. I was single back then and had recently purchased my first home. (Read: I didn’t have a lot of play money left at the end of the month.) When the clerk rendered my total, I remember thinking, Damn, this is more than my car note.

I paid it anyway.

Three weeks later, a box containing approximately 18 tubes of MAC Bronx lipstick arrived on my doorstep, and I’ve since guarded and cared for these gems as if they were Faberge eggs.

And I’ve still got several tubes left.

Honest to God, I store them in the temperature-controlled fruit cellar in our basement. And lest anyone reading this gets any fancy ideas, I'll have you know that the area is booby trapped.