Show e i P CE st AR as the late William WilliamW IWAR W Tecumseh Sherman said Is IskU isbell At least it Is around 97 per kU hep bell hell But here and there it also cent something on the better side In In Inthe the course of a recent tr transcontinental trans- trans Continental trip Ive I've discovered one helpful factor from than a dozen more nore lore football coaches Headed by Curly s Lambeau of the 3 Ott Green Bay Packers Pack- Pack all aU tell me ers they r squads have their in reported ported in far better bet- bet let ter physical shape and all have a much r keener spirit than a football ever has known before Grantland Rice In bt the h e first fi r s t place Curly says most of them knOW they will be In hi war service joon soon Most 1 of these men are married married mar mar- ried with kids to look after But In Inthe Inthe Inthe the grim game ahead of us they are arean ill sp looking forward to doing their full fall share In the second place they all have more than a few pals now in some active branch of war service They know the sacrifices these men have bad had to make They know the harder row tow they have had to face And so their pride has made them stick closer to simpler living and the way of f life that would leave them ready when needed Then and Now Ive had linemen Curly says who would report at pounds I These men now come In at or 25 They are ready to go Others flo rho ho were from 10 to 20 pounds oversight overweIght over over- weIght sight in other seasons reported at shout the same weight they knew alter a hard year last winter Practically all of these men have km bem keeping in shape for months Maybe that isn't much to ask but it at least it is something It may be bemore bemore bemore more than many others are doing who haven't been called This is all a new sign of the times Lambeau continued It means we are going to have from now on a far better conditioned set of men It means th that t millions of ofus ofus ofus us realize the old soft days das are over It means a big jump in national fitness And I think weve we've needed this lesson Life as we knew it had been pleasant But has it been physically physical physical- ly helpful Haven't we had too many lany of our people who led soft lives physically who took poor care of their bodies Who drank too much Who ate too much Who took little exercise And so died well before their due time I think so So do most of the coaches and trainers who have seen men report from 20 to 40 pounds above the weight they should carry And this goes for almost every part of our people A New Age With the expected exceptions Curly carried on we are coming into a new physical age for the young and the middle aged even aged even for thos those past 60 They all read about and know about the rigorous training of the Commandos the Naval Cadets the Parachutists the marines the soldiers soldiers soldiers sol sol- sol sol- diers and sailors Here we have a war that really means the survival of the fittest Fittest of course means brain and spirit as well as body But please dont don't forget the big part that physIcal physical physical phys phys- ical fitness plays in stamina and endurance endurance endurance en en- durance especially This is why I still insist this country needs all the competitive sport it t can get And that is why I know that football plays and can Play a l big part in this program Football means physical fitness body contact alertness spirit sacrifice sacrifice sacrifice sac sac- team play and the ability to carry on when you are either hurt or arnost out True Condition Every football coach Ive I've met feels the same way about the situation Ive I've jve seen any number of young college college college col col- lege stars report for training when they were in no condition for a pillow pillow pil- pil low hw fight But it if takes no great amount of brains for them to see they are facing fac- fac lag ng a new age age age-a a different world Before too long they will be flying above strange seas using the bayonet bayonet bayo bayo- net handling a tank or swimming in to oil-fired oil water Their best bet chance against the odds Is to be trained and fit for what they have to face What will happen to sports in ant another an- an t j other year is another guess It may move into a blackout i Umpires But the main idea is to get from hard ard competitive sport all we can i i at the te moment so that other millions milI mil mil- I lions called at I least ast will be partially ready hadY for the job ahead I believe believeth the majority of those in hi sport have haveIS th this IS understanding Those who haven't can be listed with the beau- beau I and tiM the damned There has been a tradition In baseI baseball baseball base- base I ball all that aggressive teams are those 9 which attack the umpires This tradition tra- tra dl on is all wrong |