By Sourena VasseghiWith Rich Finley
USCRipsIt Guest Bloggers
Well, it's been a couple weeks since I've written you. I needed a bye week myself. I decided to get out of town and go to Vegas. My old USC roommate Sami and I loaded up my van and got some much needed play and relaxing time.
Vegas is great, it's pretty compact, which allows for my wheelchair to go anywhere I want, and if I am winning at the tables, everybody thinks I'm Rainman and wants to bankroll me. After a hot streak (and if you've seen the Hangover, you know you never walk away from the table when you're on a heater...now, I never WALK away from the table period, but that's not the point), Sami asked me to play for him. Now THAT was pressure. Luckily, I turned $150 of Sami's money into $650 and we had a great time. Saw Men Who Stare At Goats by the way, funny but random movie. Thought it deserved an awkward, random mention.
Going on that trip was really good. This year has been a great one, but stressful at times too. I know all of us have readjusted with the economy, etc. So, sometimes, it's good to step away and enjoy yourself. USC football has always been a great source for that for me. When the program is rolling, you all know how wonderful it is. When we're battling injuries, and still breaking in newer people, and stumble a little, it becomes frustrating as well, because we all care so much.
But, at this time of Thanksgiving, we all have so much to be thankful for. So, in no particular order, here are a few things my writing/speaking partner Rich and I are thankful for. Feel free to e-mail us yours, we love hearing from you!
- Sourena's sister bought her first condo this year.
- Bill Belichick's arrogance was highlighted on the grandest stage in the best game of the NFL season to this point. Junior Varsity version of this goes to LSU's loss to Old Miss last weekend.
- It's good to see Brett Favre enjoying his well-deserved retirement. That enshrinement ceremony in the Packers Wall of Fame should be amazing next year...what? Really? Oh....that's weird.
- Seriously though, how amazing is it the old gun-slinger having...yes, HIS BEST SEASON at age 40! He has 21 TDs and 3 INTS....3! FAVRE! That's ridiculous. Just don't put us through another agonizing offseason, keep playing Brett.
- It's fun catching Rich saying "we" about USC when HE went to West Virginia. Just sayin'.
- We're grateful for the many professional milestones we reached this year: ESPN GameDay doing a piece on Sourena for the Rose Bowl, Sourena winning numerous acknowledgments and in particular a Man of the Year award, as well as radio, TV, and print pieces, but we also got accepted into the Washington Speakers Bureau for touring engagements, which is the most prestigious bureau in all the world.
- Grateful for the friendships that have grown this year with Trojan players, most notably Taylor Mays. The other day we were at practice and while talking to Taylor, a nice man with a sharpie interrupted us, thinking I (Sourena) wanted an autograph from Taylor. Taylor immediately just said "No, he's my friend." That made me feel incredible, because there is that fine line where you wonder if people are being kind to you and just placating you or if they are truly consider you a friend. That meant a lot to me.
- We had the honor of speaking to USC Marshall's Dean Ellis' class for parents' weekend. We just got done reading all the incredible essays written by the kids who attended. It was a wonderful experience, and we all had a blast.
- The Carl's Jr Chicken Parm sandwich. Seriously. Put down this blog and go get one. We'll wait...see? Great huh?
- The dedication of Coach Carroll is amazing to watch. Our friendship with him has grown so much. And we've been humbled enough to have some very candid and deep conversations with him about the program and life in general, and we cannot express to everyone how much this guy cares about each and every one of his players, the supporters of Trojan Nation and just people in general. While everyone always sees what a great guy Coach is, we wish everyone could see what we see when we get to talk with him about so many different topics because Pete Carroll is an even better man than he is a coach, if that is even possible.
Many blessings and Happy Thanksgiving Trojan Nation, we love you! (Now kick the stuffing out of UCLA....stuffing? Get it? See what we did there?)
• Sourena Vasseghi, a motivational speaker and writer, has addressed the USC football team on several occasions over the years. His book, "Love your life and it will love you back," is available here.
