Colts TE Dallas Clark Blog-August 28
Camp was great this year. It went fast, and I think we got a lot out of it, but it's nice to be back here in Indy. Terre Haute is a great place for us to have camp, but it's great coming back home and sleeping in your own bed instead of a dorm room. Nothing beats coming home to your family.
Another good part of being back was this past Monday night when Peyton had his charity bowling event. No one really has a bowling event, so it's different. It's not your typical golf outing, and it's so much fun. Peyton brings in a lot of great celebrities that give their time and help the cause. And I think the people have fun, watching and seeing how untalented some people look at the bowling alley, and I definitely was one of those looking not so talented. I bowled a 115 and a 108. It was so embarrassing, but the good thing is I wasn't the worst one there. My bowling group, I had the Enterprise Rent-A-Car company in my lane, and we had a great time. We weren't competing for the top prize or best score, but we had a good time, and it was great to help out with such a great cause.
Peyton's foundation is unbelievable. He raises a lot of money that goes to a great cause. It's truly remarkable. It's a testament to him as a person and to the city, how it supports him and his foundation. As a teammate, that's the big thing where you always try to help. Several guys have outings, whether it's a golf outing or a dinner, and you always try to support each other because having your teammates there is huge. I have a Make-A-Wish Foundation dinner that's coming up in October, and when my teammates come out and show support, it's a great feeling. And it's nice because it gives people a chance to meet us in a non-football setting and really get to hang out, see that we're just normal people and we do things in the community. It's great to be out there and to give back, whatever cause you're helping. We as professional athletes are so blessed and have been given such a platform; I think giving back is an important part of that.
On the field, our third preseason game is coming up. We always treat it like a regular-season game, and the whole week is set with the same schedule as if it was a regular-season game, so it gives the rookies a chance to go through the motions and go through the routine at least once before the first regular-season game. It's a great practice for them, and it gets us veterans back into the groove of things. The first group is going to play into third quarter, so that gives us a chance for some different situations, to experience a full half and come out afterwards and make some adjustments. It's kind of hard to make adjustments in the first couple of preseason games because you're only in for a couple of series. In this one, we should get a good feel. We've been preparing for them all week just like a regular game, so it feels no different. It gives us a gauge as to where we're at, even with conditioning, to see if we're tired and we need to run a little more during practice, whatever the case may be. This week makes you realize the preseason is winding down. We have two games left and then the real fun begins.
I will keep updating you every couple of Fridays here throughout the season. GO COLTS!
