First, let me start by saying I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. I know that times are tough for many people these days but I hope that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy some quality time with their families. Since my brother is on the Bengals, my family is coming to town and we’re going to have Thanksgiving dinner here in Cincinnati.

Second, thanks to JSprague24 and Yukon for your comments on my last post. It makes it much easier to write when I know people are interested. I think after JSprague24’s comments a trip to the Caribbean might be in order. As for Yukon, thanks for the hunting recommendation. I’ve actually been hunting quite a bit over the past year and it’s been a great way for me to relax. If you ever make it out this way, Waynesville, Ohio is a great place to go. The Game Warden, Alan Wright has hooked me up with some great farms to hunt. Here is a picture of some land that I hunted on a few weeks ago. For all the pros out there, I love to hunt with my Mathews bow.

While on the subject of hunting, one thing that I think surprises a lot of people is that there are a bunch of athletes that like to hunt. I learned last year that Joe Jurevicius (Cleveland Browns, WR) and John Howell (ex-Tampa Bay Buc, S) love it so much that they own about 60,000 acres of land in Nebraska. They have a nice hunting lodge and you can hunt elk, bison and deer. I haven’t been out there yet but it’s an experience I look forward to one of these days. If you’re interested check out this link. Joe once told me that one time he was big game hunting in Africa and he got charged by a huge black rhino. He said it was like a Chevy Tahoe driving full speed at him. Fortunately, he used his football skills to get away. That’s probably part of the reason why my wife hasn’t okayed a big game hunting trip for me just yet!

Dikmench7 asked a good question last time about how close we players are to each other. Truth be told, we’re really close, even though we might not be on the same team - see pic above of Oscar Lua (New England Patriots), Keary Colbert (Carolina Panthers), Frostee Rucker (Cincinnati Bengals), me, and DeShaun Foster (San Francisco). At the end of the day, we might not like the other team we’re playing and we want to win as much as we can but we are, when it comes down to it, playing a game. When players get hurt or something bad happens on or off the field, we all put ourselves in that person’s shoes and realize that it could have easily happened to us. Football is a great game that brings people from all walks of life together and I appreciate that about it. Each and every one of us has been booed, cheered, injured, challenged and the common thread we have is football. I’ve made great friends on the Bengals and across the league and I’m very fortunate for that.

Plus, as with most competitive businesses you have a mutual respect for your competition. I respect and admire the way Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and countless others play the game. I still want to beat them when we play but I can appreciate a throw or catch or hit when I see it. For example, when my former Trojan teammate Matt Cassel threw that TD pass with :03 seconds left, I was completely fired up for him. It was one of the best passes I’ve seen thrown in a long time. And I think the mutual respect is a feeling that most guys share around the league.

Lastly, to answer pcary’s comment about sharing rooms on the road, I am fortunate (as I think most Qbs are) and have my own room. To be honest, I’m not much fun the night before the game because I’m trying to get my last minute prep time in and I study at all hours. As such, the Bengals let me have my own room.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and I look forward to any comments you have. Keep them coming!

Safe travels!

Carson

Carson Palmer is the Quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals and a frequent Delta flier.