Frank Reich is a podium guy, even on video calls.
The Indianapolis Colts were among the teams who began offseason activities remotely this week, and the team's social account offered a peek inside the unconventional program.
In the 54-second video, Reich begins by greeting some players and staff (close to 100 in total, according to Reich) while waiting for the majority of the group to join the call, telling guard Quenton Nelson -- appropriately wearing a tank top -- that he's "looking good there."
"Thanks bro, appreciate it," Nelson replied.
There was a question about beverages being consumed during the meeting -- "green juice" -- before Reich decided it was time to get down to business. The coach moved from webcam to podium to deliver his opening speech, punctuated by his ringing of the symbolic bell.
"We're going to work, men," Reich told his team. "We're respecting the environment that we're in, the virus, and not only are we going to do our part to take care of ourselves, we're going to do our part to take care of our families and other people, right? It ain't gonna stop us from where we want to go. It's not gonna stop us from getting better. It's not gonna stop us from uniting as a team. We're going to use every avenue that we can to get better, to get closer, even in these unique circumstances."
Teams are navigating unprecedented circumstances just as the rest of the world is, and they're attempting to conduct business far from each other. In what is traditionally a sport built on camaraderie, closeness and a common understanding of the task at hand, these players and coaches are instead attempting to replicate that virtually.
For anyone who has ever sat in a meeting room to start a period of training, or even anyone who's ever caught the first episode of a season of HBO's Hard Knocks, watching this has to feel a little different. But at this moment in time, the work also has to feel a little bit relieving, for it's a semblance of normalcy in a world currently lacking it.
