It's hard to believe my first full season covering the Legends Football League Chicago Bliss was ten years ago. Defensive back Dominique Collins was the first player I interviewed at a game. Now the league is the X League, the Bliss is the Blitz and DC is married with a family in Texas.
I had so much fun covering the team. DC was always great for interviews or even just fun chat. Head Coach Keith Hac always made me feel welcome. Sometimes he even incorporated me into practices.
I have heard folks say I was lucky to be around beautiful women. While it is true they were beautiful, they were legit players. Coach Hac treated them as players. They ran plays. They blocked. They tackled. This was every bit as much football as any team I have covered.
A couple years later, Matt Pike was added to the staff as a quarterback coach. Pike had been a starting quarterback at Purdue University.
I happened to run into Matt and DC while I was covering a Northwestern game. They were on their way into the game and I was getting pictures etc. for my coverage. We had a few minutes to catch up.
It's been a while since I covered the team regularly. I had such a good time and will always look back fondly at DC, Hac, Pike and the rest of the team. Thanks for the memories and I hope to run into more Bliss folks.
Matt Pike, Dominique Collins and me in Evanston, IL-November 2017.
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