Photo By Spc. Douglas York | Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond (right), a native of Hattiesburg, Miss., the commanding...... read more read more
By Spc. Douglas York
Multi-National Division-Baghdad Public Affairs Office
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – The college football bowl season kicks off soon, with the Naval Academy setting steam to broadside the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the inaugural "Eagle Bank Bowl." Perhaps fittingly, the game will be contested in Washington, D.C. Talk about home-field advantage for our Navy brethren.
While that contest is sure to inspire millions to attend and tune in, the Ironhorse Division's College Football Pick 'Em championship has been declared. We decided to call the "Doc" to see if he could help resuscitate the excited winner – only to find out, it was him.
That being settled, we called upon the division's official quarterback to present the "Doc" his new prized possession.
"I want to present David Ristedt with one of our 'Number 4' jerseys," said Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, commanding general for Multi-National Division – Baghdad and 4th Infantry Division, as he presented the highly sought after #4 jersey to the Ironhorse Division's own Lt. Col. Dave Ristedt, who claimed top honors after displaying his prognostication capabilities consistently through the hotly contested season.
"I'd like to say this was the jersey worn by John Cena of the World Wrestling Entertainment; if you remember right, he held one up [at a recent event] and said 'Infantry, Infantry, 4th Infantry' – but we decided to get you a fresh clean one," he quipped.
Hammond, a native of Hattiesburg, Miss., said he was happy to present the jersey to Ristedt, the Division's surgeon, who is a native of Logansport, Ind., even if the "Doc" barely edged him out in the final standings.
"David knows more about football than me," said the former University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles quarterback. "As you can see, you beat me in the picks' [point-standings], huh?"
After the CG's question, Ristedt quickly deflected the praise and chalked his win up to 'luck.'
"I got lucky," Hammond responded. "Actually, I threw darts; that's how I picked them," he joked.
Banter aside, Hammond was quick to offer praise to Ristedt for his victory.
"Congratulations. This is well deserved," Hammond said. "Our great, great Division surgeon," he added, while those in attendance applauded.
"Sir, I'd like to thank my mother as all great athletes do, and my boss for the inspirations," said a smiling Ristedt.
After giving the CG a little ribbing and sharing a brief exchange, Ristedt was then asked to use his picking expertise to decide who this year's national champion would be.
"We really want to put you on the dime," Hammond said. "Who will win the national championship this year?"
"It's going to be Florida 45 to 40," Ristedt replied.
Ristedt said he believes head coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators will defeat Bob Stoops and his Oklahoma Sooners in the Bowl Championship Series Championship Game Jan. 8. After another brief exchange, the two again shook hands and Ristedt parted with his prize.
"I think the jersey's great; it's definitely going to go up in my house as something to display," Ristedt said, adding that although he doesn't normally get involved with pick-'em contests, being here in Iraq made it seem like a "fun thing to do."
"I do like to occasionally get involved in the bracket contests," he said, such as those that pop up during college basketball's March Madness. "I like to fill out the brackets and then follow it as it goes along, so it's kind of fun to do that."
Even though the contest he won this time was different than the bracket-type contests, he said it was just a lot of fun to compete with his fellow Ivy Division teammates.
"It was actually a lot of fun to try and do this every week," Ristedt said. "Some teams were quite frustrating, but it was still a lot of fun to do this."
Good-times aside, Ristedt actually employed a degree of "magic" to try and win.
"It was kind of interesting because I found out really early, especially with it being college, that there is a strategy to doing this," Ristedt said. "The home team's usually worth at least a touchdown."
He continued that if all else was equal, such as records and team personnel, he would always give the edge to the home team because of the raucous fans or even to schools with a more prestigious history and reputation. Prestigious reputation not withstanding, another aspect of the contest that wasn't lost on the winner was that he also learned a thing or two about a few little-known teams.
"It kept me a little bit more interested," Ristedt said. "There were a lot of [mid-week] games that were usually out of the lesser conferences," adding that by having games involving these teams made him at least keep track of those teams' records which, in turn, brought out the fan in him even more.
"I get pretty into it. When I was at [the University of] Arizona, I went to almost every game," said Ristedt, a 1990 graduate. "I actually liken college football to European soccer because of the way the crowds are."
After being declared the new champion of the world, well, make that the division headquarters, he thanked the command group for his prize and his fellow competitors for joining him in the fun venture, adding that although the jersey is a really wonderful prize, it was truly the spirit of competing that matters most.
"I'd just like to say thanks to the Command Group for the prize," he said. "It is nice to know that we had several people who stuck it out throughout the rest of the year and totally participated up to the end. I am just fortunate to have come out on top."
Here's to hoping that this competitive 'Steadfast and Loyal' spirit carries through the upcoming college football bowl game season and many regular seasons to come!
| Date Taken: | 12.12.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2008 01:05 |
| Story ID: | 27557 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 305 |
| Downloads: | 267 |
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