:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47008230/Screen_Shot_2015-08-21_at_6.20.47_PM.0.0.png)
The beautiful city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, situated on the shores of Lake Michigan just north of the Illinois-Wisconsin border is home to not only the Northwestern football program's training camp but also some picturesque beaches. On Friday, those two summer staples of "K-Town" met for what head coach Pat Fitzgerald led the players to believe was an afternoon beach workout.
For reference, here's a "beach workout" the football team participated in last summer:
So, it would be reasonable to think that the Wildcats may not have had the most fun afternoon in store.
But then as only the slyest of all 'Cats can do, Fitzgerald pulled a fast one and gave his team a beach day.
They were under the impression that they had a beach workout and then @coachfitz51 let 'em know that it's an off day. pic.twitter.com/5EBL1dyc4z
— #B1GCats Football (@NUFBFamily) August 21, 2015
As captured on the program's consistently entertaining Snapchat account (@NUFBFamily), everyone was pumped, screaming and yelling, celebrating the mental liberation from what they thought would be a grueling activity.
That is everyone, except sophomore quarterback Matt Alviti.
His reaction:
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3990010/Screen_Shot_2015-08-21_at_6.20.47_PM.0.png)
He just stared straight ahead, mouth agape, emotionless. This is the stoic mindset a quarterback may need as he tries to hold off two competitors in Clayton Thorson and Zack Oliver for the starting job. Maybe Alviti wanted a beach workout. Maybe his work ethic is so impeccable he would have rather submitted himself to physical and mental hardship. Alviti was ready to work, and Pat Fitzgerald called an audible. The important think is how the young man reacts from the adversity.
Now the real question is: is Pat Fitzgerald a genius, playing jedi mind tricks on his young quarterback?
Only time will tell.