Sweatin' to the spirit by Richard Simmons

By RICHARD SIMMONS - 08/28/05 - For the Journal-Constitution

I grew up in New Orleans, and, as in most of the South, football was like a religion. I attended Brother Martin's High School, which, of course, had its own football team. In case you're wondering if I was a member of the team, what are you guessing that for? Oh, sure, I attended a lot of games, but my biggest concern was seeing how many hot dogs I could devour before halftime.

My brother, Lenny, was much more athletically inclined than me. In fact, when he attended Tulane University, he was manager of the football team.

He'd often invite me to attend practices, and I even attended some of the big games on Saturdays. I remember the tension that filled the air as Tulane inched the ball closer and closer to the goal line until ... touchdown! The crowd would go wild! I always got a kick out of that.

In New Orleans, besides Mardi Gras and food, football ruled! Hey, the city built a huge palace for the sport smack in the middle of downtown.

It's no big secret that during my early years, I was shaped more like a football more than I could actually play the sport. Oh, sure, I dreamed of someday losing weight and being able to play. I checked, but being able to consume a banana split in two minutes at Woolworth's lunch counter did not classify as a competitive sport.

Still, I have to admit how much I enjoyed the spirit of football. It began with the fans and their infamous tailgate parties. Believe me, you haven't tailgated, really, until you've attended one in Louisiana.

The fans were one thing, but the spirit of the team was another. That's where football has played an important role in my life. I admired how all the team members got together and did what they had to do. On the field and off, they were more like a family than a team. Each member knew the job they had to do to keep scoring and winning.

After I saved my own life by losing weight, then made it my life's work to help others do the same, the things I learned from watching Tulane's football team have played a role in the way I teach now.

Teamwork is so important, whether it's a college football team, an aerobics group sweatin' together at my studio in Los Angeles or one lady sweatin' to an exercise video at her home in Marietta. You've heard of an "Army Of One," right? Well, sometimes we have to be a team of one, especially when it comes to losing weight and being as healthy as those young guys tossing those pigskins around on Saturday afternoons.

Go, team, go!

New Orleans-born Richard Simmons of "Sweatin' to the Oldies" fame is a fitness guru.