I played in two national championships at Syracuse University. We practiced carb loading at catered pregame meals four hours before the face off. Before a 1 or 2 pm game the breakfast menu included an abundance of pancakes, danishes, fresh fruit, particularly bananas and oranges, and all kinds of juice. The table also included eggs, bacon, and sausage which I stayed clear of because they were hard to digest and made me feel sluggish while competing. Our head coach, Hall of Famer, Roy Simmons Jr., played lacrosse at SU in the 1950s with another Hall of Famer, Jim Brown. The eggs, bacon and sausage on the menu represented food rituals from their playing days when experts championed protein at the athlete's optimal fuel.