Athletes are Cheaters Too
Uncovering the secrets behind athletes and their cheat day foods.
By Matthew Nobert
Sacramento State men’s senior soccer players midfielder Paul Geyer and goalkeeper James Del Curto decided one day that rather than sitting around their home and moping about their previous game they needed to get out of the house and find a release from their stresses.
In pursuit of a Cold Stone Creamery that was no longer open, the teammates found What’s the Scoop? at the F65 center and went there after every game to talk about their performance that day.
“We both loved ice cream so we both went there and it was nice to go and talk about the game,” Geyer said. “I totally see how it helped grow our bond and relationship.”
The ice cream shop became like an old friend that always ensured that once they walked through the doors the stresses and worries of the world left their minds and only positivity filled their senses.
“I think when you’re in the team room or the coaches office and just more of a professional setting there just seems to be more of a stress factor involved with your decisions and what you you’re thinking,” Del Curto said. “In the ice cream though you can kind of just free flow and it’s kind of like that bar talk where you’re just sitting with you friend talking about the game.”
In other words, the players were indulging in cheat day foods.
Cheat day foods are more than just foods for athletes to chow down on and feel guilty about later, they are ways for them to connect with teammates, fix homesickness, and just release stress and break routine from their lives. The cheat day has become synonymous with athletes of all levels as they try and find a way to gain release from their lives full of routine and strict guidelines.
NFL quarterbacks Philip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers eat pork chops ‘n sauerkraut and dessert respectively for their cheat days. Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James subdues his sweet tooth with Fruity Pebbles.
“I think that is the whole point of a cheat day, to be able to kind of unwind and relax and detox from the game,” Del Curto said. “If that comes from a meal or playing video games, this is just perfect for us.”
Del Curto and Geyer didn’t see the need for a cheat day until they got into college and found that they needed a way to slip from under the pressure of responsibilities on the soccer field and in the classroom.
The two friends found a commonality in their love for ice cream, but both of them still had their own individual cheat foods that allowed them to go even deeper into their food therapy.
“You have your own little niches and these niches can intertwine but at the end of the day you’re looking for something to comfort you and that comes from your childhood or your past which gave you good memories,” Del Curto said.
Geyer moved to the United States from England when he was 16 and has been on the hunt for the typical Full English Breakfast with the unique black pudding, also known as blood sausage. When Geyer needs a break from the team and soccer as a whole he retreats to his grandmother’s house where she cooks up traditional English meals with beans, sausage, shepherd’s pie and so on.
Sausage pizza with ranch dressing is the go to for Del Curto, which is usually ordered up at Delish because, according, to him it’s cheap pizza (that’s) “super efficient for college.”
What makes a cheat day so special for these athletes is it allows them to escape from the hamster wheel of life and to just do something that makes them happy.
