Where is Baquer Sayed?

Submitted by drewro02 on

I was just going through the roster on mgoblue, and it hit me that I did not see Sayed's name. I do not remember anything being said about his departure, and could not find anything when I searched. Just wondering if anyone might know what his status with the team is?

blueguard5

August 26th, 2011 at 2:07 AM ^

i swear i saw him on there at some point this summer. there is actually a documentary thats been to some film festivals and is coming to select amc theatres september 9th about his high school football team (predominantly muslim), it seems like they talk about him in it too.

Buzz Your Girlfriend

August 26th, 2011 at 3:17 AM ^

Just a guess...The whole month of August is Ramadan. He would die going through practice this month. (Not an understatement) Two-a-days, no food, no water, no way. The film the above poster is referencing is about a predominantly muslim football team that either practiced really early in the mornings (before sunrise) or late at night (after sunset) when they can eat/drink. He might have talked with the coaches about this and decided to focus on school for this year and join the team next.

BTW, next year, Ramadan goes from July 15-August 15.

Huss

August 26th, 2011 at 3:54 AM ^

As a Dearborn resident and with a huge swath of my family having been to Fordson(some knowing Baquer extremely well), I doubt his absence(If true) has anything to do with Ramadan.  Now, I've heard my friends who know him that he's still there - but I wont pretend to know for sure.  Whatever.  All I can say is the Ramadan excuse doesn't hold very well because A)most coaches are more than accomodating B)most kids usually don't have to be accomodated in the first place, there are numerous instances with Muslims practicing through two-a-days.  My brother having been one of them in college.  and C)if his plan was to take the year off, it's only going to get worse next year since Ramadan is based on the lunar calendar, and it will go back ~11 days depending on the moon.  So really, the next 5 or 6 years are gonna suck ass for us.

Oh, also D) there are quite a few Muslims in Dearborn who actually don't fast, esp. a lot in the younger generation.  But I wont presume anything about Baquer.

Just some food for thought.  Ramadan definitely has nothing to do with it.  Kids like Baquer played football their whole lives dealing with it.

Buzz Your Girlfriend

August 26th, 2011 at 4:26 AM ^

A) How are the coaches supposed to be more than accomodating for one person? Kid...lift weights after dark, but we can't move practice for 1 player.

B) There is a reason why Fordson practices at night during Ramadan, because two-a-days is friggin rough as it is, try doing it without anything in your body for energy. He could always not fast during practice days and make them up later, but ever think the combination of that + paying his own way + acclamating as a freshman would be enough to just agree with the coaches to start his eligibility next year?

C. Fall Practice is pretty much Aug 1-30, so next year he has 11 or whatever more days to be able to practice pretty easily. In that case the coaches can accomodate a little bit more. I mean yeah, the days will be longer the next 5 years before the days start getting shorter, but if you've been fasting your whole life, the summer is not that bad...its doing the athletic activities during anytime of the year that is the killer. I don't know for sure, but I would think even when Ramadan was in November several years ago that Fordson had their practices after Iftar even when the sun set at 6:15... If they didn't, then I bet a heck of a lot of parents were asking for it.

D. Valid point, but yeah, we have no idea. Obviously he fasted last year, I've seen the movie and also interviewed him at ISNA in Chicago... but who knows.

Huss

August 26th, 2011 at 5:54 AM ^

A) It's not too difficult to comprehend.  I'm simply stating that if the coach simply KNOWS so and so is fasting for Ramadan, they might not stick a dick up their ass if they put their hands on their knees to catch wind once or twice.  That's all I'm suggesting.

B) No.  Because Muslims everywhere else in the country don't have the luxury the kids at Fordson do of practicing after dark.  We adhered to the same practice habits as everybody else in high school.

C) Football is a fulltime job for any kid at a major school.  The summer is a painstaking hellhole for any Muslim fasting whether you play football or not.  I know this firsthand. 

So yeah, I obviously don't agree with this concept of delaying his development for the sake of Ramadan - because he's still gonna fast for 30 days in the heat of next summer.  And the summer after that.  2 a days or not, I just wouldn't think he'd cease participating in football activities because of this.

Mr. Yost

August 26th, 2011 at 9:29 AM ^

Umm I have no pony in this race, and don't know much about what you all are discussing. However, it SHOCKED me to read that a poster would say he'd "find a way to deal with it" and the coaches should let him go full go.

 

This is 2011. And have you ever heard of ESPN? That would be a PR nightmare no matter how you spin it. Whether it was all on the kid or not. The LAST thing we need is a kid falling out or potentially dying because he wanted to practice his religion and go through a full D1 football camp.

 

I'm down here in Orlando, home of UCF...and we STILL can't shake the death of a player from years ago.

 

I'm not speculating on why and what happened...but suggesting that the coaches should just put it all on the player is ridiculous and irresponsible. This TEAM is all about TEAM and accountability, etc. You really think a kid would stop running, conditioning, or "cheat" drills" because he's tired/thristy? How would that kid feel when his teammates are busting their asses and he's watching on the side?

 

Maybe if this is about religious practices he'll join the team when it's over? I don't know. It's a good discussion, but that one comment shocked me. As a coach, you're liable, and that's a line I would NEVER want to walk.

virgilthechicken

August 26th, 2011 at 11:41 AM ^

but it probably will not kill you. As people reference below, muslims not at Fordson go through two-a-days with no food or water regularly. Heck, last year Husain Abdullah became a starter for the Vikings after fasting through training camp!

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81a9a28b/article/abdullah-completes-ramadan-fast-takes-vikings-safety-job

Again, not saying it is easy (I'm not sure I could sit at a desk all day without something) but it is something that can be worked through.

FrankMurphy

August 26th, 2011 at 11:48 AM ^

I don't specifically know what's going on with Baquer, but typically when Ramadan falls during fall practice, players work with nutritionists on the S&C staff to design a special diet that would get them through the day. The nutritionist dictates what the player eats during suhoor and iftar (the meals that Muslims eat at dawn and dusk, respectively, to begin and end their fasts), and the player wakes up at intervals during the night to drink protein shakes and the like. Husain Abdullah of the Minnesota Vikings did this last year during training camp. It doesn't completely alleviate the hardship of going through practice without water, but it helps.

I doubt Baquer's absence has anything to do with Ramadan. This is a known issue for those of us who grew up playing sports in America, so we find ways around it.

thisisme08

August 26th, 2011 at 9:19 AM ^

damn dropping like flies...I was actually thinking he may be able to contribute at some point later in his career, hopefully he is still on the team. 

SanDiegoWolverine

August 26th, 2011 at 12:08 PM ^

Just write a short friendly email to him at baqsayed at umich dot edu. You can say you had heard really good things about him coming out of high school and we're hoping to see him on the field at some point and ask if he is still on the team.

Maybe he writes back maybe he doesn't but it's would take all of two minutes of your time.