“How about we do it Saturday? David needs to take his test, and I want to log some flight time,” Brook suggested, agreeing with my original plan.
“Dare could bring your drone, and we would make a day of it,” Tracy said.
The girls ignored the rest of us as they planned the party. It sounded like we would cook out and relax. It was too cold to do much outdoors, but I was sure we would have a fun time flying the drone. If my friends flew it, it would stress-test Dare’s effort to make it idiot-proof.
◊◊◊
For practice tonight, Coach Hope had recorded our game on ESPN. It was fun to listen to their take on our first three onside kicks.
“I’m not sure what to make of Lincoln’s game plan. Is it genius or just a gimmick?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it. Lincoln came into this game a decided underdog, and now they’re up 16 to nothing. If Broadview doesn’t figure out the onside kick, they may never get the ball. My feeling is this won’t last, though. Lincoln better get all the points they can now because I predict it’ll be a long night for them.”
“The talk before the game was how David Dawson would respond tonight. From what I heard, it was a game-time decision as to whether he would play. Dawson was involved in a serious hit-and-run collision when he was on a recruiting trip to USC. Initial reports were that he would need upwards of eight weeks to be on the field,” the color announcer shared.
“Dawson takes the snap from the shotgun. They’ve triple-teamed Wilkes, leaving just two receivers to go downfield. Dawson’s been flushed from the pocket and throws a long pass … and it’s complete to Pearson. It looks like they might catch him … no … Touchdown!” the play-by-play guy announced.
“That’s just it. Dawson has all the talent in the world. What you worry about is whether he’s another Johnny Manziel. You saw him walking in with the sign that said ‘Irrelevant!’ Then he lifts his shirt and points to his crotch. I’d be worried about what you’re getting with someone like him.”
“Bullshit!” I barked.
I was embarrassed I’d said that out loud. And I was even more embarrassed when I saw Jeff’s cameraman pointing the lens at me.
Thankfully, Coach Hope just let the recording run so I could get a chance to gather my emotions. All it took was one talking head to question your attitude, and suddenly it would be a problem. I sent Frank a text to see what I should do. He sent me one back, admitting he hadn’t seen it yet, and that he would call me when he had something for me.
I was mad because of the comparison to Johnny Manziel. His problems seemed to be that he partied too much and then did stupid things.
Frank sent me a text back to call him when I had a chance. I stepped out of the team meeting to talk to him.
“Ideas?” I asked.
“Here’s my advice: ignore it. The people who count know your character and work ethic. If you make a big deal about this, you’ll only draw more attention to it.”
“The documentary crew caught me reacting to what he said,” I worried.
“Good. It was an honest reaction. I would bet they want to talk to you later. Explain to them that you were shocked that that was how what you did was perceived. Tell them what really happened and then don’t talk about it again.”
I thanked him for his advice and returned to the room to watch the remainder of the first half. When the half was over, Coach Hope turned it off.
“I wanted to give you a chance to savor the win. That was a big one, and I want to give credit where it’s due. Coach Stevens did a heck of a job.”
Coach Stevens took a bow as we golf-clapped for him. He was confused until he saw Coach Rector smiling. Coach Rector had set it up so we could have some fun at Coach Stevens’ expense.
“By Monday, we’ll know who we’re playing on Wednesday. Word from the High School Athletic Association is that we’ll be on the road for the first game and then play at home for the rest. All-Conference selections will be announced on Monday, too.
“Have a good weekend, but not too good. I want you all ready to practice come Monday. If you need treatment, we’ll have the doors open both Saturday and Sunday morning,” Coach Hope said, and let us go home.
On the way out, Jeff stopped me, and I sat down and explained how ESPN people were the ones who asked me to display the sign. I was just carrying it to the locker room where we planned to post it. He asked me about the crotch bit. I just laughed and asked him how he’d seen it.
“I thought you were having fun and pointed at your stomach. At no point did I think you’d pointed further south,” Jeff said.
“I would never do something crude on television. If it had looked questionable, ESPN would have made me redo the intro video.”
“Our network would have. I can’t imagine ESPN allowing something they considered inappropriate to be shown during prime time,” Jeff shared and then wrapped up the interview.
