Chapter 11

I woke the next morning about seven o’clock, Ashley’s door was still closed, she must have had a real late night. I made a pot of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. I was on my second cup when Ashley appeared walking slowly, apparently feeling the effects of last night’s wine.

“I need coffee ... Badddd.” she said softly.

She poured a cup of a coffee then fell into one of the chairs across the table from me. I had to grin slightly, she was a mess. I finished up my coffee, took a quick shower, then settled in on the sofa to watch TV. Since it was Christmas day, I knew everyone would be with family, there was no point in trying to go anywhere, or see anyone. Sometime right after lunch my cell phone rang, I reached over and answered it.

“Hey Brian, it’s Courtney, what are you up to?” she asked.

“Nothing, just watching TV with Ashley.” I explained.

“Well, my Dad wanted me to call and ask you if you would come over tonight for dinner. That’s if ... um, you don’t have any other plans.” she said quickly.

“No, I don’t have any plans. I guess I could stop in for a little while.” I answered.

“Ok, see you then.” she replied, hanging up.

As I laid the phone back on the sofa, I could see Ashley giving me the eye. By the look on her face, I could tell she was not happy.

“Who was that?” she asked.

“Courtney.” I replied.

“You can’t be serious. You’re going out with Courtney again?” she hissed.

“Nope. Her Dad wants me to come to dinner tonight, that’s all.” I answered.

I could tell Ashley was not happy with the situation and to some degree I understood why. Courtney had dumped me twice before for someone else, I mean how many times does the roof have to fall on you before you get the picture? I went back to watching TV, falling asleep on the sofa for a few hours. I woke at about five in the evening, took a long, hot shower, then dressed in jeans and a tee shirt to go to Courtney’s. I left the house about six and drove straight to Courtney’s, I was relieved as I pulled into the driveway to see only their family vehicles there. I was not in the mood for another party. I rang the bell, Mr. Timmons answered quickly.

“Hey Brian, come on in, I am so glad you could make it.” he said, shaking my hand.

He ushered me into the family room and I took a seat on the large sectional sofa. I heard Courtney and her Mom in the kitchen, I guessed that they were cooking. I sat with her Dad for a while and talked until the ladies announced that dinner was served. We then moved to the dining room where the four of us had dinner together. It was a really nice meal, the food was excellent and I always enjoyed being around Mr. Timmons. I guess the fact that I had lost my Dad at an early age made me gravitate towards him, perhaps as a father figure. We finished up and moved back to the family room as the ladies quickly cleared the table. Once everyone was back together, Mr. Timmons walked over to the Christmas tree and took a small package from under it, walked over and handed it to me.

“Merry Christmas Brian.” he said handing me the item.

“You didn’t have to do this Mr. Timmons.” I said, feeling kind of awkward, I had brought nothing.

“I know I didn’t. Now open it.” he said sternly.

I carefully opened the small box, to find a polish walnut wood box inside. I turned the box around and opened the lid, I was stunned.

Inside of the box was a watch, but not just a watch, a stainless steel Rolex watch. I had no idea what to say, I was speechless.

“I can’t accept this Mr. Timmons, it’s just too much.” I said looking at him.

He held his arm out, showing me a gleaming new gold Rolex President on his wrist, a grin from ear to ear.

“This is what Santa Claus brought me for Christmas this year, very nice huh?” he answered, “Anyway, that is my original watch that I have worn for close to ten years. I don’t have a son, but I know I want you to have it, please accept it.”

I could see by the look in his face, the emotion in his eyes, he was genuinely sincere. I closed the box softly, I was still at a loss for words.

“Sir, if you ever want this back, I will understand. Just ask.” I said.

“I know you understand son, that’s why I am giving it to you.” he answered, “Now before you leave, go downtown to the jewelry store and have Mr. Weinberg, size it for you. There are extra links in the box, I already paid him for the resizing.”

“Thank you, I don’t know what else to say.” I responded.

“Now if you young people will excuse us, my wife and I are going to a friends for a few hours. We will see you guys later.” he said, getting up and grabbing his wife’s hand.

They left several minutes later, leaving just Courtney and I in the house alone. The mood immediately went from relaxed and warm to extremely awkward. We talked for a while about nothing in particular, it seemed almost like a blind date. Finally the tension got to be a bit too much, I decided to call it a night.

“I’m going to head home Court, Ashley is alone, it’s Christmas.” I explained.

“Oh ... Yea ... Sure, I understand.” she replied, jumping up.

“Tell your Dad thanks again for the watch, I still can’t believe it.” I uttered.

“My Dad loves you Brian, like you were his own son. I can’t begin to tell you about how much grief he has given to me because of how I treated you. But I deserved it, I am so sorry, I really am.” she said softly.

“It’s ok Courtney, things happen sometimes for a reason.” I answered, not really knowing what to say.

I left shortly there after, headed right home, there was little traffic on the road. I arrived home just a few minutes before nine. I locked up behind me, poured a glass of a ice tea, then went into the family room where Ashley was watching TV.

“Hey how was dinner?” she asked, without looking up from the program.

“It was very good, but ... I ... I got a present from Courtney’s Dad.” I stuttered.

“What did you get?” she asked, turning towards me.

I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out the shiny walnut box and handed it to her. She opened it quickly, I could tell she was as stunned as I was.

“Brian, this is a Rolex. You can’t accept this.” she said quickly.

“I told him that Ashley. He insisted, it’s his old watch. He got a new Rolex for Christmas.” I answered.

She closed the box shaking her head slightly, I could tell she didn’t approve. And to be fair with Ashley, I did feel really awkward taking it. I placed the box down on the coffee and sat down on the sofa for a few minutes.

“There is a movie coming on in about forty five minutes that I want to watch. I am going to take a shower before it starts.” Ashley told me.

She left the room and headed down the hall. I looked at the cable guide to see what movie she was talking about. It was a fairly new movie that I hadn’t seen yet either. I decided to take a shower quickly as well, then see if the movie was any good.

I took a quick shower, threw on some practice shorts and a tank top, then hit my favorite spot on the sofa. Ashley was still in the shower, I could hear the water running. I was almost ready to doze off on the sofa when I heard her walking back down the hall. She walked in front of the TV and over to the lounge chair next to the sofa. She was wearing a mid-thigh tee shirt, her hair pulled back off of her neck. As she went over slightly to adjust the pillows in the chair, I could see her white laced panties under the shirt. I quickly turned my eyes back to the TV as she turned and sat down. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to concentrate on the movie with Ashley sitting so close to me, those incredible legs stretched out in front of me. On top of the visual stimulation, I could smell her bath soap and lotion from where I was sitting. Thankfully the movie was terrible, at least I thought so, I excused myself to go to bed after about twenty minutes.

Before I knew it, the holidays were over and I was unpacking my belongings back into my crowded dorm room. There was an air of electricity around campus that I had not seen since my arrival. The press were camped out all over town hoping to get interviews with players or coaches about the upcoming game. The game was going to be played in New Orleans this year, which was advantageous due to the short commute for our fans. We would definitely have the home field advantage if their was one.

We practiced all week then departed by bus to New Orleans on Friday morning, arriving in the early afternoon. We were ushered past fans and reporters camped out in fornt of our hotel, all wanting autograph’s or interviews. We had been told before arriving what our schedules would be and what was expected of us. Even though we were in one of the biggest party cities in the country, we were expected to conduct ourselves properly at all times. The game would be played on Monday Night at 7 p.m., we would have one practice Saturday, one Sunday, then a walk through on Monday. Our opponent would have the same schedule. In between there were interviews, media day and fans buzzing around trying to get photo’s or autograph’s.

We were given Saturday Night off as a team, but we had a midnight curfew scheduled. As was normal the team splintered off in their own little clique’s, offense, defense and special teams. The defensive line had decided to go down the block to a world class restaurant that had invited us to dine with them as a courtesy. I tagged along, I was looking forward to the food. We had no sooner stepped out of the hotel lobby, when we were rushed by a dozen or so fans all wearing our colors. They held jerseys, footballs, pictures, and other memorabilia out hoping to get a signature. I had to quietly laugh to myself at where this game had taken me. A big goofy kid from a small town most people had never heard of, was being asked for his autograph. The coaches had warned us about signing autographs, that most people were just there to get items signed, then they would sell them online for huge profits. Very few autographs were actually for the person asking, but I really didn’t mind. Long after the rest of the guys had left, I was still signing items. I finally finished, walked down the block and met the guys who were already seated. It was uncanny at how much attention we were getting, almost like we were bigger than life.

We finished a great meal and headed back to the hotel. It was getting close to nine o’clock, the other guys were going to a local hotspot, I decided to pass. As I was approaching the hotel entrance, an unusually attractive young blonde came up to me, her eyes bright and wide.

“Hey, will you sign my jersey?” she asked with a shy smile.

“That depends.” I responded.

I saw the doorman smile after overhearing my reply to the young woman. She kind of cocked her head sideways for a second like I caught her off guard.

“Depends on what?” she finally asked.

“It depends on if you’re a true fan or not.” I answered.

“Oh ... You have no idea, I am a huge fan.” she said, once again holding out her jersey.

“Well then, I guess I will sign ... But, only if you know my name and jersey number... “ I kidded her once again.

“Brian Stevens, you’re number ninety nine.” she shot back immediately.

“Wow, I am impressed.” I responded, signing my usual scribble quickly, followed by the # 99.

“Oh my God.” she exclaimed, “My friends are not gonna believe this.” she exclaimed looking at the signature, “They told me I was wasting my time. I so wish I had a camera with me, I would love to rub it in their faces. Thank you so much, Brian.”

“No problem, my pleasure.” I answered, handing her the jersey back.

I went back inside the hotel and settled in my room for the night. Sometime about eleven the coaches did their first bed-check, I was already lights out for the night. I was at the breakfast buffet early in the morning, then went back to the room for a quick nap. Sunday morning we had our last full practice as a team, we had only the walk through tomorrow afternoon before the game. After practice, we showered and dressed then made our way to one of the huge rooms that was reserved for the media. It was their chance to get to talk to us one on one, ask questions, take photo’s.

I was amazed at the number of the local and national media that had assembled in the room. As soon as players started walking in, camera lights went on, people started shouting out questions. I was able to side step as I entered and make my way to a corner that was somewhat quiet. I had been standing there for maybe three or four minutes when a woman dressed in a business suit came up to me, introducing herself as a reporter for the local news station. She asked me all the standard questions that were expected, then thanked me for my time. During the next hour, I was interviewed twice more, once on camera, once off. I could see the coaches begin to gather us together, it was time to head back to the hotel. We climbed back on the bus and made our way back to the hotel, it was a few hours before dinner would be served. It was made clear to us that there would be no leaving the hotel tonight for any reason, bed checks would begin at ten o’clock.

We assembled as a team in the main dining hall of the hotel and was served an excellent buffet style dinner of just about every type of seafood imaginable. I definitely over ate, as did a lot of the team. We made our way back to our rooms and settled in for the night. We had team meetings in the morning, the first scheduled for nine o’clock.

The next day we had three different team meetings, lasting until close to one o’clock in the afternoon. We then climbed on the bus, made our way to the stadium, where we had our last walk through on both offense and defense. We then headed to our locker room where we would begin to get ready for tonight’s game. I quickly found my locker and was surprised to see all the gear that had been issued to us. We all had brand new jerseys, pants and helmets, along with new shoes, socks, gloves and towels. The jerseys had the National Championship Logo embroidered on the upper left front. It was about five o’clock when I finished on the trainers table, ankles, knees, wrists and thighs all taped, ready to go. I dressed quickly and at a few minutes before six, we headed back out on the floor of the stadium.

Our opponent from Ohio was already in one end zone warming up in different sections, both offense and defense. We filed into the opposite end of the field and broke off into groups as well. The stadium was maybe one third filled with fans, most milling around, taking photo’s or begging for autographs from any player who got close to the retaining walls. Sometime close to an hour before kickoff, we were ushered back to our locker room. For the next forty-five minutes our coaches implored us with every motivational tool they could think of, however we all knew what this game meant to us, the university and our fans.

We exited the tunnel at quarter after seven, the crowd erupted in at a level I had never before heard in my life. You couldn't hear a thing, not even the person talking next to you. I looked around the stadium, I couldn’t find an empty seat anywhere. Television camera’s where everywhere, camera flash’s exploding like stars in the sky.

We won the toss and as usual elected to defer possession to the second half, letting our defense take the field first, trying to set the tone. We kicked off and they returned the ball to our twenty five yard line, the defense assembled on the field. My opponent tonight was a junior left tackle, six foot four, three hundred ten pounds and was rumoured to have a real nasty streak. As he approached the offensive line for the first time, he gave me a look that I guess he thought would intimidate me, I had to laugh. As he settled into his position, I heard him grunt across the line at me.

“I’m gonna show you what’s funny boy, I’m about to get all up in your grill, bitch.” he scowled.

I knew I had to set the tone immediately, let him know from the first snap, there was no way he was going to win this war. I decided to go left shoulder, full out, regardless that it would probably be an inside run and I would take myself out of the play. On the snap of the ball, I did just that, he was woefully not prepared. I could tell he was going to try to drive block me from the color of his fingertips, touching the ground. When all of your weight is forward, the tips of your fingers turn red with the pressure. It’s a good indication what kind of block you can expect. I left him still coming out of his stance, blew past him and assisted in the tackle several yards down field. I could tell as he came out of the huddle for the second play, there was no doubt in his mind, he was no where close to having the foot speed to stay with me, I had implanted that idea on the last play. Now as he set in his stance, I saw his fingertips had not changed color, meaning all of his weight had been shifted to his heels, trying to get a jump on my rush.

They picked up one first down, then were forced to punt after failing to convert on their second third down of the night. I found a place on the end of the bench and took in some oxygen. Our offense took the field, as I regained my breath, I settled in for what I hoped would be a long drive, giving us chance to relax. I looked the down marker, I couldn’t really see the action due to the mass of players, coaches and media on the sidelines, it read third down. Suddenly a roar exploded from the crowd, I jumped up just in time to see one of our running backs dashing down the sidelines. No one in the secondary came close to catching him, he went in for the touchdown, jogging the last five yards. We kicked the extra point and took a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.

Once again the defense took the field, again we held them, forcing a punt. I had been in on four tackles to that point, two of them solo, I was off to a decent game. Our offense took the ball once again driving down the field, settling for a field goal, extending the head to 10-0.

Right before halftime, we kicked another field goal, giving us a 13-0 lead at the half. We had played really well to this point but we knew just how explosive they were, this was far from over.

We opened the second half on offense since we had deferred on the coin toss. On third down, disaster struck as we fumbled the ball at our own twenty four yard line. Three plays later they scored a touchdown cutting our lead to 13-7. Our offense struggled the entire third quarter only picking up one first down. They scored once again, taking the lead 14-13. The defense had been on the field almost the entire third quarter, you could see some fatigue setting in. We rallied together on the sideline and decided if we were going to win this game, the defense needed a few huge plays.

On the next possession our offense drove down the field but stalled out, we had to settle for a field goal recapturing the lead, 16-14. I had played well up to this point, had several tackles, had knocked the quarterback down a few times, but had no real impact play. They started the next drive on their own thirty two yard line, we knew we needed a stop right way. They picked up a first down out to our forty five, but we held the next two plays, forcing a third and eleven. I lined up wide, on the tackle’s outside shoulder, they put a tight end on my side as well. I’m not sure what happened, but someone blew an assignment, I wasn’t touched. I rounded the corner quickly, as just as the quarterback stepped up to throw, I hurled myself into his back, taking him clean off his feet. The ball tumbled backwards down field, I never saw it, but by the time I got up, we had recovered the ball on their twenty eight yard line. Three plays later we scored on a twenty yard pass, extending our lead to 23-14. It was now a two possession game with slightly over nine minutes to play, we knew another big play would probably put the game out of reach.

They came out on the next possession, lining up in shotgun formation, they were going to try and get one score quickly. For the next few series of downs, the front line went all out, trying to get as much pressure on their quarterback as possible. On third and twelve, I levelled him again just as he threw, but he completed the pass to his receiver. I could tell as he got up off the ground, he was hurting.

With a first down at our forty and roughly seven minutes to play, Coach Ray decided to take a gamble. We ran a double cross stunt up front, and blitzed both the Will and Sam linebackers. The pressure was immediate, the quarterback had no choice but to back peddle quickly and attempt a screen pass. I read the left side of the line immediately moving that way. The quarterback lofted the ball high to his running back who never saw me bearing down on him. He had just secured the ball in his hands when I hit him head on at full speed. I felt the ball roll down my arm, I knew he had lost it. At the same time, I felt five or six bodies fall on top of us, everyone in the pile fighting for the ball. I could hear the officials above us, trying to get to the bottom of the pile, pulling players off. It took a while to get to the bottom, but we had indeed recovered the ball again. The referee gave the signal, first down, our ball.

The Coach from the opposing team was livid, screaming his running back never had possession, it was not a fumble, but an incomplete pass. One of the officials on the sidelines starting talking to the other official who called it a fumble. They decided to send the play upstairs to the booth to be reviewed. Both teams took a breather while the referee was on the headset with the officiating crew in the press box. You could tell from the length of the conversation, they were having a difficult time making a clear cut decision. That was good for us, because there has to be irrefutable video evidence to overturn the call, being it was called a fumble originally on the field. The crowd was starting to grow restless as close to five minutes passed, before the official removed the headset and trotted to the center of the field and switching on his microphone.

“After further review, the ruling on the field stands, it was a fumble.” he stated to the crowd.

The crowd erupted in unison, as the opposing coaches went absolutely insane on the sidelines screaming at the officials. We took possession at our own thirty eight yard line with just under seven minutes to play. If our offense could pick up one or two first downs, there would not be enough time for them to get the two scores they needed. But in football as in life, things never go as planned. We failed to get a first down and punted the ball back to them with six minutes left to play. They took control on their own eighteen yard line. We knew they were going throw on every down, so we adjusted our personnel, adding six defensive backs, using one linebacker and our original front four. There was going to be no reading the offensive line, or back field motion. The four of us were simply going to pin our ears back and rush the quarterback giving him as little time to throw as possible. On first and second down he completed short passes across the middle but he was knocked down both times. I was getting close on every play, my opponent was simply exhausted.