Chapter 17

Two hours later I was at thirty three thousand feet in the huge jumbo jet headed to California. For the first time in my life, I felt truly alone, hollow and empty. My plane arrived in Los Angeles at one o’clock, my driver was waiting for me outside the terminal. As we pulled out of the holding area, I received a text message on my phone, I answered it quickly, hoping it was from Ashley. I recognized the number as Courtney’s, I paused for a second, realizing the error I had made. I had forgot to call her and tell her goodbye, I felt awful. I opened the text, my eyes adjusted to the small screen. It was a short simple message.

If you must go,
Then I wish you love,
You’ll never walk alone,
Take care my love,
I’ll miss you love.

I read the words, over and over, very simple, yet so powerful. The realization hit me hard, my stomach sinking quickly, a huge lump forming in my throat. The same heartbreak I was feeling leaving Ashley, was what Courtney was feeling this very moment, several thousand miles away. I felt the tears run down my face, as I closed the phone, how could I have forgotten to call Courtney?

It was a quick trip across town to the San Diego training facility, we were there in less than thirty minutes. I was amazed at the intense amount of traffic on the roads, I was so used to small town life. As I entered the lobby of the team’s offices, I was overwhelmed at the sheer massiveness of the facility. The entry was lined in trophies and awards, pictures of past teams and players adorned the walls. I was greeted by a very pretty, young lady who was seated at the reception desk.

“How may I help today?” she said, with a pretty smile.

“I am supposed to report here today, to uh ... Coach Reed. I am Brian Stevens.” I told her.

“Oh Mr. Stevens, they are expecting you. Please take a seat, I will call someone to get you.” she replied.

She dialed a number and spoke to someone quickly, then hung up and told me they would be with me in a moment. Several minutes later, Coach Reed came through the huge double doors, a smile on his face.

“Brian, welcome, welcome. How was your flight?” he asked, shaking my hand.

“Just fine Coach, thank you.” I answered.

He asked me to follow to his office and we both moved through the double doors to the back. There were a maze of hallways and offices that were all occupied by several people. We finally arrived in Coach Reed’s office, a massive room, which was decorated much like the entry area, with memorabilia of past seasons. I sat down in one of the two huge chairs that faced the desk. Coach reed picked up the phone and made two calls asking both parties to meet him immediately in his office. Several moments later, I was introduced to Coach Mike McCluskey, who was the head coach and Dean McKinney, who was the head trainer. Both seemed excited to see me, we talked for close to thirty minutes. They had arranged a press conference for four o’clock, so they ushered me towards the media room. Coach Reed warned me that the questions would come fast and furious, the media had little heart. He also told me he would sit at the table next to me, and if at any time I felt uncomfortable about a question, tap his foot with mine and he would intervene.

He opened the door and I stepped into a large room with dozens of tables and chairs set up, a podium with a large table at the front of the room. I was lead up to the large table that was draped in the teams colors, a microphone in front of each chair. Several people were already snapping photo’s as we walked up the steps and sat down. Coach McCluskey leaned forward and began the press conference.

“Ladies and Gentleman, please may I have your attention. We all know why we are here, so let’s get right to it. It gives me great pleasure to present to you, this year’s first round draft choice, Brian Stevens.” he finished.

By the time Coach had muttered the last word, dozens of people started yelling questions at once, I had no idea who to address first. I looked over at Coach Reed, who leaned over and whispered in my ear to just point to one at a time. I pointed to a man right in the front, who seemed to get the jump on everyone.

“Brian, were you surprised that you were picked this early in the first round, I mean truthfully your name was never mentioned as a possible first round pick?” he asked.

“Yes sir, I was surprised. I had talked to a couple of teams and we really thought it would be early to mid second round pick at best.” I answered.

“Brian, is it true that you’re going to be converted from defensive end to tight end? Do you really think you can pull that off?” another guy in the second row said.

“I am willing to do anything it takes to make this team. If Coach thinks I can do it, then I can do it.” I replied.

“No offense Brian, several basketball players have made that transition, but never a defensive end. What makes you think you can be the first?” a pretty blonde lady asked.

“Well ... My Father always told me, if you outwork the guy next to you, every time, all of the time, eventually someone will notice. I try to do that every day, hopefully I can do it here.” I responded.

“Brian, you are listed at six foot seven and two hundred and seventy five pounds, give or take. Is that accurate?” another reporter asked.

“Yes sir, that’s fairly close.” I answered.

For the next twenty minutes or so, I answered question after question until the room became pretty much quiet. One of the coaches asked before they wrapped up the conference did anyone else have any questions. One young brunette in the second to last row stood up and smiled before speaking?

“Brian this is non-football related, but um ... do you have a girlfriend back home? I’m sure the eligible ladies out here want to know.” she inquired.

The entire room exploded into laughter, it was the first light moment of the news conference. Once everyone regained there composure, I leaned into the microphone to answer.

“I kinda dated a really nice girl back home, we are really good friends, but nothing serious. I guess you can say I am unattached.” I replied, quietly.

With that the news conference ended and I was led back to the office where someone from my agency was waiting for me. I was asked to report to the training facility the next morning at nine o’clock sharp, I then left with agency driver. I was driven downtown to the main office of my agent, then escorted to the fifteenth floor. The offices were quite impressive to say the least, I saw at least a dozen famous athlete’s photo’s displayed on the wall in just the main lobby. I informed the receptionist at the main desk I was there to see Dave Phillips, she asked me to take a seat until he was ready. A few minutes later, a stunning brunette who introduced herself as Mr. Phillips secretary came out and greeted me, asking me to follow her to his office. I walked down the long wide hallways, amazed at the number of employees that this firm had on hand. I was led into Mr. Phillips office, he was engrossed in a phone call, it seemed to be quite heated. I sat down in one of the large chairs, his secretary sat down in the other. He wrapped up the phone call, then turned and faced me.

“Hi Brian, it’s good to see you, how was the press conference?” he asked.

“It was ok, I guess, I was extremely nervous.” I admitted.

“Don’t sweat it, it will become routine after a while.” he shot back.

“This is Carmella, my assistant and right hand. She does everything for me, I would be lost without her. She will take care of you until we get a contract signed. I am already working with their GM on a deal, I think it’s going to be pretty easy, we should get you signed soon.” he stated.

“I have a meeting to go to across town, Carmella will get you settled, anything you need you call her anytime, day or night.” he said, leaving the room with a wave.

Carmella then opened a large envelop and pulled the contents out, laying them on the desk. She was a gorgeous woman, who was impeccably dressed, her scent was intoxicating.

“Ok Brian, here is your credit card, it has a twenty thousand dollar balance on it for now. I put up the money from our general fund, anything you spend will be deducted from your signing bonus. I have you booked into the Hampton Arms Hotel which is only a few blocks from the training facility. In a week or so, we will team you up with a real estate agent who can find you an apartment or condo down the road. I have a car waiting at the rental service for you, its on us until you can get your own. Any questions?” she ended.

“Uh, I guess not. Thanks for everything.” I replied, completely overwhelmed.

“Just one thing Brian, remember you are contracted with this agency, you can make no public appearances, you can accept no endorsements without checking with us first. If there is any doubt in your mind to the validity of an offer, call me first Ok?” she asked.

“Yes mam, I will.” I answered.

I was then taken to the car rental service where a beautiful new tan SUV was waiting for me. I signed the papers, then followed my driver to the hotel, where I checked in. He left me there, once again making sure I knew to call the agency if I had any questions. I was taken to my room, where I unpacked and settled in. I quickly called Ashley, told her everything that had happened and gave her the number to the hotel. I then tried to reach Courtney, but she was unavailable, so I left her a voice message. I went to bed early that night to be fresh for the next day.

I arrived at the practice facility over an hour early and was in the weight room checking out the equipment when the trainer came in. I could tell he was surprised to see me so early, but we got started right way. He put me through a two hour workout, most of it pretty routine, I had done many of these exercises before. He recorded both weight and reps done on each station, before finally telling me we were done for the day. He slapped me on the back as we were exiting the weight room.

“Brian, I have to say, I am very impressed. You’re a lot stronger than I was led to believe, you’re also in great shape. I can tell you have put the time in getting ready.” he said, sincerely.

“Thank you sir.” I answered.

He led me back to the locker room, taking me to the back corner and showing me a locker that had a large white piece of medical tape above it, with the name Stevens wrote in black marker. He informed me, for the time being, this would be my locker until final cuts were made. He handed me a lock and key, told me to get dressed and meet him out on the practice field. I opened the locker to find it stocked full of shorts, tee shirts, mesh jerseys, socks, and shoes. I dressed quickly and made my way out to the field. Once there I was greeted by most of the coaching staff, along with several of the other recent draft choices. I was taken aside by Coach Reed, who instructed me to go with one of the trainers and work out with one the special automated football throwing machines. I was directed to line up about twenty five yards down from the machine, face it and be ready to catch the ball. The trainer would hold up the ball to me, then insert it between the tires seconds later. I’m not sure how fast the machine was set on, but the ball got to me before I was ready. I dropped the first two passes before I was able to get me hands in time for the next ball. After about ten minutes, I was catching just about everything that was being fired at me.

He then yelled he was turning the machine up, to get ready. The ball was almost a blur as it shot out of the machine. My hands were not positioned properly and I felt the point of the ball sting my thumb severely. One of the wide receiver coaches came over and gave me a few pointers on hand position, which really made catching the ball a lot easier. I’m guessing all in all, I fielded close to two hundred balls before I was asked to move back to the field. For the next hour, I was instructed on route running, proper foot planting to make cuts, how to set screens for other receivers and so one. After four hours or so, we were told to hit the showers. Before we were excused for the day, we were each given a current play book, which if lost would mean dire consequences to our future with the team. We were told to be back in the morning at the same time.

I drove straight back to the hotel, got comfortable, opened the play book and became to study it. I immediately was overwhelmed by the wording and terminology of the complex system. Each position on the offense had a name, each direction has it’s own terminology, both the depth and width of the field had it’s own nomenclature. Each formation had at least a dozen possible check off’s in case an audible was called, I knew I had some serious work to do.

Over the next few days, I repeated most of the same drills over and over, some of the terminology being thrown at us little by little. I continued to do well at some things, but have problems with others. My route running was getting better, but I had a hard time adjusting to a ball that was not thrown well. This as I was to learn was a key to becoming a great receiver.

Finally the first camp opened, the first league sanctioned practice, where both veterans and rookies were in attendance. I would be the third tight end in rotation, we had a veteran pro bowl starter and a very good backup. If I were to get any playing time early, it would definitely be on special teams. I guess we were maybe an hour into practice when I got my first opportunity to line up with the starters. We were running some goal line offense, the ball was placed on the ten yard line. Our quarterback Josh Henson, was another all pro, having won two championships in his first six years in the league. He was considered one of the best touch passers in the league. I leaned over in the huddle to listen to the first call of the series.

“Double Slot Right, X Fade Right, Jet Left, 62 Combo on Three.” Josh barked out.

I Immediately knew I was X, and I would run a lazy fade route into the corner after the slot receiver would cut in front of me attempting to screen my man out. If the play worked well, it should be a touchdown. Before we broke the huddle, Josh looked up at me and told me if I were covered, he would throw to my back shoulder, which was basically the sideline. I nodded, like I really knew what he was talking about. We lined up, I listen for the cadence. As I looked up, I saw the strong safety creep up almost to the line of scrimmage, a possible indication he would have me one on one.

The ball was snapped and I broke out of my stance quickly. The slot receiver did a fair job of picking my man, I cut off his back and ran for the corner of the end zone, the strong safety just steps behind me. Josh quickly made up his mind, lofting the ball for the rear pylon. As the ball approached me, I realized it had been indeed thrown over my back shoulder to the sidelines. I basically came to a stop, planted my foot, opened my body up and turned in the opposite direction. By now the safety had recovered, and was right on top of me. I once again planted my foot and jumped high in the air trying to attack the ball at it’s highest peak, knowing the six foot safety could not play at that height. My timing was perfect, I snatched the ball out of mid-air, pulled it in as I fell backwards out of bounds. Several players applauded the efforts, including a few coaches. However the coach on the end line immediately signaled I had come down out of bounds.

“Stevens, all of that effort for nothing son, you have to fucking know where the end lines are rookie.” he growled, “Get your ass back in the huddle numb nuts.”

I trotted back to the huddle and leaned over ready for the next play. I guess Josh noticed the dejected look on my face. He slapped my knee, getting my attention.

“Hey Rook, let it go, that was a big league catch and adjustment, you were in an altitude no one here can get to. Great catch, you keep doing that, I’ll keep throwing at you.” he snapped.

True to his word, I was thrown at least another dozen balls while I was with the first unit, I managed to snag all but two of them. As we trotted off the field, Josh ran by me, patting me on the ass.

“We are gonna do good things rookie, with your height, we can play this game at a new level. Hang in there baby.” he said.

I was immediately excited, an all pro quarterback giving me some praise this early in the season. I trotted off the field and made my way to my locker. My exuberance was shorted lived however as our starting tight end and eight year veteran, Billy Huber walked up to me.

“If you think I’m going to let a defensive end take my spot, you got another thing coming rookie. Stay the fuck out of my way or else.” he growled.