Update should be posted by Friday (the earliest) or Sunday (the latest), the school work is actually starting to pile up
Inspired Play: The Nick Kapatos Story
- Thread starter Kap4334
- Start date
This was the second time I was up before the sun rose in as many days, but this time it was by choice. Even after going through several bottles of water yesterday, I was still feeling a little nauseous. So I figured I would stop by the trainer’s room and receive some fluids from an IV to get me through the day. And while I was in here, I might as well get my feet taped, because they were still pretty sore.
The training room at Ohio State was nothing short of amazing. It had everything you could need and more; dozens of padded benches with flat screen TVs hanging in front of them, rows of ice tubs and jacuzzis, in-house MRI machines and tons of machines that I didn't know anything about.
When the bag of fluids started to slowly drip into my arm, I saw coach Lichter enter the training room. I waved to him from the trainer’s bench. “Hey, coach!”
“Kapatos? Didn't expect to see you here so early.”
“I’m starting a new thing: being the first guy in the locker room. I was going to pop into coach Siciliano’s office to have a word with him, and I figured I would stop by here and get some work done.”
“I like the way that sounds, Kapatos. Am I going to see you in the weight room today?”
“I might, I don’t know how much I’m going to get done. I’ll probably do just some light weights; I’m still feeling pretty lousy from the run yesterday.”
Lichter nodded his head and placed his big hand on my shoulder. “You know, you showed a lot of grit yesterday, and I respect you for that. I hope you learned something yesterday.”
“Oh don’t worry, coach. I definitely learned something.”
With a smile and a pat on the back, Lichter left the trainer’s room. After one of the team’s physicians, Dr. Jim Borchers, took out the needle connecting the IV drip to my arm and finished with the taping, I thanked the doctor, and left for coach Siciliano’s office. Hoping that both he was in and was willing to speak with me.
Coach’s office was locked, meaning he wasn’t in, so I had to wait outside for a few minutes. It gave me time to think of what I wanted to say to the quarterbacks coach. Obviously I would want to apologize for my play on Saturday, I just had to word it properly. That was the easy part; the hard part was how to ask coach for help in what I’m doing wrong. Did I want to get on my hands and knees, and beg for help? Or did I want to have a little dignity in asking for help? Him saying no never even crossed my mind; why would he decline to help someone who wants it? If he did say no, then he wasn’t fit to be a coach.
When I saw Siciliano’s bald head coming down the hallway, I got up from my seat and met coach halfway. He looked just as surprised to see me as coach Lichter did.
“Kapatos? What are you doing here so early?”
“I’m here to speak with you, if that’s OK.”
“Sounds fair, but can you let me get in my office first?” I followed coach into his office, took a seat across from his desk, and waited for him to want to speak with me. As he drank from his coffee and waited for his desktop computer to turn on, I looked at the framed team pictures on his wall and his Bachelor’s in Arts degree from Youngstown State, where coach Tressel led the Penguins football team to four National Championships. The team photos showed where Siciliano had coached before; tight ends coach at Youngstown State, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for Urbana University, wide receiver, quarterback and special teams coach for North Carolina A&T, and multiple pictures as the offensive quality and quarterback coach for the Buckeyes.
“So what did you want to talk about, ten?”
“Why do you always call me that? You’re the only one who does.”
“I call all the freshmen that. Is this what you wanted to talk about?”
“No, no, it’s not that. I wanted to apologize for how I’ve been acting the last two weeks. I had a couple of really bad days of practice, and I let them, along with all the criticisms you keep throwing my way, affect the way I’ve been practicing. It’s just that I’ve never really been critiqued like this before; the coaches at my high school would only harp on the major problems.”
Coach Siciliano reclined in his chair and took a sip of his coffee. “Well, I appreciate you coming in to speak to me about this. It takes a lot for someone to admit their mistakes, so I’m amazed that someone as young as yourself would come to me and apologize. So thank you for that, and –“
“Wait. I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’m not done. I was wondering if you have the time to help me with things like my drop-back, I would be really appreciative of that.”
Coach remained silent as he looked at me, then out the window. I’m not sure what he was thinking about, but it definitely shouldn’t take him this long to decide whether or not to help me. “Alright, I’ve got time.”
We moved out of his office and into the hallway, where he showed me what I was doing wrong and how I could fix it. While I was still jumping at the end of my drop-back, it was only noticeable to anyone really paying attention. We worked on the drop-back for most of the morning, with Siciliano correcting the littlest of things I wasn’t even noticing. It wasn’t enough to completely fix the drop-back, but it was a start, and Siciliano said to come in every morning from now on until we get it fixed.
…
“Ten, get in there with the first team. Run Slot-Y Blazer 27.” I nodded my head, snapped my chinstrap, and jogged to the huddle.
It was a situational drill, to see how the quarterbacks did inside the red-zone. The coaches were blasting deafening crowd noise through the speakers, so it was very difficult to hear everyone in the huddle. I only hoped that everyone heard what the play was, because I could barely hear myself in the huddle.
“Ready… set…” I saw weak-side linebacker Dorian Bell showing blitz. This was either a decoy, or he was coming to rip my head off, so I called for a lineman shift to the left. “Green 19… Green 19… hut, hut!”
I dropped back and while the line shifted their blocking to the left, Bell dropped into coverage. I scanned through the defense, looking for my targets. I saw Posey in the back of the end-zone with the first cornerback Travis Howard draped all over him. Fields was covered by the opposite corner Corey Brown and strong safety Orhian Johnson. I could’ve checked down to Herron, but I saw Jake Stoneburner get just enough room for me to loft a pass for the back-right corner of the end-zone. The senior tight end made a great spinning catch while tip-toeing the area where the scarlet red endzone met the white sideline.
With the Buckeye faithful cheering from beyond the fence, I received high-fives from the offensive linemen for my touchdown pass. I got a smack on the helmet from Stoneburner as I headed back to Siciliano for another play.
“Not bad, ten. Not bad at all. Good arc on the throw. Go with Big Ends 29 Blast.”
It went like that for the entire time I was with the first team; coach would give me a play to run inside the red-zone, I would run it with varying success. I wasn’t perfect, but I was as close to it as possible. By the time my reps with the first team were finished, I had just thrown an absolute bullet to Posey in the back of the endzone, over the outstretched arms of defensive tackle John Simon and middle linebacker Etienne Sabino, for a touchdown.
“Great throw, ten,” said a proud Siciliano, patting me on the helmet for a job well done. “Bauserman, you’re in.”
As I walked over to the water coolers, I caught a glance from coach Tressel in his scissor lift as he surveyed the entire practice field. I think I even caught a smile from the head coach as his attention turned to the offensive line drills.
Bauserman, not wanting to give up his job without a fight, was nearly as flawless as I was. But as accurate as he was, his throws lacked the zip that mine had, and the ones that he did miss were interceptions, while mine were simply misses. I didn't pay much attention to either Lewis or Guiton, but judging from the reactions for the crowd, they didn't do a very good job during the drill. If anything, this solidified the two-man competition for the starting position.
I was starting to get more and more comfortable with wearing sandals in the shower and walking from the bathroom and to my room. I never had to worry about things like athlete’s foot and catching a fungus at home because I knew the floors would always be cleaned. Here? I didn't have the foggiest idea when the floors in the bathroom and hallway were cleaned, so it was better to be on the safe side.
With Josh in his bed, head-phones on and looking at his laptop screen, I walked into my closet to put some clothes on when I heard my phone ring from my desk. Still with a towel wrapped around my waist, I went to answer the phone and unintentionally touched the ‘speaker’ button, making the phone on speaker mode.
“Hello?”
“SH*T, F*CK, VAGINA, HORSE TESTICLES!” I quickly switched the phone back to normal, so that Josh couldn’t hear any more of what he thought was the strangest beginning to a conversation ever.
“Real funny, Al. Real funny,” I said, leaving the room. I heard Al laughing his head off on the other side of the line. “What’s up?”
“Not much. Just enjoying my summer break with the guys. How’re practices going?”
“They’re going good. I think if I keep it up, I’ll have a shot at starting.”
“That’s great, man. That’s really good to hear. You got a package in the mail the other day.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s in it?”
“Hell if I know, you’re going to have to open it and find out for yourself.”
“Is this some kind of joke? Because I’m not getting it.”
“I drove here, jackass. And I’ve got the box with me. So I figured you could show me around campus for a while, and I can check in on my little bro.”
“You drove all the way from West Islip to Columbus, a nine-hour drive… just to say hi?”
“No, I came here to see how my brother was doing, and to get him to treat me to lunch or dinner.”
I snorted and shook my head. “You’re a pisser, Al, you know that? How far out are you?”
“About five minutes away from campus, so be down here quick.”
“Alright, there’s a parking garage behind my dorm, Baker East. So I’ll be waiting out there. We’re taking your car, right?”
“Yeah, but you’re driving; I’ve been in this car seat for the last nine hours. I’ll see you in a bit.”
As soon as the phone call ended, I headed back into my room to put on some clothes. Josh was still in his bed, still looking at whatever was on his laptop screen. “Who was that?”
“My brother. He’s visiting for the day, so I’m showing him the campus and treating him to lunch. You wanna join us?” I walked into the closet, put on a fresh pair of boxers, some cargo shorts, and an Ohio State shirt.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. I’m waiting for someone to come to the dorm. I met them a few days ago.”
“Oooohhh, OK,” I said, thinking that Josh was having a girl come over to the room. “What’s their name?”
“Jean.”
“Well, you two have fun,” I said, slipping on my sandals and grabbing my keys. “And I guess I’ll see you later.”
…
“Little bro,” asked Al, giving me an energetic hug. “How’s life in Columbus treating you?”
“It’s been good, man. It’s been good. I’m really getting along with the guys on the team, and I’m loving the campus itself.”
“What about the coaches,” he said, tossing me the keys to his car, Mom’s old 2006 cobalt Toyota Camry. While it was an older person’s car, and he hated driving it, it was much better on gas than his old Explorer –which I now own, and can attest to its piss-poor mileage-per-gallon. I saw Al had a small brown package in his hand.
"So what's in the box?"
"Don't know," he said, tossing me the box. "Open it and find out."
I used my car key to open the package, and inside was a smaller black box covered in felt. It looked like the kind of boxes that were for... could it be? I quickly opened the ring box and inside was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
It was a large, silver ring. On the sides were intricate designs; on one side, it said 'West Islip Lions Long Island Champions' with the score of the game underneath it, and on the other side it had my name, number and position. On top, there was a giant blue sapphire with the West Islip logo engraved into it, and the logo itself was lined with a gold metal. I would look at it much closer later, but I was amazed at how our championship rings came out.
"Looks cool, man. So where are we eating."
I was taken out of my amazement of my hard-earned ring by Al's voice. "This place called Varsity Club. It's right near the stadium, so you'll get to see where I'll be playing for the next four years along the way."
On the way to Varsity’s, we spoke about what has been going on during my absence. Kristen and Mom were actually starting to get along, Dad was busy with running the summer lacrosse leagues up at Adelphi, Al was looking for a summer job wherever he could find one, and summer practices were well underway at West Islip. Al was never a member of the football team, so he had no idea what the situation was with the team. It was something I would have to call or text Skinner and ask about the team when I got the chance.
When we entered the restaurant, Al was blown away by all the Ohio State memorabilia. He was always into that sort of stuff, and he wanted me to take as many pictures of him with framed jerseys, pictures, and the other pieces of Ohio State history around the restaurant as possible.
“So what kind of job are you looking for,” I asked, following the waitress to our table. “Like, are you looking for anything specific, or just whatever kind of work you can find?”
“I don’t really care about what kind of job, but I wouldn’t take any kind, if that makes any sense. I mean, I wouldn’t want to dig ditches or handle roadkill, or anything like that. But if it pays good and I can enjoy what I do, then I won’t have any complaints.”
“Why don’t you ask Dad for some work with his summer leagues?” We arrived at our table, and the server handed us our menus.
“Nah. Dad offered, but I’m not much of a coach of anything. I only played for fun, so it’s not like I was going to make a living with the sport.”
“Well, as long as you find a job, I guess it’s still good.”
An insanely cute waitress in her late-teens, early-twenties came over to our table, and our attention was immediately drawn to her. She had bright gray eyes, medium-length strawberry-blonde hair, lightly tanned skin, and a gorgeous smile.
“Hi guys, my name is Caroline and I’ll be taking your orders today. Would you like to start with something to drink first, or would you like to go straight to ordering food?”
“Uh, Nick, you wanna start?”
“Um… sure, why not. I’ll have the…” The second I looked up from the menu, I was lost in her eyes. It was like looking into gray pools of sloshing water. I was so mesmerized by her eyes that I couldn’t say a word.
“Look at the menu,” said Al, trying to shake me out of my hypnosis. “And tell the nice waitress what you want to eat.”
With Caroline holding her hand to her mouth to not let us see her giggle, I smiled and laughed a little. “I’m sorry, it’s been a long day. I’ll have a vegetarian pizza, hold the onions and the mushrooms, and a water with lemon.”
“No, it’s fine. I actually just came from taking a midterm. And before that, I had to finish a seven-page research paper for my British literature class, so I kind of know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, what was the exam for?”
“Spanish 101.”
“Wow, how do you think you did?”
“I don’t know. I’m horrible at Spanish, so I’m hoping I did good. What are you taking this summer?”
“Oh, I’m not taking anything. I’m on the football team, so I’ve been busy with that.”
“Oh, cool. What position do you play?”
“Quarterback.”
“Quarterback? Cool. Hopefully I can see you play this year.”
“Hey, that makes two of us.”
We both shared a laugh, before Al raised his hand to get Caroline’s attention. “You now, I’d like to order something, too.”
Caroline apologized, wrote down Al’s order and, after ten or so minutes, our food and drinks were delivered. We ate and talked for a while about a variety of topics, before we were finished and the check came. Being the kind brother that I am, I paid for the meal while Al tipped the stunning waitress. While I read the check’s total, I noticed some scribblings at the bottom of the check. I looked closer at it and I noticed there were letters and numbers:
‘641-783-5279, call me sometime!’
Holy sh*t, I got a hot girl’s number without even trying! College is awesome!
“Hey Al,” I said, nudging him as we exited the restaurant and showing him the bottom of the check. “Check it out. Got her number!”
“Get outta here,” he said, taking the check from me and looking to where I was pointing. “Well how about that? Little Nick got himself a hot girl’s number.”
“I know, right? How amazing is that? And I didn't even ask for it, that’s the best part!”
“I bet it is,” he said. “Good for you, man.”
We arrived back at Baker Hall, and we both shared a long hug. It was probably the last time we would see each other for a long time. I wished him a safe drive back, and he left. I checked my pockets to look for the check from Varsity Club, so I could call Caroline, but I could find it. It wasn’t in either of my pockets, nor was it in my wallet.
I quickly texted Al if he saw where my check was, and as I headed back into the building, I felt my phone buzz with a text from Al.
I’ve never been so simultaneously angry and upset in my entire life; angry at Al for taking something from me, and upset at myself for not memorizing her number sooner. I wanted to chase down his car and beat the shit out of him for taking the number of a very hot girl who willingly gave me her phone number, but it wouldn’t have done much.
So I did my best to try and remember if she gave me her last name so I could look her up on Facebook. It was Caroline… Caroline something.
The training room at Ohio State was nothing short of amazing. It had everything you could need and more; dozens of padded benches with flat screen TVs hanging in front of them, rows of ice tubs and jacuzzis, in-house MRI machines and tons of machines that I didn't know anything about.
When the bag of fluids started to slowly drip into my arm, I saw coach Lichter enter the training room. I waved to him from the trainer’s bench. “Hey, coach!”
“Kapatos? Didn't expect to see you here so early.”
“I’m starting a new thing: being the first guy in the locker room. I was going to pop into coach Siciliano’s office to have a word with him, and I figured I would stop by here and get some work done.”
“I like the way that sounds, Kapatos. Am I going to see you in the weight room today?”
“I might, I don’t know how much I’m going to get done. I’ll probably do just some light weights; I’m still feeling pretty lousy from the run yesterday.”
Lichter nodded his head and placed his big hand on my shoulder. “You know, you showed a lot of grit yesterday, and I respect you for that. I hope you learned something yesterday.”
“Oh don’t worry, coach. I definitely learned something.”
With a smile and a pat on the back, Lichter left the trainer’s room. After one of the team’s physicians, Dr. Jim Borchers, took out the needle connecting the IV drip to my arm and finished with the taping, I thanked the doctor, and left for coach Siciliano’s office. Hoping that both he was in and was willing to speak with me.
Coach’s office was locked, meaning he wasn’t in, so I had to wait outside for a few minutes. It gave me time to think of what I wanted to say to the quarterbacks coach. Obviously I would want to apologize for my play on Saturday, I just had to word it properly. That was the easy part; the hard part was how to ask coach for help in what I’m doing wrong. Did I want to get on my hands and knees, and beg for help? Or did I want to have a little dignity in asking for help? Him saying no never even crossed my mind; why would he decline to help someone who wants it? If he did say no, then he wasn’t fit to be a coach.
When I saw Siciliano’s bald head coming down the hallway, I got up from my seat and met coach halfway. He looked just as surprised to see me as coach Lichter did.
“Kapatos? What are you doing here so early?”
“I’m here to speak with you, if that’s OK.”
“Sounds fair, but can you let me get in my office first?” I followed coach into his office, took a seat across from his desk, and waited for him to want to speak with me. As he drank from his coffee and waited for his desktop computer to turn on, I looked at the framed team pictures on his wall and his Bachelor’s in Arts degree from Youngstown State, where coach Tressel led the Penguins football team to four National Championships. The team photos showed where Siciliano had coached before; tight ends coach at Youngstown State, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for Urbana University, wide receiver, quarterback and special teams coach for North Carolina A&T, and multiple pictures as the offensive quality and quarterback coach for the Buckeyes.
“So what did you want to talk about, ten?”
“Why do you always call me that? You’re the only one who does.”
“I call all the freshmen that. Is this what you wanted to talk about?”
“No, no, it’s not that. I wanted to apologize for how I’ve been acting the last two weeks. I had a couple of really bad days of practice, and I let them, along with all the criticisms you keep throwing my way, affect the way I’ve been practicing. It’s just that I’ve never really been critiqued like this before; the coaches at my high school would only harp on the major problems.”
Coach Siciliano reclined in his chair and took a sip of his coffee. “Well, I appreciate you coming in to speak to me about this. It takes a lot for someone to admit their mistakes, so I’m amazed that someone as young as yourself would come to me and apologize. So thank you for that, and –“
“Wait. I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’m not done. I was wondering if you have the time to help me with things like my drop-back, I would be really appreciative of that.”
Coach remained silent as he looked at me, then out the window. I’m not sure what he was thinking about, but it definitely shouldn’t take him this long to decide whether or not to help me. “Alright, I’ve got time.”
We moved out of his office and into the hallway, where he showed me what I was doing wrong and how I could fix it. While I was still jumping at the end of my drop-back, it was only noticeable to anyone really paying attention. We worked on the drop-back for most of the morning, with Siciliano correcting the littlest of things I wasn’t even noticing. It wasn’t enough to completely fix the drop-back, but it was a start, and Siciliano said to come in every morning from now on until we get it fixed.
…
“Ten, get in there with the first team. Run Slot-Y Blazer 27.” I nodded my head, snapped my chinstrap, and jogged to the huddle.
It was a situational drill, to see how the quarterbacks did inside the red-zone. The coaches were blasting deafening crowd noise through the speakers, so it was very difficult to hear everyone in the huddle. I only hoped that everyone heard what the play was, because I could barely hear myself in the huddle.
“Ready… set…” I saw weak-side linebacker Dorian Bell showing blitz. This was either a decoy, or he was coming to rip my head off, so I called for a lineman shift to the left. “Green 19… Green 19… hut, hut!”
I dropped back and while the line shifted their blocking to the left, Bell dropped into coverage. I scanned through the defense, looking for my targets. I saw Posey in the back of the end-zone with the first cornerback Travis Howard draped all over him. Fields was covered by the opposite corner Corey Brown and strong safety Orhian Johnson. I could’ve checked down to Herron, but I saw Jake Stoneburner get just enough room for me to loft a pass for the back-right corner of the end-zone. The senior tight end made a great spinning catch while tip-toeing the area where the scarlet red endzone met the white sideline.
With the Buckeye faithful cheering from beyond the fence, I received high-fives from the offensive linemen for my touchdown pass. I got a smack on the helmet from Stoneburner as I headed back to Siciliano for another play.
“Not bad, ten. Not bad at all. Good arc on the throw. Go with Big Ends 29 Blast.”
It went like that for the entire time I was with the first team; coach would give me a play to run inside the red-zone, I would run it with varying success. I wasn’t perfect, but I was as close to it as possible. By the time my reps with the first team were finished, I had just thrown an absolute bullet to Posey in the back of the endzone, over the outstretched arms of defensive tackle John Simon and middle linebacker Etienne Sabino, for a touchdown.
“Great throw, ten,” said a proud Siciliano, patting me on the helmet for a job well done. “Bauserman, you’re in.”
As I walked over to the water coolers, I caught a glance from coach Tressel in his scissor lift as he surveyed the entire practice field. I think I even caught a smile from the head coach as his attention turned to the offensive line drills.
Bauserman, not wanting to give up his job without a fight, was nearly as flawless as I was. But as accurate as he was, his throws lacked the zip that mine had, and the ones that he did miss were interceptions, while mine were simply misses. I didn't pay much attention to either Lewis or Guiton, but judging from the reactions for the crowd, they didn't do a very good job during the drill. If anything, this solidified the two-man competition for the starting position.
I was starting to get more and more comfortable with wearing sandals in the shower and walking from the bathroom and to my room. I never had to worry about things like athlete’s foot and catching a fungus at home because I knew the floors would always be cleaned. Here? I didn't have the foggiest idea when the floors in the bathroom and hallway were cleaned, so it was better to be on the safe side.
With Josh in his bed, head-phones on and looking at his laptop screen, I walked into my closet to put some clothes on when I heard my phone ring from my desk. Still with a towel wrapped around my waist, I went to answer the phone and unintentionally touched the ‘speaker’ button, making the phone on speaker mode.
“Hello?”
“SH*T, F*CK, VAGINA, HORSE TESTICLES!” I quickly switched the phone back to normal, so that Josh couldn’t hear any more of what he thought was the strangest beginning to a conversation ever.
“Real funny, Al. Real funny,” I said, leaving the room. I heard Al laughing his head off on the other side of the line. “What’s up?”
“Not much. Just enjoying my summer break with the guys. How’re practices going?”
“They’re going good. I think if I keep it up, I’ll have a shot at starting.”
“That’s great, man. That’s really good to hear. You got a package in the mail the other day.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s in it?”
“Hell if I know, you’re going to have to open it and find out for yourself.”
“Is this some kind of joke? Because I’m not getting it.”
“I drove here, jackass. And I’ve got the box with me. So I figured you could show me around campus for a while, and I can check in on my little bro.”
“You drove all the way from West Islip to Columbus, a nine-hour drive… just to say hi?”
“No, I came here to see how my brother was doing, and to get him to treat me to lunch or dinner.”
I snorted and shook my head. “You’re a pisser, Al, you know that? How far out are you?”
“About five minutes away from campus, so be down here quick.”
“Alright, there’s a parking garage behind my dorm, Baker East. So I’ll be waiting out there. We’re taking your car, right?”
“Yeah, but you’re driving; I’ve been in this car seat for the last nine hours. I’ll see you in a bit.”
As soon as the phone call ended, I headed back into my room to put on some clothes. Josh was still in his bed, still looking at whatever was on his laptop screen. “Who was that?”
“My brother. He’s visiting for the day, so I’m showing him the campus and treating him to lunch. You wanna join us?” I walked into the closet, put on a fresh pair of boxers, some cargo shorts, and an Ohio State shirt.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. I’m waiting for someone to come to the dorm. I met them a few days ago.”
“Oooohhh, OK,” I said, thinking that Josh was having a girl come over to the room. “What’s their name?”
“Jean.”
“Well, you two have fun,” I said, slipping on my sandals and grabbing my keys. “And I guess I’ll see you later.”
…
“Little bro,” asked Al, giving me an energetic hug. “How’s life in Columbus treating you?”
“It’s been good, man. It’s been good. I’m really getting along with the guys on the team, and I’m loving the campus itself.”
“What about the coaches,” he said, tossing me the keys to his car, Mom’s old 2006 cobalt Toyota Camry. While it was an older person’s car, and he hated driving it, it was much better on gas than his old Explorer –which I now own, and can attest to its piss-poor mileage-per-gallon. I saw Al had a small brown package in his hand.
"So what's in the box?"
"Don't know," he said, tossing me the box. "Open it and find out."
I used my car key to open the package, and inside was a smaller black box covered in felt. It looked like the kind of boxes that were for... could it be? I quickly opened the ring box and inside was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
It was a large, silver ring. On the sides were intricate designs; on one side, it said 'West Islip Lions Long Island Champions' with the score of the game underneath it, and on the other side it had my name, number and position. On top, there was a giant blue sapphire with the West Islip logo engraved into it, and the logo itself was lined with a gold metal. I would look at it much closer later, but I was amazed at how our championship rings came out.
"Looks cool, man. So where are we eating."
I was taken out of my amazement of my hard-earned ring by Al's voice. "This place called Varsity Club. It's right near the stadium, so you'll get to see where I'll be playing for the next four years along the way."
On the way to Varsity’s, we spoke about what has been going on during my absence. Kristen and Mom were actually starting to get along, Dad was busy with running the summer lacrosse leagues up at Adelphi, Al was looking for a summer job wherever he could find one, and summer practices were well underway at West Islip. Al was never a member of the football team, so he had no idea what the situation was with the team. It was something I would have to call or text Skinner and ask about the team when I got the chance.
When we entered the restaurant, Al was blown away by all the Ohio State memorabilia. He was always into that sort of stuff, and he wanted me to take as many pictures of him with framed jerseys, pictures, and the other pieces of Ohio State history around the restaurant as possible.
“So what kind of job are you looking for,” I asked, following the waitress to our table. “Like, are you looking for anything specific, or just whatever kind of work you can find?”
“I don’t really care about what kind of job, but I wouldn’t take any kind, if that makes any sense. I mean, I wouldn’t want to dig ditches or handle roadkill, or anything like that. But if it pays good and I can enjoy what I do, then I won’t have any complaints.”
“Why don’t you ask Dad for some work with his summer leagues?” We arrived at our table, and the server handed us our menus.
“Nah. Dad offered, but I’m not much of a coach of anything. I only played for fun, so it’s not like I was going to make a living with the sport.”
“Well, as long as you find a job, I guess it’s still good.”
An insanely cute waitress in her late-teens, early-twenties came over to our table, and our attention was immediately drawn to her. She had bright gray eyes, medium-length strawberry-blonde hair, lightly tanned skin, and a gorgeous smile.
“Hi guys, my name is Caroline and I’ll be taking your orders today. Would you like to start with something to drink first, or would you like to go straight to ordering food?”
“Uh, Nick, you wanna start?”
“Um… sure, why not. I’ll have the…” The second I looked up from the menu, I was lost in her eyes. It was like looking into gray pools of sloshing water. I was so mesmerized by her eyes that I couldn’t say a word.
“Look at the menu,” said Al, trying to shake me out of my hypnosis. “And tell the nice waitress what you want to eat.”
With Caroline holding her hand to her mouth to not let us see her giggle, I smiled and laughed a little. “I’m sorry, it’s been a long day. I’ll have a vegetarian pizza, hold the onions and the mushrooms, and a water with lemon.”
“No, it’s fine. I actually just came from taking a midterm. And before that, I had to finish a seven-page research paper for my British literature class, so I kind of know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, what was the exam for?”
“Spanish 101.”
“Wow, how do you think you did?”
“I don’t know. I’m horrible at Spanish, so I’m hoping I did good. What are you taking this summer?”
“Oh, I’m not taking anything. I’m on the football team, so I’ve been busy with that.”
“Oh, cool. What position do you play?”
“Quarterback.”
“Quarterback? Cool. Hopefully I can see you play this year.”
“Hey, that makes two of us.”
We both shared a laugh, before Al raised his hand to get Caroline’s attention. “You now, I’d like to order something, too.”
Caroline apologized, wrote down Al’s order and, after ten or so minutes, our food and drinks were delivered. We ate and talked for a while about a variety of topics, before we were finished and the check came. Being the kind brother that I am, I paid for the meal while Al tipped the stunning waitress. While I read the check’s total, I noticed some scribblings at the bottom of the check. I looked closer at it and I noticed there were letters and numbers:
‘641-783-5279, call me sometime!’
Holy sh*t, I got a hot girl’s number without even trying! College is awesome!
“Hey Al,” I said, nudging him as we exited the restaurant and showing him the bottom of the check. “Check it out. Got her number!”
“Get outta here,” he said, taking the check from me and looking to where I was pointing. “Well how about that? Little Nick got himself a hot girl’s number.”
“I know, right? How amazing is that? And I didn't even ask for it, that’s the best part!”
“I bet it is,” he said. “Good for you, man.”
We arrived back at Baker Hall, and we both shared a long hug. It was probably the last time we would see each other for a long time. I wished him a safe drive back, and he left. I checked my pockets to look for the check from Varsity Club, so I could call Caroline, but I could find it. It wasn’t in either of my pockets, nor was it in my wallet.
I quickly texted Al if he saw where my check was, and as I headed back into the building, I felt my phone buzz with a text from Al.
Al said:
I’ve never been so simultaneously angry and upset in my entire life; angry at Al for taking something from me, and upset at myself for not memorizing her number sooner. I wanted to chase down his car and beat the shit out of him for taking the number of a very hot girl who willingly gave me her phone number, but it wouldn’t have done much.
So I did my best to try and remember if she gave me her last name so I could look her up on Facebook. It was Caroline… Caroline something.
Nick getting cock blocked by his big bro! Haha!
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
Al is both best and worst big brother in the world for that. Interested to see if Caroline is a mainstay in this.
Because of a PR plan for my Public Relations course due tomorrow, I've barely touched my latest update. But the second the PR plan is handed in, I'll start working on it.
As July was coming to an end and August was starting up, the competition between myself and Bauserman for the starting position was starting to dominate the sports media. So with no major sports going on except for baseball and the occasional golf and tennis tournament during the middle of the summer, everyone in the sports-following world was forced to listen to broadcasters and analysts talk about the defending champion Buckeyes.
From nearly the beginning of summer practices, it was clear that me and Bauserman were clearly the two front-runners for the starting position. No matter how hard one of us tried, we could never pull away from each other; when one of us would make the case to be the starter with a good session of practice, the other would make a great case for the coaches to hold off on naming the starter by having a phenomenal practice.
But as the season opener drew closer and closer, I started to pull away from the redshirt senior. I don’t know whether it was the summer heat, the pressure of winning the job over a freshman, or maybe he was losing his competitive fire, but one way or another Bauserman was starting to fade.
As Bauserman faded and faded, I pushed everything into overdrive as I sensed blood in the water. I wanted to make sure that I left no other option for the coaching staff than to start me based on my play. I doubled my time studying the playbook to make sure that when I ran the plays on the field, I ran them to perfection.
And after another strong performance in a scrimmage, I was pulled aside by one of the graduate assistants. “Hey, coach Tressel wants to meet with you after practice.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“I don’t know, he didn't say anything other than to have all the quarterbacks meet him individually.”
And just like that, I knew what I was going to meet Tressel for; he was finally announcing the starting quarterback. I had no idea if whether the last couple of weeks made me worthy of starting as a freshman for the team, or if coach wanted to go with a more experienced player regardless of my performance.
The practice felt like it went on for an eternity, despite having gotten the news with an hour remaining. Following the team breakdown and changing in the locker room, I went to coach Tressel’s office to learn my fate.
Upon arriving, I saw Lewis enter Tressel’s office, and Bauserman sitting in the chair closest to the door, and Guiton opposite the door. I decided to sit in the chair next to Bauserman as I waited to be called in.
Neither one of us said a word to each other as we waited to see who would be named the starter. It was like going into a battle and facing near-certain death; only one of us was coming out alive. It was an incredibly awkward silence that would only be broken by the sounds coming from inside coach Tressel’s office.
Lewis was the first to be called into coach’s office, but I wasn’t worried about him being named the starter. He has been working exclusively with the second and third teams for the majority of camp, and his attitude certainly wasn’t winning over any of the coaches. He was most likely going to be redshirted because there was no point in having a freshman waste a year of eligibility to be the fourth quarterback, but I also heard that he was having problems grasping the offense. The young man from Ohio stormed out of coach Tressel’s and down the hallway as Guiton was called in next.
While he was considered a long shot for the starting position, I thought he had a pretty good summer camp. He improved on his accuracy since I last saw him throw at the Spring Game, and he was just as mobile as ever. If Bauserman wasn’t ahead of him, then he might’ve been in contention for the backup position. But alas, life is never that fair, so he would probably be named to third-string.
As soon as Guiton left the office, I heard my name to be called in. As I entered the office, I thought I saw a tiny smile creep onto Joe’s face, and then it hit me: coach was calling us in by where we were on the depth chart, or at least where I thought we were on the depth chart. Before I even heard where on the depth chart I would be, I was already depressed.
“Nicholas, good to see you this afternoon,” said coach, shaking my hand. “Please have a seat.”
I took a seat, and watched as coach Tressel adjusted himself in the seat behind his desk. “I’m sure you’re aware by now of why I’ve called all the quarterbacks to my office.”
“Yes, sir.” I didn't want to make eye contact with coach; I felt that I had failed him, and myself.
“Well, then I’ll get right to the chase. Nicholas, I’ve been very impressed with your play this summer. For a freshman from a non-traditional football area to come in here, and to not just hang with some of the best players in the country, but go toe-to-toe with them is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”
“Thanks, coach. It means a lot.” There was no emotion in my voice. It was completely and totally flat.
“However, I can’t discount what Joseph has done not just in these last few months, but in the last several years he’s been on this team. He’s been waiting behind Pryor since his arrival on campus, and has been patient when it came his time to start.”
This was it, the start of coach explaining why he was going to go with Bauserman over me to start the season.
“And you’re only a freshman, and it would be strange and out of the ordinary to start a freshman over a four year member of this team. So, with that in mind…”
Here it comes. I was already thinking of how I was going to tell Mom and Dad that I wasn’t named the starter. I mean, I wasn’t really expecting to start as a freshman, but I thought I had made so much progress that the coaches would start me regardless of my age and experience level. But I guess that wasn’t meant to be.
“I’m naming you as my starter this season.”
My head shot up from below and I looked coach Tressel squarely in the eyes for the first time. “What?”
“That’s right; you’re my starting quarterback.” Coach extended his hand out, and I instinctively shook it. “After the hard work you’ve put in the second you stepped onto this campus, you’ve earned it.”
My hand fell limp from the handshake, and I was too stunned to speak other than a faint thank you.
“But don’t think this means you won’t have to put in the hard work; I don’t care if you have the game of your life, the second you start slacking off in practice, you’ll be riding the bench so fast it’ll make your head spin. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good, now go home. And tell Joseph to come in.”
As if on autopilot, I exited the office, told Joe it was his turn in, and left the complex. It finally hit me that I was just named the starter, and I jumped and screamed in the air as loud as I could. I acted like Willie Mays Hayes did when he found out he made the cut in Major League. I got in my SUV and was about to start the engine, but I was too excited to drive. So I figured I could leave it in front of the complex without anyone messing with it, and I decided to walk back to the dorms. It was too nice \a day to not enjoy the late July weather.
…
“I swear to God, Dad. I’m not lying! You can check ESPN when you get home if you want, but I’m telling you the truth.”
I called Dad the second I got close to Baker Hall. He was the first one to know outside of the coaching staff and the other players on the team. He was currently nowhere near a computer or TV screen, as he was currently working the summer leagues up at Adelphi. I was surprised that he took the time to answer my call; when I would call him when I was still home, he would normally let it go to voicemail.
“That’s great, Nick. Really, it is.” I could’ve sworn I heard Dad choking up, as if he were holding back tears. “You have no idea how proud I am of you.”
“Dad, are you crying?”
“No,” Dad said, with a few coughs. “I’m just so happy for my boy. Have you told anyone else yet?”
“Nope, you’re the first to know. So now you’ve actually got a reason to come to my games, other than to see me sitting on the bench.”
“Nick, I’d go and see you no matter where you were on the depth chart.” I heard a few whistles blow in the background, and muffled shouts from coaches. “Look, I gotta go. Congrats on the good news, and I’ll talk to you again soon. Love you, Nicky boy.”
“Love you, too, Dad.”
The phone call ended as I entered my empty dorm. It was locked, so Josh still wasn't back from his position meeting. I fell onto my bed and stared at the underside of Josh’s mattress with a smile on my face. I couldn’t even put how happy I was into words; it was the kind of happiness where there was no equal, no way to compare it. I guess you could compare it to getting married, or becoming a father, but those were things I had yet to experience in life.
I would later call the rest of my immediate family members, and their reactions of pride and happiness for me varied; Mom was ecstatic, and openly cried that her son was given such an honor. While Al's reaction was more subdued, I knew he was hiding his excitement and would let me know how he felt at another point later in time. And Kristen, when I told her the news, sounded genuinely happy to hear of my success.
After all the calls and e-mails were made, I turned over in my bed and faced my desk, where I saw the wall covered in sticky notes. It was something straight out of A Beautiful Mind; for days, I tried to find Caroline on Facebook. I also tried to remember her number, only knowing the area code and first three digits. There were dozens of number combinations I tried with no success. And there were possibly thousands, maybe millions, of combinations that I had yet to try. I soon gave up after visiting Varsity Club yesterday, when the server at the front desk didn't know who I was talking about when I asked her what shift Caroline worked.
I would have to leave it up to chance in having the same schedule as her, but the odds were stacked against me in finding her again. But then again, no one expected me to be named the starting quarterback, so maybe there was hope for finding Caroline again.
…
When the news would spread across the country during the primetime edition of SportsCenter that not just any freshman, but a freshman from New York, was named the starting quarterback for the defending National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes, my phone all but exploded from the amounts of calls and texts I received from friends and family members. I had to turn my phone on silent because it kept distracting me from going over the playbook, and even then the vibrations from my phone on the wooden desk were getting to me.
I decided to answer this last call before turning it off for the day. “Hello?”
“Hey there,” said a familiar voice in a southern-accent. “Long time, no speak.”
“Lorie Anne? Oh my God, how’s it going?”
“It’s goin’ good. Congrats on bein’ named the quarterback.”
“You heard about that?”
“Of course. It’s all anyone can talk about around here. You must be really excited.”
“Yeah, but I’ve talked about it to enough people today. What’s going on with you? How are things with Skinner?”
“Things’re good, but me and Skinner broke up last week.”
“Aw, that sucks. You guys were a good couple. Why’d you guys break up?”
“We weren’t seeing each other as much as we wanted to. Skinner’s been really focused on football practice this whole summer, I would only see him at night. And even then, he’d be too tired to do anything. So I thought it was for the best that we not be boyfriend and girlfriend anymore.”
“How’d he take it?”
“He was upset at first, but I told him we could still be friends. And he was alright with that, as far as I know.”
“You never told him about us… did you?”
“Oh heavens no! Why would I tell him anything like that?”
“Hey, I’m just asking. No need to get defensive. So what else has been going on?”
We spoke for close to an hour, but it was a very good conversation we had. She told me that she sang in a couple of coffee shops and open-mic nights. I thought it was great that she was getting opportunities to sing, as she had one of the best voices I’ve ever heard in person. She’d been keeping in touch with Jordan, something I’ve failed to do this summer, and said that he’s so nervous about leaving for NYU. I’d have to call him sometime soon and wish him good luck. It also reminded me to call Marshall and the other guys, and check to see how they’re doing with
When our call finally ended, Josh had just entered the room. He seemed very proud of himself, like he just won some kind of award or something.
“Well someone’s in a good mood,” I said, plugging my phone into the charger. “What’s up?”
“I just got back from my meeting with the tight ends coach. Guess who got named the second tight end.”
“Seriously,” I asked, getting up from my desk chair and giving my roommate a big hug. “Dude, way to go! That’s what you were going for, right?”
“Yeah, man,” he said. “No way a freshman is going to start over a guy like Stoneburner. But how about you, man. Starting as a freshman at any position is pretty remarkable. But at quarterback? Man, that’s something else!”
“Well, when you put it that way, yeah.”
I would receive more texts, phone calls, congratulatory Facebook posts, and e-mails during the weekend than I ever did during my time at West Islip. It felt good to be shown this much love from the people I knew, but I knew that I would have to play like a champion if I wanted to prove to coach Tressel that he made the right decision. And the first step was to prepare for the Akron Zips.
[br][/br]
From nearly the beginning of summer practices, it was clear that me and Bauserman were clearly the two front-runners for the starting position. No matter how hard one of us tried, we could never pull away from each other; when one of us would make the case to be the starter with a good session of practice, the other would make a great case for the coaches to hold off on naming the starter by having a phenomenal practice.
But as the season opener drew closer and closer, I started to pull away from the redshirt senior. I don’t know whether it was the summer heat, the pressure of winning the job over a freshman, or maybe he was losing his competitive fire, but one way or another Bauserman was starting to fade.
As Bauserman faded and faded, I pushed everything into overdrive as I sensed blood in the water. I wanted to make sure that I left no other option for the coaching staff than to start me based on my play. I doubled my time studying the playbook to make sure that when I ran the plays on the field, I ran them to perfection.
And after another strong performance in a scrimmage, I was pulled aside by one of the graduate assistants. “Hey, coach Tressel wants to meet with you after practice.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“I don’t know, he didn't say anything other than to have all the quarterbacks meet him individually.”
And just like that, I knew what I was going to meet Tressel for; he was finally announcing the starting quarterback. I had no idea if whether the last couple of weeks made me worthy of starting as a freshman for the team, or if coach wanted to go with a more experienced player regardless of my performance.
The practice felt like it went on for an eternity, despite having gotten the news with an hour remaining. Following the team breakdown and changing in the locker room, I went to coach Tressel’s office to learn my fate.
Upon arriving, I saw Lewis enter Tressel’s office, and Bauserman sitting in the chair closest to the door, and Guiton opposite the door. I decided to sit in the chair next to Bauserman as I waited to be called in.
Neither one of us said a word to each other as we waited to see who would be named the starter. It was like going into a battle and facing near-certain death; only one of us was coming out alive. It was an incredibly awkward silence that would only be broken by the sounds coming from inside coach Tressel’s office.
Lewis was the first to be called into coach’s office, but I wasn’t worried about him being named the starter. He has been working exclusively with the second and third teams for the majority of camp, and his attitude certainly wasn’t winning over any of the coaches. He was most likely going to be redshirted because there was no point in having a freshman waste a year of eligibility to be the fourth quarterback, but I also heard that he was having problems grasping the offense. The young man from Ohio stormed out of coach Tressel’s and down the hallway as Guiton was called in next.
While he was considered a long shot for the starting position, I thought he had a pretty good summer camp. He improved on his accuracy since I last saw him throw at the Spring Game, and he was just as mobile as ever. If Bauserman wasn’t ahead of him, then he might’ve been in contention for the backup position. But alas, life is never that fair, so he would probably be named to third-string.
As soon as Guiton left the office, I heard my name to be called in. As I entered the office, I thought I saw a tiny smile creep onto Joe’s face, and then it hit me: coach was calling us in by where we were on the depth chart, or at least where I thought we were on the depth chart. Before I even heard where on the depth chart I would be, I was already depressed.
“Nicholas, good to see you this afternoon,” said coach, shaking my hand. “Please have a seat.”
I took a seat, and watched as coach Tressel adjusted himself in the seat behind his desk. “I’m sure you’re aware by now of why I’ve called all the quarterbacks to my office.”
“Yes, sir.” I didn't want to make eye contact with coach; I felt that I had failed him, and myself.
“Well, then I’ll get right to the chase. Nicholas, I’ve been very impressed with your play this summer. For a freshman from a non-traditional football area to come in here, and to not just hang with some of the best players in the country, but go toe-to-toe with them is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”
“Thanks, coach. It means a lot.” There was no emotion in my voice. It was completely and totally flat.
“However, I can’t discount what Joseph has done not just in these last few months, but in the last several years he’s been on this team. He’s been waiting behind Pryor since his arrival on campus, and has been patient when it came his time to start.”
This was it, the start of coach explaining why he was going to go with Bauserman over me to start the season.
“And you’re only a freshman, and it would be strange and out of the ordinary to start a freshman over a four year member of this team. So, with that in mind…”
Here it comes. I was already thinking of how I was going to tell Mom and Dad that I wasn’t named the starter. I mean, I wasn’t really expecting to start as a freshman, but I thought I had made so much progress that the coaches would start me regardless of my age and experience level. But I guess that wasn’t meant to be.
“I’m naming you as my starter this season.”
My head shot up from below and I looked coach Tressel squarely in the eyes for the first time. “What?”
“That’s right; you’re my starting quarterback.” Coach extended his hand out, and I instinctively shook it. “After the hard work you’ve put in the second you stepped onto this campus, you’ve earned it.”
My hand fell limp from the handshake, and I was too stunned to speak other than a faint thank you.
“But don’t think this means you won’t have to put in the hard work; I don’t care if you have the game of your life, the second you start slacking off in practice, you’ll be riding the bench so fast it’ll make your head spin. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good, now go home. And tell Joseph to come in.”
As if on autopilot, I exited the office, told Joe it was his turn in, and left the complex. It finally hit me that I was just named the starter, and I jumped and screamed in the air as loud as I could. I acted like Willie Mays Hayes did when he found out he made the cut in Major League. I got in my SUV and was about to start the engine, but I was too excited to drive. So I figured I could leave it in front of the complex without anyone messing with it, and I decided to walk back to the dorms. It was too nice \a day to not enjoy the late July weather.
…
“I swear to God, Dad. I’m not lying! You can check ESPN when you get home if you want, but I’m telling you the truth.”
I called Dad the second I got close to Baker Hall. He was the first one to know outside of the coaching staff and the other players on the team. He was currently nowhere near a computer or TV screen, as he was currently working the summer leagues up at Adelphi. I was surprised that he took the time to answer my call; when I would call him when I was still home, he would normally let it go to voicemail.
“That’s great, Nick. Really, it is.” I could’ve sworn I heard Dad choking up, as if he were holding back tears. “You have no idea how proud I am of you.”
“Dad, are you crying?”
“No,” Dad said, with a few coughs. “I’m just so happy for my boy. Have you told anyone else yet?”
“Nope, you’re the first to know. So now you’ve actually got a reason to come to my games, other than to see me sitting on the bench.”
“Nick, I’d go and see you no matter where you were on the depth chart.” I heard a few whistles blow in the background, and muffled shouts from coaches. “Look, I gotta go. Congrats on the good news, and I’ll talk to you again soon. Love you, Nicky boy.”
“Love you, too, Dad.”
The phone call ended as I entered my empty dorm. It was locked, so Josh still wasn't back from his position meeting. I fell onto my bed and stared at the underside of Josh’s mattress with a smile on my face. I couldn’t even put how happy I was into words; it was the kind of happiness where there was no equal, no way to compare it. I guess you could compare it to getting married, or becoming a father, but those were things I had yet to experience in life.
I would later call the rest of my immediate family members, and their reactions of pride and happiness for me varied; Mom was ecstatic, and openly cried that her son was given such an honor. While Al's reaction was more subdued, I knew he was hiding his excitement and would let me know how he felt at another point later in time. And Kristen, when I told her the news, sounded genuinely happy to hear of my success.
After all the calls and e-mails were made, I turned over in my bed and faced my desk, where I saw the wall covered in sticky notes. It was something straight out of A Beautiful Mind; for days, I tried to find Caroline on Facebook. I also tried to remember her number, only knowing the area code and first three digits. There were dozens of number combinations I tried with no success. And there were possibly thousands, maybe millions, of combinations that I had yet to try. I soon gave up after visiting Varsity Club yesterday, when the server at the front desk didn't know who I was talking about when I asked her what shift Caroline worked.
I would have to leave it up to chance in having the same schedule as her, but the odds were stacked against me in finding her again. But then again, no one expected me to be named the starting quarterback, so maybe there was hope for finding Caroline again.
…
When the news would spread across the country during the primetime edition of SportsCenter that not just any freshman, but a freshman from New York, was named the starting quarterback for the defending National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes, my phone all but exploded from the amounts of calls and texts I received from friends and family members. I had to turn my phone on silent because it kept distracting me from going over the playbook, and even then the vibrations from my phone on the wooden desk were getting to me.
I decided to answer this last call before turning it off for the day. “Hello?”
“Hey there,” said a familiar voice in a southern-accent. “Long time, no speak.”
“Lorie Anne? Oh my God, how’s it going?”
“It’s goin’ good. Congrats on bein’ named the quarterback.”
“You heard about that?”
“Of course. It’s all anyone can talk about around here. You must be really excited.”
“Yeah, but I’ve talked about it to enough people today. What’s going on with you? How are things with Skinner?”
“Things’re good, but me and Skinner broke up last week.”
“Aw, that sucks. You guys were a good couple. Why’d you guys break up?”
“We weren’t seeing each other as much as we wanted to. Skinner’s been really focused on football practice this whole summer, I would only see him at night. And even then, he’d be too tired to do anything. So I thought it was for the best that we not be boyfriend and girlfriend anymore.”
“How’d he take it?”
“He was upset at first, but I told him we could still be friends. And he was alright with that, as far as I know.”
“You never told him about us… did you?”
“Oh heavens no! Why would I tell him anything like that?”
“Hey, I’m just asking. No need to get defensive. So what else has been going on?”
We spoke for close to an hour, but it was a very good conversation we had. She told me that she sang in a couple of coffee shops and open-mic nights. I thought it was great that she was getting opportunities to sing, as she had one of the best voices I’ve ever heard in person. She’d been keeping in touch with Jordan, something I’ve failed to do this summer, and said that he’s so nervous about leaving for NYU. I’d have to call him sometime soon and wish him good luck. It also reminded me to call Marshall and the other guys, and check to see how they’re doing with
When our call finally ended, Josh had just entered the room. He seemed very proud of himself, like he just won some kind of award or something.
“Well someone’s in a good mood,” I said, plugging my phone into the charger. “What’s up?”
“I just got back from my meeting with the tight ends coach. Guess who got named the second tight end.”
“Seriously,” I asked, getting up from my desk chair and giving my roommate a big hug. “Dude, way to go! That’s what you were going for, right?”
“Yeah, man,” he said. “No way a freshman is going to start over a guy like Stoneburner. But how about you, man. Starting as a freshman at any position is pretty remarkable. But at quarterback? Man, that’s something else!”
“Well, when you put it that way, yeah.”
I would receive more texts, phone calls, congratulatory Facebook posts, and e-mails during the weekend than I ever did during my time at West Islip. It felt good to be shown this much love from the people I knew, but I knew that I would have to play like a champion if I wanted to prove to coach Tressel that he made the right decision. And the first step was to prepare for the Akron Zips.
[br][/br]
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
Starting a freshman is a big commitment. Going with Bauserman would've allowed them to pull him when things got bleak with the excuse of seeing what you've got in the future, but you're pretty much stuck with the frosh unless he plays downright horrible. Pulling him for a senior will just screw with his confidence, and maybe his development if he lets it affect him.
It's just like the situation Miami/Seattle were in with Moore/Tannehill and Flynn/Wilson since those were legitimate competitions unlike Luck and RGIII being handed the job on draft day. You better stick to those rookies through thick and thin, and I don't see Kap being yanked around by a great coach like Tressel.
It's just like the situation Miami/Seattle were in with Moore/Tannehill and Flynn/Wilson since those were legitimate competitions unlike Luck and RGIII being handed the job on draft day. You better stick to those rookies through thick and thin, and I don't see Kap being yanked around by a great coach like Tressel.
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Somehow I never actually read this story until the last couple of days. Have to say that I'm pretty impressed. There are some inconsistencies, most of which you have noticed and mentioned, but that's to be expected in anybody's story. I still get a chuckle out of how Nick's dad is 5'10 and he's 6'5, but I'll just go ahead and pretend he has incredible genetics.
I do like how you're developing Nick's character, especially with you focusing on his work ethic. I think my favorite part might be how you're doing this kind of like a diary, which I can't say that I've seen here before, but I haven't exactly been around for very long. Your dialogues have improved immensely, even though they were already pretty good. I guess my only other comment would be that I'd like to get to know some of the other players. We kind of know Josh, but that's really it. I guess maybe the diary route takes away from that since you can't really concentrate on another character, but I do think some more character development would improve the story. With all that said, keep up the good work and I'll keep on following.
I do like how you're developing Nick's character, especially with you focusing on his work ethic. I think my favorite part might be how you're doing this kind of like a diary, which I can't say that I've seen here before, but I haven't exactly been around for very long. Your dialogues have improved immensely, even though they were already pretty good. I guess my only other comment would be that I'd like to get to know some of the other players. We kind of know Josh, but that's really it. I guess maybe the diary route takes away from that since you can't really concentrate on another character, but I do think some more character development would improve the story. With all that said, keep up the good work and I'll keep on following.
simms2bavaro
No Longer a Noob
- Jan 3, 2006
- 7,463
- 646
“And welcome to Mike and Mike in the Morning. We are back and better than ever on 1050 ESPN Radio, and Live on ESPN2. For Mike Golic, I’m Mike Greenberg. We’ve got a lot to talk about on this fine Monday morning. Major League Baseball’s playoff races are starting to take shape, one week until the start of the NFL preseason, and discussions with our ESPN experts on tons of other happenings in the sports world. But let’s start things off with college football, and if you paid any attention over the weekend, this would be old news to you. But for those who don’t follow, preseason number one Ohio State has decided to start a freshman at the quarterback position.”
“That’s right, Greeny. On Friday, head coach Jim Tressel decided to go with freshman Nick Kapatos, over redshirt senior Joe Bauserman, for the Buckeyes’ opening game against Akron. Kapatos, the eighth rated quarterback according to Scouts Inc., was considered the darkest of all dark horses coming into Ohio State’s summer practices. In fact, according to ESPN Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg, he was actually expected to be redshirted by the Buckeye staff. But three months later, here he is –the six-five quarterback out of West Islip, New York, being named the opening day starter for Jim Tressel.”
“I want to like this move by Tressel, Golic, I really do. But… if they want to try and repeat as National Champions, this isn’t the way to do it. I think they should’ve gone with the senior Bauserman, who actually has college playing experience. And if he doesn’t do well at any point in the year, you can swap them out and no one would bat an eye. But if Kapatos performs poorly, you can’t take him out without possibly damaging his development and confidence.”
“You know, if you stopped at Bauserman’s experience, which isnt a lot as he only appeared in garbage time situations last year, I might’ve agreed with you. But when you brought up the nonsense about the guy’s psyche and confidence, you lost me. If he gets benched at any point in the season, which I’m not saying will happen, then it should light a fire inside him and make him strive to be better. And at some point during the season, he’s going to struggle. It’s bound to happen, he’s only a freshman.”
“Alright Golic, you say he’s going to struggle at some point. Where do you see them struggling?”
“Looking at that schedule, I see a few games where they could lose, or at least have trouble. Going to Miami in week two is going to be a battle. And then they start conference play with Michigan State, who is looking to replace three-year starter Kirk Cousins with Andrew Maxwell. Then they have back-to-back road games against Penn State and North Carolina.”
“I think they’ll lose at least one of those games.”
“I agree, and then they have five straight conference games, all leading up to a road match-up with Michigan, which is never an easy place to go for any opponent.”
“And let’s not forget, Mike, that this might be Rich Rodriguez’s last season as head coach of the maize and blue. Last year started off so good for Michigan, going 5-0, including a big overtime win against your Irish. But the wheels just fell off for the Wolverines towards the end of the season, finishing 2-5, including an absolute drubbing at the hands of the Buckeyes. An Outback Bowl upset win over Georgia without question kept Rodriguez around for another year, but he needs his team to have a big 2011-2012 campaign if he wants to stay in Ann Arbor. But back to the Buckeyes, do you see them repeating as National Champions?”
“Umm… you know. I just don’t see it, Greeny. And it’s nothing to do with Kapatos at quarterback. The front half of that schedule just does not do them any favors. I could see them going ten and two, maybe nine and three if they lose both of those games in State College and Chapel Hill.”
“I have them going nine and three, as well. With losses to the Hurricanes, Penn State, and one of those teams at the tail-end of the schedule. I think they’ll look ahead to the Michigan game, and slip up against a team like Purdue or Iowa.”
…
“And welcome back to First Take, on ESPN2. I’m Jay Crawford, sitting with Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith. Let’s continue the debate with some college football. On Friday, our ESPN affiliate in Columbus reported that Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel named freshman Nick Kapatos his starting quarterback for the 2011-2012 season. Kapatos, the eighth-rated quarterback in the class of 2012, according to Scouts Inc., was considered a long shot to even make the quarterback rotation. But Tressel decided to go with the young man from Long Island, citing his ‘superb work ethic, willingness to learn, and his intangibles that you don’t see very often in a player of his age.’ So Skip, Stephen A., what do you think of Jim Tressel’s decision?”
Stephen A. Smith, the sharply dressed basketball analyst and writer for ESPN.com’s New York section, took the initiative. “Skip, I’m going to take this one first. I’ve been looking at some of the tape on this Kapatos kid, both from high school and from the summer practices, and I like what I’ve seen from this guy. He’s a little raw in some places, and it’s a little early to see just how much of the playbook coach Tressel trusts with him, and we’re not sure how he handles the transition from high school to college. Remember, he’s from a part of the country that’s more known for its summer getaways than its high school football.”
“Come on, Mr. Stephen A.,” interrupted Skip. “Get to the point.”
“Do not interrupt me, Mr. Bayless! You will have your turn to talk, but it is now my turn. Having said all that… I agree with coach Jim Tressel’s decision to start the freshman.”
“Oh, are you kidding me?”
“Whenever Joe Bauserman came in for relief last season, even if it was with the second team, the offense looked very flat and ineffective through the air, and I place that squarely on the quarterback. And according to Tressel himself, it was his job to lose the second Terrelle Pryor declared for the NFL Draft. A move which I still think was a horrible decision, as he wasn’t drafted until the fifth round by Oakland, but that’s not what we’re debating here. If this kid gives his team the best chance to win, then why shouldn’t he get an opportunity to start? So yes, I think coach Tressel made the right decision in starting the freshman over the senior.”
Sitting across from him, Skip Bayless, the former The Miami Herald/The Los Angeles Times/The Dallas Morning News/Dallas Times Herald/Chicago Tribune/San Jose Mercury News writer and current ESPN personality, had his turn. “Stephen, everything you said about this young man… just proves why Jim Tressel made the wrong choice for his quarterback. You have four players to choose from on the depth chart, and you choose a freshman? And not even the higher rated freshman at the position, are you kidding me? This just screams of desperation to me from Jim Tressel.”
“Desperation? Really Skip? This isn’t a team like the Cleveland Browns, who bring in a new coach and quarterback nearly every Fall. These are the defending National Champions we’re talking about, here!”
“I know, I know. I remember talking about it ad nauseum leading up to and following the game. What I’m talking about is how if their primary back-up quarterback from last year couldn’t even beat out a freshman quarterback from Long Island, New York –not exactly the high school football factory of America– for the starting position, then they are in trouble. They could have all the talent in the world, and I think they do, but it could all fall apart with an inexperienced, star struck freshman under center.”
“I don’t see it that way, Skip. I think the coaching staff won’t try to have him do too much. They’ll have him hand off to Dan Herron, and throw to DeVier Posey and their tight end Stoneburner until the cows come home. At least that’s what I think they should do. I don’t know if that’s what they’ll do, so we’ll see against Akron.”
Jay Crawford took the opportunity to set up another discussion point for the two. “Speaking of Akron, how do you think the Buckeyes will fare this season?”
“Stephen A., let me take this one. To answer your question, Jay, I’m concerned about that schedule. Following the game against Akron, which I think we can all pencil in as a win, they have to travel to Sun Life Stadium to take on Jacory Harris and the Hurricanes, who many are expecting to win the ACC this year. Then after playing Navy, they open up against Michigan State. And then two straight road games, first against Penn State, who is breaking in a brand new head coach for the first time since 1966, and then against North Carolina, who I think will surprise people this year. Then they have games against Minnesota, Indiana, Northwestern, Purdue and Iowa before their annual rivalry game in Ann Arbor. With a freshman under center, I see them losing… about two to three of those games. Maybe four, and they’ll be out of the Top 25 before the Michigan game.”
“Look at you, Skip. You could not be more wrong. I think they’ll lose a couple games, there’s no way they lose four. That is an egregious and ridiculous claim by the king of egregious and ridiculous claims. There is no way these coaches, especially Jim Tressel, will allow this team to lose that many games. The team will rally around the new players to a 10-2 record, and a Rose Bowl berth. And you can count it!”
Despite my high expectations, my first practice as the starter was nothing out of the extraordinary. I was already used to practicing with the first team, but this time I didn't have to rotate with anyone. I had all the first-team reps to myself, and I loved every minute of it.
I was getting the cold shoulder from some of the non-starters and a few of the starters, but most of the non-starters and starters on both sides of the ball were behind me one hundred percent. It felt good to have most of the team behind me, and I was sure that in time the rest of the guys would support me, too.
Following practice, I headed back to my dorm to relax and watch some SportsCenter. The congratulatory emails and texts were still coming in, albeit less than what I received over the weekend. I was looking over a text I got from Cedric a few minutes ago. He asked me if I wanted to go with him to a Buffalo Wild Wings on North High Street and get something to eat. He didn't say who else would be joining us, but I figured it would be the other freshmen.
Before I could ask Josh if he wanted to come, I heard a knock on the door. With Josh still changing in his closet, I opened the door. I saw a black haired, bearded guy wearing a striped tank top and skinny jeans.
“Can I help you?”
“Yeah, I’m here for Josh.”
“And you are?”
“I’m Gene.”
Hearing his name stunned me a little bit. When Josh said he was meeting this person, I thought he meant Jean as a hot girl. Not Gene, a guy. It never occurred to me that Josh would rather hang out with a guy than a girl.
“Hey,” said Josh, still straightening his Mohawk as he walked through the door. “I see you guys have met. We’re going to this restaraunt place downtown, so I guess you’ll have the place to yourself for the night.”
As they walked down the hall, I could’ve sworn I saw them hold hands at one point. I thought it was incredibly strange, and it was something I should probably ask him about later on. But there was no point in worrying about it now; they were long gone, and I had a text message to respond to.
…
“Kappy,” shouted Cedric, Dominic and Nate from the table.
“Summer time! DSC! Kocher!” I have hung out enough with these four to the point that we had given each other nicknames.
I sat down at the table, just as the waiter came and took our order. We were given a laminated list of the sauces and the guy waited for us to make an order.
“I’ll have twelve with the Caribbean Jerk, I guess,” I told our waiter, Demetrius.
“I’ll have twelve of the… Teriyaki,” said Dominic, which was followed by a chorus of boos from me and the guys. “Well excuse me, but I’m not here to destroy my mouth.”
“That’s not what she said,” said Nate, eliciting a chorus of ‘oh’s’ from me and Cedric and subdued laughter from Dominic; even he could respect a good burn. “I’ll have twelve, with Hot BBQ sauce.”
And last was Cedric, who had a crazy look in his eyes. “I’ll take twelve with the hottest sauce y’all got at this place.” Cedric slammed down the menu with authority, as the waiter took down our order.
“Alright, I’ll make sure the order comes out nice and quick.” As soon as Demetrius left, we talked about how we thought the season would go, and what bowl game we would go to, and how bad we were going to thrash Akron. Not long after, I saw Demetrius come back from the bar, with two pitchers filled with beer and four empty glasses.
“Um, we didn't order these,” I said, as our waiter placed the glasses and pitchers on the table.
“No worries, guys. Compliments of the owner,” said Demetrius, pointing to the man in the Buckeye tie and managerial-looking suit. “He’s a huge Buckeyes fan, and he would recognize you guys from anywhere.”
We all looked around in amazement at the two pitchers of free beer, and then each other as Demetrius walked away. I started pouring everyone’s glass with a smile, as everyone was more than happy to accept the beer. “Fuckin’ college, right guys?”
We all drank and laughed the night away, as dined on some fine wings. We each sampled from everyone’s wings; Dominic made the right choice with the Teriyaki sauce, Nate’s wings were a perfect mix of sweet and incredibly spicy, and my Caribbean Jerked wings made me break out in a sweat.
And none of us touched Cedric’s after we could smell the sauce; it smelt like burnt rubber and death. I couldn’t even imagine putting one of those things in my mouth, but Cedric surprised us all by eating all twelve of his wings. There were sweat stains on his shirt, and I swore I saw a few tears form around his eyes, but he finished them all… and an entire pitcher of beer trying to cool his mouth.
By the time all the wings were finished and there was nothing left of the pitchers but suds. Dominic and Nate were going to find the owner of the place, so that left me and Cedric at the table to pay our bills.
“Kap, I have a great time, man. We gotta do this again, some time.”
“Yeah, definitely. Hopefully we can still do this when the season starts.”
“Hey, I don’t see why we couldn’t.”
“Man, I wish Josh could’ve come out tonight.”
“Oh yeah. Where was the big guy anyway?”
“I don’t know. He’s hanging out with this guy tonight.”
Cedric cocked his head to the side like a confused dog, and looked me dead in the eyes. “With a guy? Like… what do you mean?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I said as I downed what was left of the free beer in my glass. “He said they were going to this place downtown. He didn't really say anything else about it, and I thought I saw them holding hands when they went down the stairs, but it was so fast I wasn’t sure. So I just let it go and decided to come out here.”
“You don’t think he’s… you know?”
“What, gay? F*ck if I know. And I’m not asking a guy I’ve only known for a few months something like that.”
“Well, I say let it go, for now. If you see anything like that again, though, I’d start asking questions.”
Before I could dismiss Cedric, Dominic and Nate were back from thanking the owner. We all left, with Dominic and Cedric crammed into Nate’s tiny Honda and me in my Explorer, and on the way back to campus, I kept going over meeting Gene and making sure I saw the two holding hands. Upon almost running a red light, though, I pushed the thought out of my head and turned up the classic rock station on the radio.
“That’s right, Greeny. On Friday, head coach Jim Tressel decided to go with freshman Nick Kapatos, over redshirt senior Joe Bauserman, for the Buckeyes’ opening game against Akron. Kapatos, the eighth rated quarterback according to Scouts Inc., was considered the darkest of all dark horses coming into Ohio State’s summer practices. In fact, according to ESPN Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg, he was actually expected to be redshirted by the Buckeye staff. But three months later, here he is –the six-five quarterback out of West Islip, New York, being named the opening day starter for Jim Tressel.”
“I want to like this move by Tressel, Golic, I really do. But… if they want to try and repeat as National Champions, this isn’t the way to do it. I think they should’ve gone with the senior Bauserman, who actually has college playing experience. And if he doesn’t do well at any point in the year, you can swap them out and no one would bat an eye. But if Kapatos performs poorly, you can’t take him out without possibly damaging his development and confidence.”
“You know, if you stopped at Bauserman’s experience, which isnt a lot as he only appeared in garbage time situations last year, I might’ve agreed with you. But when you brought up the nonsense about the guy’s psyche and confidence, you lost me. If he gets benched at any point in the season, which I’m not saying will happen, then it should light a fire inside him and make him strive to be better. And at some point during the season, he’s going to struggle. It’s bound to happen, he’s only a freshman.”
“Alright Golic, you say he’s going to struggle at some point. Where do you see them struggling?”
“Looking at that schedule, I see a few games where they could lose, or at least have trouble. Going to Miami in week two is going to be a battle. And then they start conference play with Michigan State, who is looking to replace three-year starter Kirk Cousins with Andrew Maxwell. Then they have back-to-back road games against Penn State and North Carolina.”
“I think they’ll lose at least one of those games.”
“I agree, and then they have five straight conference games, all leading up to a road match-up with Michigan, which is never an easy place to go for any opponent.”
“And let’s not forget, Mike, that this might be Rich Rodriguez’s last season as head coach of the maize and blue. Last year started off so good for Michigan, going 5-0, including a big overtime win against your Irish. But the wheels just fell off for the Wolverines towards the end of the season, finishing 2-5, including an absolute drubbing at the hands of the Buckeyes. An Outback Bowl upset win over Georgia without question kept Rodriguez around for another year, but he needs his team to have a big 2011-2012 campaign if he wants to stay in Ann Arbor. But back to the Buckeyes, do you see them repeating as National Champions?”
“Umm… you know. I just don’t see it, Greeny. And it’s nothing to do with Kapatos at quarterback. The front half of that schedule just does not do them any favors. I could see them going ten and two, maybe nine and three if they lose both of those games in State College and Chapel Hill.”
“I have them going nine and three, as well. With losses to the Hurricanes, Penn State, and one of those teams at the tail-end of the schedule. I think they’ll look ahead to the Michigan game, and slip up against a team like Purdue or Iowa.”
…
“And welcome back to First Take, on ESPN2. I’m Jay Crawford, sitting with Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith. Let’s continue the debate with some college football. On Friday, our ESPN affiliate in Columbus reported that Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel named freshman Nick Kapatos his starting quarterback for the 2011-2012 season. Kapatos, the eighth-rated quarterback in the class of 2012, according to Scouts Inc., was considered a long shot to even make the quarterback rotation. But Tressel decided to go with the young man from Long Island, citing his ‘superb work ethic, willingness to learn, and his intangibles that you don’t see very often in a player of his age.’ So Skip, Stephen A., what do you think of Jim Tressel’s decision?”
Stephen A. Smith, the sharply dressed basketball analyst and writer for ESPN.com’s New York section, took the initiative. “Skip, I’m going to take this one first. I’ve been looking at some of the tape on this Kapatos kid, both from high school and from the summer practices, and I like what I’ve seen from this guy. He’s a little raw in some places, and it’s a little early to see just how much of the playbook coach Tressel trusts with him, and we’re not sure how he handles the transition from high school to college. Remember, he’s from a part of the country that’s more known for its summer getaways than its high school football.”
“Come on, Mr. Stephen A.,” interrupted Skip. “Get to the point.”
“Do not interrupt me, Mr. Bayless! You will have your turn to talk, but it is now my turn. Having said all that… I agree with coach Jim Tressel’s decision to start the freshman.”
“Oh, are you kidding me?”
“Whenever Joe Bauserman came in for relief last season, even if it was with the second team, the offense looked very flat and ineffective through the air, and I place that squarely on the quarterback. And according to Tressel himself, it was his job to lose the second Terrelle Pryor declared for the NFL Draft. A move which I still think was a horrible decision, as he wasn’t drafted until the fifth round by Oakland, but that’s not what we’re debating here. If this kid gives his team the best chance to win, then why shouldn’t he get an opportunity to start? So yes, I think coach Tressel made the right decision in starting the freshman over the senior.”
Sitting across from him, Skip Bayless, the former The Miami Herald/The Los Angeles Times/The Dallas Morning News/Dallas Times Herald/Chicago Tribune/San Jose Mercury News writer and current ESPN personality, had his turn. “Stephen, everything you said about this young man… just proves why Jim Tressel made the wrong choice for his quarterback. You have four players to choose from on the depth chart, and you choose a freshman? And not even the higher rated freshman at the position, are you kidding me? This just screams of desperation to me from Jim Tressel.”
“Desperation? Really Skip? This isn’t a team like the Cleveland Browns, who bring in a new coach and quarterback nearly every Fall. These are the defending National Champions we’re talking about, here!”
“I know, I know. I remember talking about it ad nauseum leading up to and following the game. What I’m talking about is how if their primary back-up quarterback from last year couldn’t even beat out a freshman quarterback from Long Island, New York –not exactly the high school football factory of America– for the starting position, then they are in trouble. They could have all the talent in the world, and I think they do, but it could all fall apart with an inexperienced, star struck freshman under center.”
“I don’t see it that way, Skip. I think the coaching staff won’t try to have him do too much. They’ll have him hand off to Dan Herron, and throw to DeVier Posey and their tight end Stoneburner until the cows come home. At least that’s what I think they should do. I don’t know if that’s what they’ll do, so we’ll see against Akron.”
Jay Crawford took the opportunity to set up another discussion point for the two. “Speaking of Akron, how do you think the Buckeyes will fare this season?”
“Stephen A., let me take this one. To answer your question, Jay, I’m concerned about that schedule. Following the game against Akron, which I think we can all pencil in as a win, they have to travel to Sun Life Stadium to take on Jacory Harris and the Hurricanes, who many are expecting to win the ACC this year. Then after playing Navy, they open up against Michigan State. And then two straight road games, first against Penn State, who is breaking in a brand new head coach for the first time since 1966, and then against North Carolina, who I think will surprise people this year. Then they have games against Minnesota, Indiana, Northwestern, Purdue and Iowa before their annual rivalry game in Ann Arbor. With a freshman under center, I see them losing… about two to three of those games. Maybe four, and they’ll be out of the Top 25 before the Michigan game.”
“Look at you, Skip. You could not be more wrong. I think they’ll lose a couple games, there’s no way they lose four. That is an egregious and ridiculous claim by the king of egregious and ridiculous claims. There is no way these coaches, especially Jim Tressel, will allow this team to lose that many games. The team will rally around the new players to a 10-2 record, and a Rose Bowl berth. And you can count it!”
Despite my high expectations, my first practice as the starter was nothing out of the extraordinary. I was already used to practicing with the first team, but this time I didn't have to rotate with anyone. I had all the first-team reps to myself, and I loved every minute of it.
I was getting the cold shoulder from some of the non-starters and a few of the starters, but most of the non-starters and starters on both sides of the ball were behind me one hundred percent. It felt good to have most of the team behind me, and I was sure that in time the rest of the guys would support me, too.
Following practice, I headed back to my dorm to relax and watch some SportsCenter. The congratulatory emails and texts were still coming in, albeit less than what I received over the weekend. I was looking over a text I got from Cedric a few minutes ago. He asked me if I wanted to go with him to a Buffalo Wild Wings on North High Street and get something to eat. He didn't say who else would be joining us, but I figured it would be the other freshmen.
Before I could ask Josh if he wanted to come, I heard a knock on the door. With Josh still changing in his closet, I opened the door. I saw a black haired, bearded guy wearing a striped tank top and skinny jeans.
“Can I help you?”
“Yeah, I’m here for Josh.”
“And you are?”
“I’m Gene.”
Hearing his name stunned me a little bit. When Josh said he was meeting this person, I thought he meant Jean as a hot girl. Not Gene, a guy. It never occurred to me that Josh would rather hang out with a guy than a girl.
“Hey,” said Josh, still straightening his Mohawk as he walked through the door. “I see you guys have met. We’re going to this restaraunt place downtown, so I guess you’ll have the place to yourself for the night.”
As they walked down the hall, I could’ve sworn I saw them hold hands at one point. I thought it was incredibly strange, and it was something I should probably ask him about later on. But there was no point in worrying about it now; they were long gone, and I had a text message to respond to.
…
“Kappy,” shouted Cedric, Dominic and Nate from the table.
“Summer time! DSC! Kocher!” I have hung out enough with these four to the point that we had given each other nicknames.
I sat down at the table, just as the waiter came and took our order. We were given a laminated list of the sauces and the guy waited for us to make an order.
“I’ll have twelve with the Caribbean Jerk, I guess,” I told our waiter, Demetrius.
“I’ll have twelve of the… Teriyaki,” said Dominic, which was followed by a chorus of boos from me and the guys. “Well excuse me, but I’m not here to destroy my mouth.”
“That’s not what she said,” said Nate, eliciting a chorus of ‘oh’s’ from me and Cedric and subdued laughter from Dominic; even he could respect a good burn. “I’ll have twelve, with Hot BBQ sauce.”
And last was Cedric, who had a crazy look in his eyes. “I’ll take twelve with the hottest sauce y’all got at this place.” Cedric slammed down the menu with authority, as the waiter took down our order.
“Alright, I’ll make sure the order comes out nice and quick.” As soon as Demetrius left, we talked about how we thought the season would go, and what bowl game we would go to, and how bad we were going to thrash Akron. Not long after, I saw Demetrius come back from the bar, with two pitchers filled with beer and four empty glasses.
“Um, we didn't order these,” I said, as our waiter placed the glasses and pitchers on the table.
“No worries, guys. Compliments of the owner,” said Demetrius, pointing to the man in the Buckeye tie and managerial-looking suit. “He’s a huge Buckeyes fan, and he would recognize you guys from anywhere.”
We all looked around in amazement at the two pitchers of free beer, and then each other as Demetrius walked away. I started pouring everyone’s glass with a smile, as everyone was more than happy to accept the beer. “Fuckin’ college, right guys?”
We all drank and laughed the night away, as dined on some fine wings. We each sampled from everyone’s wings; Dominic made the right choice with the Teriyaki sauce, Nate’s wings were a perfect mix of sweet and incredibly spicy, and my Caribbean Jerked wings made me break out in a sweat.
And none of us touched Cedric’s after we could smell the sauce; it smelt like burnt rubber and death. I couldn’t even imagine putting one of those things in my mouth, but Cedric surprised us all by eating all twelve of his wings. There were sweat stains on his shirt, and I swore I saw a few tears form around his eyes, but he finished them all… and an entire pitcher of beer trying to cool his mouth.
By the time all the wings were finished and there was nothing left of the pitchers but suds. Dominic and Nate were going to find the owner of the place, so that left me and Cedric at the table to pay our bills.
“Kap, I have a great time, man. We gotta do this again, some time.”
“Yeah, definitely. Hopefully we can still do this when the season starts.”
“Hey, I don’t see why we couldn’t.”
“Man, I wish Josh could’ve come out tonight.”
“Oh yeah. Where was the big guy anyway?”
“I don’t know. He’s hanging out with this guy tonight.”
Cedric cocked his head to the side like a confused dog, and looked me dead in the eyes. “With a guy? Like… what do you mean?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I said as I downed what was left of the free beer in my glass. “He said they were going to this place downtown. He didn't really say anything else about it, and I thought I saw them holding hands when they went down the stairs, but it was so fast I wasn’t sure. So I just let it go and decided to come out here.”
“You don’t think he’s… you know?”
“What, gay? F*ck if I know. And I’m not asking a guy I’ve only known for a few months something like that.”
“Well, I say let it go, for now. If you see anything like that again, though, I’d start asking questions.”
Before I could dismiss Cedric, Dominic and Nate were back from thanking the owner. We all left, with Dominic and Cedric crammed into Nate’s tiny Honda and me in my Explorer, and on the way back to campus, I kept going over meeting Gene and making sure I saw the two holding hands. Upon almost running a red light, though, I pushed the thought out of my head and turned up the classic rock station on the radio.
Damn, a potentially gay roommate? Never seen that in a RTG before. That could be an interesting twist. Didn't you mention a secret about Josh earlier?
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
Thought I saw the gay thing coming with the Mohawk and the "Gene" mention. F***ing college, man.
There's another RTG where I said the dude was gay, but I can't remember which one. Anyways, should make for an intriguing story line to say the least.
It's gonna be awk to room with a homosexual dude. I personally think that gay dudes are pretty cool as long as they don't try and flirt with me.
Now that I think about it, you could see that coming. At the point of the last update, I didn't. Should be interesting to see how Nick and Josh get a long now.
Update hopefully tonight, ideally tomorrow
I sat there in the academic advisor’s office, thumbing through the University’s course book while he looked over my transcript faxed over from West Islip High School. And sitting next to me was Coach Jim Bollman, offensive coordinator and offensive-line coach. I wasn’t sure why he had to be here, but I didn't want to question coach Tressel’s methods. I never had any idea how many options there were for courses. I was roughly halfway through the book when I just gave up.
“So, have you found a major that interests you,” asked the elderly advisor, after finishing reading through my transcripts.
“To be honest, sir, I haven’t even thought about it.”
“Well, that’s alright, son. You’ve got a few years to decide what you want to do. So how about we sign you up for some classes?”
“Just don’t take anything that’ll distract you from your football obligations,” said coach Bollman, before turning his attention to the advisor. “Let’s just get him signed up for the freshman classes, alright Ellis?”
“Sounds good, Jim,” replied the advisor, tapping away at the keyboard. “Are there any specific classes you want to have added in, Mr. Kapatos?” I winced at the old man’s mispronunciation of my last name, but didn't bother to correct him.
I started flipping through the course guide again, with no intention of choosing a class. When I got to the M section, there was one major that stood out to me.
“Media Studies? What’s that?”
“Ah, that’s a fairly recent addition to the list of majors here at OSU. It’s basically the study of all things media; film, radio, television, print. You name it, you’ll probably study it. From what I hear from the students I advise, there are a lot of opportunities in the field. You can direct, operate a camera, edit your own footage, write scripts, work behind a radio microphone. I’m sure there are others, but I can hardly keep up with all the new media careers popping up these days.”
I stopped paying attention to the older man the second he stopped talking about the careers. This Media Studies major sounded like a lot of fun, which is something I never thought I would say about anything academia related. It actually sounded a lot like the Broadcast-Journalism major Syracuse offered, except more diverse. A lot more diverse.
“Sign me up for a couple of Media Studies classes, sir.”
The man tapped a few keys, moved the mouse around and kept his bespectacled eyes focused on the computer screen. “Do you have any preferences?”
I looked through the Media Studies courses one more time, and selected two that I thought would be easy.
…
I walked out of the advisor’s office with my freshly printed schedule. I hadn’t picked a major yet, but depending on what I thought of my Media Studies classes, that would probably change by the beginning of next semester. Leaving the administration building, I took the opportunity to look at my schedule one more time, so I could memorize the times of my classes:
ENG 101-07 College Writing I – M/W/F – 9:00-9:50
SPA 101-09 Beginning Spanish I – M/W/F – 10:00-10:50
MST 101-01 Media History to 1940 – M/W – 1:00-3:15
MST 204-02 Media Writing – W – 12:00-12:50
PSY 121-03 General Psychology – T/R – 12:30-1:45
Fifteen credits didn't seem too bad, and I thought I had chosen good times for the classes I could. The MST 101 class was at a good time in the day, and it didn't run too late that I would have to miss a practice. It was also weird having the MST 204 class only on a Wednesday, but I wasn’t complaining. And not having a class on Tuesdays and Thursdays until twelve-thirty was pretty great, too.
Even though I had been on campus with the team since late June/early July, only now did I feel like I was officially a student of the University. There was no way I could screw this up; I worked too hard –both on and off the field– for all of this to be taken away. I was given a tremendous opportunity by going to Ohio State basically for free, and I wasn’t about to let that slip away just because I couldn’t keep up in the classes or I did something stupid to get myself kicked off the team and have my scholarship revoked.
I thought I would stop by the book store on the way back to Baker, but I reasoned with myself that I could always do it after classes started. While on the way back to the dorm, I noticed there were a lot more banners hanging from the street lights and posters plastered on the buildings welcoming students back to campus. It was hard to believe that in a couple weeks, I would be playing in my first college game. If you told myself as a middle school bully-victim that I was going to be the starting quarterback as a freshman of the Ohio State Buckeyes, I would’ve called myself a dirty liar. Hell, I was still having a hard time believing it now, when I was actually the starter.
As I continued walking down the street back to my dorm hall, a white Escalade with students in scarlet and silver came down the street. One of the people inside must’ve recognized who I was, because the vehicle’s horn was blaring and it came to a halt in the middle of the empty road. The guy behind the wheel had a black mustache, and looked a lot like Randy Marsh, but I kept that little observation to myself; no need to piss off a group of fans before I even take a snap.
“Hey, you’re that freshman quarterback they named the starter, aren’t you,” asked the male driver. “Kapa… Kapa-something, right?”
“Kapatos? Yeah, that’s me.”
I heard one of the people in the back mention how I was much taller in person than I was on the TV, before being shushed by driver. “You ready to kick the shit out of those Akron pussies?”
I chuckled at his lack of subtlety or humility. And while he did have a point, in that Akron was a more than likely win before we travelled to Miami, I didn't want to sound like an arrogant freshman; that was Lewis’ job. “Well, Akron’s no pushover, and they’ve got some guys on both sides of the ball that we’ve got to worry about. But I think a W is a pretty safe bet.”
“Hell yeah it’s a safe bet! And we’ll be there cheerin’ on our Buckeyes! How many touchdowns you think you’re gonna throw?”
“Honestly, man, I never even thought about it. As long as we win, I really don’t care.”
The curly-haired, Greek lettered-shirt wearing guy sitting next to the Randy Marsh look-a-like laughed at my response. “Listen to this fuckin’ guy! I love modesty in an athlete, brah.” He extended his hand out for a fist-bump, which I happily returned. As they drove away, one of the two females from the back row leaned the top half of her body out the window and flashed me her breasts.
I had never been flashed before, not even after all of my successes at West Islip, so I didn't know how to react in the situation. I had always thought that I would play it cool and act all respectful to whoever was dumb enough to show someone their bare breasts… or I would act like a little kid who got exactly what he wanted for Christmas and absolutely lose my shit. Thankfully the latter didn't happen, as I laughed, applauded and gave her the thumbs up as the big vehicle drove away.
Damn, if this was how I was treated by the Buckeye fans before I ever took a snap, I wondered what kind of treatment I would get when I actually won a game.
“So how many classes are you taking,” asked Mom, as I updated her on my day. “Nothing too hard, I hope.”
“Five, and I hope none of them are too hard,” I replied, relaxing in my desk chair. “I didn't really get to pick the classes, but I did kind of get to pick the times, and I picked two classes myself, both in the Media Studies major.”
“Media Studies?”
“Yeah, I’ve never heard of it either. It sounds pretty cool; it’s about the study of basically all media. The advisor said one of the career opportunities was in radio. So maybe I could take some classes for broadcasting.”
“Oh, that would be good. Just make sure you don’t get too overwhelmed with the school work and football.”
“I’ll be fine, Mom. Don’t worry about it. I knocked my classes out of the park in high school, so why can’t I do it here?”
“I’m a mommy, Nick; it’s my job to care. And I wouldn’t call getting all B’s on your last report card knocking anything out of the park.”
“That’s not true; I got A’s in gym and public speaking.”
“Come on, Nick. Be serious.”
“I am serious. You think I’m gonna waste an opportunity like this?”
“No, but –“
“So then don’t worry about it. I need you to trust me when I tell you that I’m on top of everything.”
She sighed into the receiver. “I do trust you. I’m just worried for you. You’ve never been on your own for this long, and I’m not sure how you’ll handle everything during the season. I was the exact same way with Al when he graduated, and I’ll be the same way when Kristen goes to college. If I didn't care, then I wouldn’t be a good parent. When you have kids, you’ll understand.”
I snorted at the idea of me being a parent, something I didn't want anything to do with at the moment. “I’m sure I will. So how are things at home?”
“Things are OK. Al’s getting ready to head back to Towson, Kristen’s excited to finally be starting high school, and your father’s taking things easy now that his summer leagues are over.”
“How’s Dad been doing? Has his back still been hurting him?”
“Yes, more than ever. Ever since he slept on the plane back from Columbus, it’s been hurting him more and more.”
“Have you taken him to a doctor?”
“I’ve tried, but you know how stubborn your father is.”
I angrily sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “Mom, you’ve got to get him to see a doctor. I don’t care if you have to bribe him, force him; hell, tell him you’re taking him to the park. But you have to get him to see someone, or else he’s going to be miserable.”
“Nick, you know how he is –“
“I don’t care how he is; if he’s in this much discomfort and pain, then he needs to see someone and get it fixed. Its common sense, and apparently you’ve been failing at that.” I immediately regretted saying that last part, but before I could apologize, she hung up the phone. I sent her an apology text, and hoped that she would be forgiving.
As I turned on the TV and flipped through the channels, Josh walked into the room. In one arm, he was carrying a large case of water, and in his other was a variety of snacks in plastic bags. And stick in his mouth was a ruby-red apple. I got up from my chair to help him put everything away in various bins.
I felt like this was no better time than now to ask Josh about what I thought I saw that night. “So who’s this Gene guy?”
“I met him around the middle of July at the bookstore. We talked for a while, and he told me he’s here for some summer classes so he can graduate early. He asked if I wanted to get some lunch some time, and we’ve hung out a couple more times since.”
The way he said ‘hung out’ made me a little uneasy. I don’t know why it did; it’s not like I had anything against gay people, and my parents raised me to be very accepting and open minded about other cultures and lifestyles. I guess it was just the thought of two guys together that weirded me out. “So what did you guys do when you went downtown last week?”
“Oh, you know, we got some dinner at this bistro. Then we just walked around for a while. It was a nice, quiet evening. What did you do?”
“I went out with some of the guys to Buffalo Wild Wings. We got two free pitchers of beer from the owner, who’s a huge Buckeyes fan. So that was nice.”
Josh chuckled, as he put water bottles in the fridge. “Sounds good. We didn't get any special treatment like that, but we did get to enjoy a nice evening. Eventually, I just spent the night at his place.”
I shifted on my feet after Josh mentioned this. I wasn’t sure if now was the time to ask him if he was gay, but I figured it was now or never. “So is he… you know…”
“Is he what?”
“…you know…”
The gears started turning in his head. “What’s that question supposed to mean?”
“It’s a pretty straight forward–“
Josh angrily stood over me and pointed a box of garbage bags at me. “And so what if he is? You have a problem with a friend of mine who might be gay?”
“I never said I had a problem. I’m just asking.”
“And what if I were gay? Would you have a problem with that?”
Bingo, there was my way to ask. “Well… are you?”
“Of course not!” Josh was acting very defensive about the subject, like he was hiding something.
“You can tell me if you are, I won’t care.”
“There’s nothing to tell, because I’m not gay!” Josh’s temper was rising, as his face was getting red and his hands were balled into fists. I stood up, and put my hand on the six-six tight end’s broad shoulders to try and calm him down.
“I won’t think any less of you if you are. But I need you to tell me the truth.”
“And I am! I mean… I… I don’t know.” Josh sat down on my bed, buried his face into his hands, and sounded like he was on the verge of tears. “I don’t know what I am.”
I wanted to tell him that I knew what he was going through, that I knew everything would work out for him in the end… but I couldn’t. I never knew what it was like to be this confused with one’s sexuality, nor have I ever been in a situation where I had to keep a secret so serious that it could ruin my life if anyone found out about it. There was the time I kept the secret of having sex with Stacy’s sister from her, but that wouldn’t have ruined anything other than a relationship which was doomed to fail anyway.
I sat next to him, and put my arm around him to try and console him. “I’m not going to tell you I know what you’re going through, because that would be a lie. But what I am going to tell you is that no matter what kind of shit you’re going through, I’ll always be your friend and there for you. I don’t care if you’re gay, straight, bi, or whatever; as long as you’re a nice person, you don’t bring your personal stuff onto the field, and don’t try to be something you’re not, then everything between us will be fine.”
Josh brought his face out of his hands, showing red puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. “Promise?”
“I promise.”
We wouldn’t talk about the subject for the rest of the day; either Josh didn't want to discuss it anymore, or there was nothing else to discuss at the moment. Either way, what was said was said, and there was no going back. I would have to learn more about this before anyone else found out, but not right now. Now was the time to make sure my friend, roommate, and teammate was in a good place, and wouldn't do any kind of harm to himself.
“So, have you found a major that interests you,” asked the elderly advisor, after finishing reading through my transcripts.
“To be honest, sir, I haven’t even thought about it.”
“Well, that’s alright, son. You’ve got a few years to decide what you want to do. So how about we sign you up for some classes?”
“Just don’t take anything that’ll distract you from your football obligations,” said coach Bollman, before turning his attention to the advisor. “Let’s just get him signed up for the freshman classes, alright Ellis?”
“Sounds good, Jim,” replied the advisor, tapping away at the keyboard. “Are there any specific classes you want to have added in, Mr. Kapatos?” I winced at the old man’s mispronunciation of my last name, but didn't bother to correct him.
I started flipping through the course guide again, with no intention of choosing a class. When I got to the M section, there was one major that stood out to me.
“Media Studies? What’s that?”
“Ah, that’s a fairly recent addition to the list of majors here at OSU. It’s basically the study of all things media; film, radio, television, print. You name it, you’ll probably study it. From what I hear from the students I advise, there are a lot of opportunities in the field. You can direct, operate a camera, edit your own footage, write scripts, work behind a radio microphone. I’m sure there are others, but I can hardly keep up with all the new media careers popping up these days.”
I stopped paying attention to the older man the second he stopped talking about the careers. This Media Studies major sounded like a lot of fun, which is something I never thought I would say about anything academia related. It actually sounded a lot like the Broadcast-Journalism major Syracuse offered, except more diverse. A lot more diverse.
“Sign me up for a couple of Media Studies classes, sir.”
The man tapped a few keys, moved the mouse around and kept his bespectacled eyes focused on the computer screen. “Do you have any preferences?”
I looked through the Media Studies courses one more time, and selected two that I thought would be easy.
…
I walked out of the advisor’s office with my freshly printed schedule. I hadn’t picked a major yet, but depending on what I thought of my Media Studies classes, that would probably change by the beginning of next semester. Leaving the administration building, I took the opportunity to look at my schedule one more time, so I could memorize the times of my classes:
ENG 101-07 College Writing I – M/W/F – 9:00-9:50
SPA 101-09 Beginning Spanish I – M/W/F – 10:00-10:50
MST 101-01 Media History to 1940 – M/W – 1:00-3:15
MST 204-02 Media Writing – W – 12:00-12:50
PSY 121-03 General Psychology – T/R – 12:30-1:45
Fifteen credits didn't seem too bad, and I thought I had chosen good times for the classes I could. The MST 101 class was at a good time in the day, and it didn't run too late that I would have to miss a practice. It was also weird having the MST 204 class only on a Wednesday, but I wasn’t complaining. And not having a class on Tuesdays and Thursdays until twelve-thirty was pretty great, too.
Even though I had been on campus with the team since late June/early July, only now did I feel like I was officially a student of the University. There was no way I could screw this up; I worked too hard –both on and off the field– for all of this to be taken away. I was given a tremendous opportunity by going to Ohio State basically for free, and I wasn’t about to let that slip away just because I couldn’t keep up in the classes or I did something stupid to get myself kicked off the team and have my scholarship revoked.
I thought I would stop by the book store on the way back to Baker, but I reasoned with myself that I could always do it after classes started. While on the way back to the dorm, I noticed there were a lot more banners hanging from the street lights and posters plastered on the buildings welcoming students back to campus. It was hard to believe that in a couple weeks, I would be playing in my first college game. If you told myself as a middle school bully-victim that I was going to be the starting quarterback as a freshman of the Ohio State Buckeyes, I would’ve called myself a dirty liar. Hell, I was still having a hard time believing it now, when I was actually the starter.
As I continued walking down the street back to my dorm hall, a white Escalade with students in scarlet and silver came down the street. One of the people inside must’ve recognized who I was, because the vehicle’s horn was blaring and it came to a halt in the middle of the empty road. The guy behind the wheel had a black mustache, and looked a lot like Randy Marsh, but I kept that little observation to myself; no need to piss off a group of fans before I even take a snap.
“Hey, you’re that freshman quarterback they named the starter, aren’t you,” asked the male driver. “Kapa… Kapa-something, right?”
“Kapatos? Yeah, that’s me.”
I heard one of the people in the back mention how I was much taller in person than I was on the TV, before being shushed by driver. “You ready to kick the shit out of those Akron pussies?”
I chuckled at his lack of subtlety or humility. And while he did have a point, in that Akron was a more than likely win before we travelled to Miami, I didn't want to sound like an arrogant freshman; that was Lewis’ job. “Well, Akron’s no pushover, and they’ve got some guys on both sides of the ball that we’ve got to worry about. But I think a W is a pretty safe bet.”
“Hell yeah it’s a safe bet! And we’ll be there cheerin’ on our Buckeyes! How many touchdowns you think you’re gonna throw?”
“Honestly, man, I never even thought about it. As long as we win, I really don’t care.”
The curly-haired, Greek lettered-shirt wearing guy sitting next to the Randy Marsh look-a-like laughed at my response. “Listen to this fuckin’ guy! I love modesty in an athlete, brah.” He extended his hand out for a fist-bump, which I happily returned. As they drove away, one of the two females from the back row leaned the top half of her body out the window and flashed me her breasts.
I had never been flashed before, not even after all of my successes at West Islip, so I didn't know how to react in the situation. I had always thought that I would play it cool and act all respectful to whoever was dumb enough to show someone their bare breasts… or I would act like a little kid who got exactly what he wanted for Christmas and absolutely lose my shit. Thankfully the latter didn't happen, as I laughed, applauded and gave her the thumbs up as the big vehicle drove away.
Damn, if this was how I was treated by the Buckeye fans before I ever took a snap, I wondered what kind of treatment I would get when I actually won a game.
“So how many classes are you taking,” asked Mom, as I updated her on my day. “Nothing too hard, I hope.”
“Five, and I hope none of them are too hard,” I replied, relaxing in my desk chair. “I didn't really get to pick the classes, but I did kind of get to pick the times, and I picked two classes myself, both in the Media Studies major.”
“Media Studies?”
“Yeah, I’ve never heard of it either. It sounds pretty cool; it’s about the study of basically all media. The advisor said one of the career opportunities was in radio. So maybe I could take some classes for broadcasting.”
“Oh, that would be good. Just make sure you don’t get too overwhelmed with the school work and football.”
“I’ll be fine, Mom. Don’t worry about it. I knocked my classes out of the park in high school, so why can’t I do it here?”
“I’m a mommy, Nick; it’s my job to care. And I wouldn’t call getting all B’s on your last report card knocking anything out of the park.”
“That’s not true; I got A’s in gym and public speaking.”
“Come on, Nick. Be serious.”
“I am serious. You think I’m gonna waste an opportunity like this?”
“No, but –“
“So then don’t worry about it. I need you to trust me when I tell you that I’m on top of everything.”
She sighed into the receiver. “I do trust you. I’m just worried for you. You’ve never been on your own for this long, and I’m not sure how you’ll handle everything during the season. I was the exact same way with Al when he graduated, and I’ll be the same way when Kristen goes to college. If I didn't care, then I wouldn’t be a good parent. When you have kids, you’ll understand.”
I snorted at the idea of me being a parent, something I didn't want anything to do with at the moment. “I’m sure I will. So how are things at home?”
“Things are OK. Al’s getting ready to head back to Towson, Kristen’s excited to finally be starting high school, and your father’s taking things easy now that his summer leagues are over.”
“How’s Dad been doing? Has his back still been hurting him?”
“Yes, more than ever. Ever since he slept on the plane back from Columbus, it’s been hurting him more and more.”
“Have you taken him to a doctor?”
“I’ve tried, but you know how stubborn your father is.”
I angrily sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “Mom, you’ve got to get him to see a doctor. I don’t care if you have to bribe him, force him; hell, tell him you’re taking him to the park. But you have to get him to see someone, or else he’s going to be miserable.”
“Nick, you know how he is –“
“I don’t care how he is; if he’s in this much discomfort and pain, then he needs to see someone and get it fixed. Its common sense, and apparently you’ve been failing at that.” I immediately regretted saying that last part, but before I could apologize, she hung up the phone. I sent her an apology text, and hoped that she would be forgiving.
As I turned on the TV and flipped through the channels, Josh walked into the room. In one arm, he was carrying a large case of water, and in his other was a variety of snacks in plastic bags. And stick in his mouth was a ruby-red apple. I got up from my chair to help him put everything away in various bins.
I felt like this was no better time than now to ask Josh about what I thought I saw that night. “So who’s this Gene guy?”
“I met him around the middle of July at the bookstore. We talked for a while, and he told me he’s here for some summer classes so he can graduate early. He asked if I wanted to get some lunch some time, and we’ve hung out a couple more times since.”
The way he said ‘hung out’ made me a little uneasy. I don’t know why it did; it’s not like I had anything against gay people, and my parents raised me to be very accepting and open minded about other cultures and lifestyles. I guess it was just the thought of two guys together that weirded me out. “So what did you guys do when you went downtown last week?”
“Oh, you know, we got some dinner at this bistro. Then we just walked around for a while. It was a nice, quiet evening. What did you do?”
“I went out with some of the guys to Buffalo Wild Wings. We got two free pitchers of beer from the owner, who’s a huge Buckeyes fan. So that was nice.”
Josh chuckled, as he put water bottles in the fridge. “Sounds good. We didn't get any special treatment like that, but we did get to enjoy a nice evening. Eventually, I just spent the night at his place.”
I shifted on my feet after Josh mentioned this. I wasn’t sure if now was the time to ask him if he was gay, but I figured it was now or never. “So is he… you know…”
“Is he what?”
“…you know…”
The gears started turning in his head. “What’s that question supposed to mean?”
“It’s a pretty straight forward–“
Josh angrily stood over me and pointed a box of garbage bags at me. “And so what if he is? You have a problem with a friend of mine who might be gay?”
“I never said I had a problem. I’m just asking.”
“And what if I were gay? Would you have a problem with that?”
Bingo, there was my way to ask. “Well… are you?”
“Of course not!” Josh was acting very defensive about the subject, like he was hiding something.
“You can tell me if you are, I won’t care.”
“There’s nothing to tell, because I’m not gay!” Josh’s temper was rising, as his face was getting red and his hands were balled into fists. I stood up, and put my hand on the six-six tight end’s broad shoulders to try and calm him down.
“I won’t think any less of you if you are. But I need you to tell me the truth.”
“And I am! I mean… I… I don’t know.” Josh sat down on my bed, buried his face into his hands, and sounded like he was on the verge of tears. “I don’t know what I am.”
I wanted to tell him that I knew what he was going through, that I knew everything would work out for him in the end… but I couldn’t. I never knew what it was like to be this confused with one’s sexuality, nor have I ever been in a situation where I had to keep a secret so serious that it could ruin my life if anyone found out about it. There was the time I kept the secret of having sex with Stacy’s sister from her, but that wouldn’t have ruined anything other than a relationship which was doomed to fail anyway.
I sat next to him, and put my arm around him to try and console him. “I’m not going to tell you I know what you’re going through, because that would be a lie. But what I am going to tell you is that no matter what kind of shit you’re going through, I’ll always be your friend and there for you. I don’t care if you’re gay, straight, bi, or whatever; as long as you’re a nice person, you don’t bring your personal stuff onto the field, and don’t try to be something you’re not, then everything between us will be fine.”
Josh brought his face out of his hands, showing red puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. “Promise?”
“I promise.”
We wouldn’t talk about the subject for the rest of the day; either Josh didn't want to discuss it anymore, or there was nothing else to discuss at the moment. Either way, what was said was said, and there was no going back. I would have to learn more about this before anyone else found out, but not right now. Now was the time to make sure my friend, roommate, and teammate was in a good place, and wouldn't do any kind of harm to himself.
Hopefully no one is turned off by this because of my inclusion of a gay football player. I'm not intentionally trying to make a statement because of this, nor am I going to make this political; I just wanted to include a gay football player, and it happened to be my guy's tight end roommate.
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
I couldn't care less; if anything, it adds a lot more to the story. I think it's a good inclusion for a small town guy like Kap who's probably been sheltered for a good portion of his life. A nice contrast and introduction to the real world.
No problem at all with me. Adds more to the off field updates if you ask me.
i dont mind it. explore all avenues as a writer.
i will however say that kap will probably find himself in hot water. i doubt that cedric will keep his mouth shut about it. and then youll have an interesting team dynamic.
i will however say that kap will probably find himself in hot water. i doubt that cedric will keep his mouth shut about it. and then youll have an interesting team dynamic.
simms2bavaro
No Longer a Noob
- Jan 3, 2006
- 7,463
- 646
Nick's dad's symptoms may suggest a cancerous tumor on his spine. Then again, back pain has about a billion different causes; I'm just expecting the worst because it's better storyline material.
I don't understand why a gay roommate/athlete is even still an issue in 2012. Guess I'm just desensitized to the issue from having grown up in a large city.
I don't understand why a gay roommate/athlete is even still an issue in 2012. Guess I'm just desensitized to the issue from having grown up in a large city.
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How many current football players do you know in major college football or the NFL that will admit to being gay? That's why it's still an issue.
simms2bavaro
No Longer a Noob
- Jan 3, 2006
- 7,463
- 646
That explains why it would be news - something I didn't need explained to me. That does absolutely nothing, however, to explain why it's an "issue" that would turn readers off to the story or land Kap in "hot water".
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Sorry for the wait, busy with studying for a midterm (which is tomorrow) over Fall break. I'll definitely have the next update posted tomorrow.
“RED 19… RED 19… HUT, HUT!”
I took the snap from Linsley, faked the hand-off to Herron, and dropped back to pass. As the defensive tackle John Simon spun through St-Croix, I panicked and rolled out of the pocket. I knew I was wearing the black quarterback jersey, but it still freaked me out to see someone like Simon coming towards me at full steam.
Seeing Josh get what I thought was enough distance between him and the safety, I launched a deep throw to the second-string tight end on a flag route. He made an impressive over-the-shoulder catch with the safety Oliver draped all over him. Josh received a number of congratulations from the coaches and players as he headed to the water trough.
“Sweet catch, man,” I said, as he silently jogged past me, ignoring my compliments as he went to get a drink. I sighed, shook my head, and headed to get a drink myself.
Josh had been like this all week; every time I tried talking to him about anything, he would shut me out and act as if I wasn’t even there. On the field, in the locker room, in the dorm, it didn't matter. He was giving me the silent treatment, and it was starting to get old.
Other than that, the week of practices could not have gone smoother. There were no jitters, no bad days, no sudden bouts of panic or worry. All went as planned as the first game of the season neared and neared.
Before the drills started again, coach Tressel pulled me closely aside. “Great practice, so far, huh Nicholas?”
“Yeah, coach. I’m feelin’ pretty good.”
“That was a heck of a throw to Joshua; not a lot of quarterbacks your age could make that throw. And I liked how you knew when to escape from the pocket.”
“It was nothing, really,” I said with a shrug. “I knew I had the arm strength to get it over the safety. And I was taught by my coaches in high school to always be ready to run.”
“Well, keep up the good work. Just make sure what you do here translates onto the game field.”
Coach Tressel then walked away, and another one of the coaches’ whistles blew, signifying the end of our water break. It felt good to have the confidence of the coaches and my teammates (well, most of them). Now all that was left was to prove to those who placed there confidence in me that I was worth it, and to prove those who still doubted me otherwise.
I couldn’t believe it was already the first day of classes. I never went and looked for where any of my classes would be, so I would be that guy staring at his freshly-printed map as he wandered around campus looking for where his classes would be.
Luckily, I was able to find my way to my English class in time just before the class started. It was nothing but your basic introductory English class, and aside from the massive amount of students in the lecture hall, it was nothing special. Going over the syllabus, I saw that we would have to write up a bunch of papers over the course of the semester. I would have to ask around if there was a writing center anywhere on campus, as writing wasn’t my strong suit. But if I could eke out at least a B in the class, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
Next was Spanish, which I hadn’t taken since I was a sophomore, so who knows how rusty I would be. Just like with English, the Spanish syllabus was pretty straight-forward: homework to be turned in every class, sporadically scheduled exams, a midterm, and a speaking exam, and a final to end the semester.
I happened to catch a few of the people in my classes staring at me before quickly turning back towards the front of the room. I guess wearing an Ohio State football t-shirt with my kind of body was a dead give-away that I was on the team. And since I was in classes comprised of near entirely freshmen, it must’ve been all the more surprising to have someone on the illustrious football team in their class.
After my nice hour lunch break, I made my way to Campbell Hall, where my first Media Studies class was held. I had never been inside such a large building until today; while the three-story Campbell Hall wasn’t the largest, it was certainly the oldest of the buildings I had my classes in. And the seats were all nearly filled up when I entered the two-hundred seat auditorium. As I looked for a place to sit, I heard a familiar voice call my name.
“Hey, Kap!” I turned to see who called me, and it was the kicker Shannon McCormick, sitting next to two girls and waving me down. “Take a seat right here, bud, and tell these two fine ladies over here that I’m on the team. I’ve been tellin’ them for a while, but they're not buyin’ a word!”
I turned to the two girls Shannon was talking about; one was a small Asian girl with short sandy brown hair, thick-framed glasses and covered with freckles. The other was one of those Gothy girls; pale-white skin, dark make-up that couldn’t hide her scowl, and pink streaks in her raven-black hair. I was both amazed and confused at Shannon’s choice in women, but I kept that to myself. For now, it was time to play wingman.
“Ladies,” I said, sitting in the aisle seat. “Not only is my man right here on the football team, but he’s a starter. Maybe you could come to a practice, or game, and see for yourselves? I guarantee you’ll both have a great time.”
While the Asian girl seemed interested in what I was saying, the Goth rolled her eyes, scoffed, and left to look for another seat. The first girl said something I couldn’t hear to Shannon, and then followed her friend to another row of seats.
“Shannon, dude, are you kidding me here? I’ve seen at least twenty girls way hotter than those two in my first couple of classes alone.”
“Man, what’re you talking about? Those two were clearly eights.”
“If you add them together, maybe. I don’t know what things were like at your high school, but you're on the Ohio State football team now; you’ve got a license to hunt for the big game animals. I’m talking about sorority girls, cheerleaders, dancers; you name it, they’re fair game.”
“Come on man, I’m the kicker and you’re the quarterback; there’s a big difference. I’ll be lucky if I get to talk to one of the girls you mentioned.”
I hadn’t thought about it that way; I had always joked with guys like Tyson that being the kicker made them some sort of pariah when it came to the ladies. But now that I was hearing it from Shannon, it made me question whether my ripping on Tyson made his confidence in finding a girl shrivel.
“Well, what if I was your wingman?”
“What?”
“Yeah, think about it; you’ve got the future star quarterback of this school, helping a bro out on getting laid. And if I ever need help in that department, you swoop in and talk me up. It’s a win-win!”
Before we could shake on it, I was passed a class roster to sign, signaling the beginning of Media Studies 101. The professor, an older, obese man who went by Professor Davidson, passed out stacks of syllabus to each row in the lecture hall as he outlined the key points of the class. It looked like there were zero papers and only four exams, which didn't seem like that much of a challenge.
One of the points of the syllabus made me nudge Shannon to get his attention. “Dude, we get to watch movies in this class? F**k yeah!”
The auditorium quickly grew quiet, as I looked around and saw that nearly everyone was staring at me, including the professor. I must’ve spoken to Shannon a little louder than I wanted to. “Why yes, Mr.…”
“Kapatos. Nick Kapatos.”
“Well, Mr. Kapatos, we will be watching movies. But we are watching the films on this list to analyze, study, and learn from the early techniques of filmmaking, not for your personal enjoyment. If you want to watch movies for fun, I recommend checking them out from the library, or getting a Netflix account.”
As the professor moved on, I slumped into my chair and tried to hide my burning-read face. I’ve never been embarrassed like that in a class before, and I was going to make damn sure it never happened again. For the remainder of the class, I kept my mouth shut and ears open as the professor described the class and the major for everyone in attendance.
The rest of the week went by pretty smoothly after that, with classes and practices all going by in a blur. McCormick was the only guy from the team I had any classes with, which were MST 101 and 204. It was good to have someone on the team I get notes from and study with come exam time.
I had just gotten back from a quick Thursday night study session at the Thompson Library with Shannon and was going to meet him and some of the other guys at the Dining Hall for a late dinner before it closed. Rather than just head that way with Shannon, I figured I would drop my backpack off at the room and meet everyone there.
When I entered the room, I saw Josh reading a textbook at his desk. The book was titled American Sign Language for Beginners, and there was a notebook next to him with neatly-written notes.
“Hey Josh, what’s going on?” Like all week, I was greeted with an uneasy silence from my roommate. “Right. Well, I’m going to meet some of the guys at the Dining Hall in a little bit, you wanna come with? It’ll be good to get out of the dorm and hang with some of your teammates.” Once again, silence on Josh’s end. At this point I had had enough of the silent treatment. So, I angrily slammed my backpack on the tiled floor and turned Josh around so he was facing me.
“What the f**k, Kap? I’m studying here!”
“Well holy sh*t, he finally speaks! I never thought I’d hear you say something ever again.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know what it means. Ever since we spoke last week, you’ve been giving me the silent treatment. And you know what? I’m f**king sick of it! So I found out you’re gay, woopdee f**king doo! I told you last week that I don’t care what you are. As long as you’re a nice person, don’t treat me and others like an asshole, and you keep your personal shit off the football field, then we won’t have any problems.”
“I’m not talking about this with you right now.” Josh got up from his chair and made a move for the door, which I quickly blocked. Despite being an inch taller and outweighing me by more than thirty pounds, I wasn’t afraid to be face-to-face with him.
“So when are we going to talk about this? Tomorrow? Next week? Middle of the season? When we’re both done playing football? The sooner we talk about this, the quicker everything will be resolved.”
“Well what if I don’t want to talk about it?”
“Then it’ll eat you up inside until it destroys you. You want me to reveal a secret? Here’s one: I slept with a teammate’s girlfriend on graduation day, and he still has no idea that it happened. And while I’m at it, here’s another: before that, I fucked my girlfriend’s older sister the day after my seventeenth birthday, something I didn't tell her until after we broke up; she looked like she wanted to rip my head clean off my neck. And she probably would’ve, too, if we weren’t in the middle of a crowded hallway.”
Josh finally broke away from the confrontation and climbed into his bed. “And how does you telling me your sexual conquests and their consequences help me in any way?”
“That’s not the point. The point is that we all have secrets. And while mine are nowhere near as big as yours, telling someone will make you feel so much better. I’m not saying you should tell the whole team, but at least tell a few people.”
As Josh reclined in his bed, I got a text from Shannon, asking me where I was and if I was going to come to the Dining Hall. I quickly texted him that I had a change of plans, and I was staying in tonight. There was no way I was going to abandon a friend right now to go out and get something to eat. While I waited for Josh to say something, I sat down at my desk and reclined.
“So what gave it away,” asked Josh, surprised me so much that I nearly tipped the seat over.
“When you and Gene were walking down the hallway, I thought I saw you guys holding hands.” I heard Josh mutter an obscenity, but I let it go. “If you’re going to be in a relationship with this guy, then go right ahead. But you’ve got to be more careful with it if you don’t want anyone to find out about it, or get suspicious.”
“So what do you think I should do? Get a fake girlfriend or something?”
“Seems that way.” I heard Josh sigh and slam his hand back into the bed. “Hey, I’m just curious, and you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but how did you deal with this in high school?”
“Believe it or not, I actually had a girlfriend in high school,” said Josh, with an uneasy chuckle.
“Wait.. wait, I’m confused.”
Josh sat up in his bed and . “We started dating when I was a freshman, and we were together up until my senior year. In fact, I actually lost my virginity to her. But by the time we had sex, I didn't feel about her the same way I did when I was a freshman. I think that was the point I knew I wasn’t like anyone else. We had a clean break-up, and we’re still friends.”
“Do you think she knew?”
“Looking back on it, probably. I mean, if she didn't consider it before we had sex, then she surely thought about it after.”
“True. So, you gonna be alright now?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Josh hopped off his bed, landing cleanly. “It actually feels good to get this stuff out in the open. Well, about as open as it’s going to get at this point. Didn’t you say you were going to go to dinner with some of the guys?”
“You know… I think I’m going to stay in, order a pizza, get some work done, and sleep early. We’ve got the season opener in a couple days, no need to be out late with a game soon.”
And just like that, everything seemed fine between us. I knew there was still stuff that we needed to talk about, but for now all was right with the world. The next day’s classes and practice seemed to drag on, as I was focused more on Akron’s defense than I was with MLA-style formatting or learning Spanish verbs. As I laid there the bottom bunk, mind racing with thoughts of standing on the Buckeye field for the first time since last year’s Herbstreit Kick-Off Classic against Centerville, I just hoped that I wouldn’t screw anything up in my first college start.
I took the snap from Linsley, faked the hand-off to Herron, and dropped back to pass. As the defensive tackle John Simon spun through St-Croix, I panicked and rolled out of the pocket. I knew I was wearing the black quarterback jersey, but it still freaked me out to see someone like Simon coming towards me at full steam.
Seeing Josh get what I thought was enough distance between him and the safety, I launched a deep throw to the second-string tight end on a flag route. He made an impressive over-the-shoulder catch with the safety Oliver draped all over him. Josh received a number of congratulations from the coaches and players as he headed to the water trough.
“Sweet catch, man,” I said, as he silently jogged past me, ignoring my compliments as he went to get a drink. I sighed, shook my head, and headed to get a drink myself.
Josh had been like this all week; every time I tried talking to him about anything, he would shut me out and act as if I wasn’t even there. On the field, in the locker room, in the dorm, it didn't matter. He was giving me the silent treatment, and it was starting to get old.
Other than that, the week of practices could not have gone smoother. There were no jitters, no bad days, no sudden bouts of panic or worry. All went as planned as the first game of the season neared and neared.
Before the drills started again, coach Tressel pulled me closely aside. “Great practice, so far, huh Nicholas?”
“Yeah, coach. I’m feelin’ pretty good.”
“That was a heck of a throw to Joshua; not a lot of quarterbacks your age could make that throw. And I liked how you knew when to escape from the pocket.”
“It was nothing, really,” I said with a shrug. “I knew I had the arm strength to get it over the safety. And I was taught by my coaches in high school to always be ready to run.”
“Well, keep up the good work. Just make sure what you do here translates onto the game field.”
Coach Tressel then walked away, and another one of the coaches’ whistles blew, signifying the end of our water break. It felt good to have the confidence of the coaches and my teammates (well, most of them). Now all that was left was to prove to those who placed there confidence in me that I was worth it, and to prove those who still doubted me otherwise.
I couldn’t believe it was already the first day of classes. I never went and looked for where any of my classes would be, so I would be that guy staring at his freshly-printed map as he wandered around campus looking for where his classes would be.
Luckily, I was able to find my way to my English class in time just before the class started. It was nothing but your basic introductory English class, and aside from the massive amount of students in the lecture hall, it was nothing special. Going over the syllabus, I saw that we would have to write up a bunch of papers over the course of the semester. I would have to ask around if there was a writing center anywhere on campus, as writing wasn’t my strong suit. But if I could eke out at least a B in the class, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
Next was Spanish, which I hadn’t taken since I was a sophomore, so who knows how rusty I would be. Just like with English, the Spanish syllabus was pretty straight-forward: homework to be turned in every class, sporadically scheduled exams, a midterm, and a speaking exam, and a final to end the semester.
I happened to catch a few of the people in my classes staring at me before quickly turning back towards the front of the room. I guess wearing an Ohio State football t-shirt with my kind of body was a dead give-away that I was on the team. And since I was in classes comprised of near entirely freshmen, it must’ve been all the more surprising to have someone on the illustrious football team in their class.
After my nice hour lunch break, I made my way to Campbell Hall, where my first Media Studies class was held. I had never been inside such a large building until today; while the three-story Campbell Hall wasn’t the largest, it was certainly the oldest of the buildings I had my classes in. And the seats were all nearly filled up when I entered the two-hundred seat auditorium. As I looked for a place to sit, I heard a familiar voice call my name.
“Hey, Kap!” I turned to see who called me, and it was the kicker Shannon McCormick, sitting next to two girls and waving me down. “Take a seat right here, bud, and tell these two fine ladies over here that I’m on the team. I’ve been tellin’ them for a while, but they're not buyin’ a word!”
I turned to the two girls Shannon was talking about; one was a small Asian girl with short sandy brown hair, thick-framed glasses and covered with freckles. The other was one of those Gothy girls; pale-white skin, dark make-up that couldn’t hide her scowl, and pink streaks in her raven-black hair. I was both amazed and confused at Shannon’s choice in women, but I kept that to myself. For now, it was time to play wingman.
“Ladies,” I said, sitting in the aisle seat. “Not only is my man right here on the football team, but he’s a starter. Maybe you could come to a practice, or game, and see for yourselves? I guarantee you’ll both have a great time.”
While the Asian girl seemed interested in what I was saying, the Goth rolled her eyes, scoffed, and left to look for another seat. The first girl said something I couldn’t hear to Shannon, and then followed her friend to another row of seats.
“Shannon, dude, are you kidding me here? I’ve seen at least twenty girls way hotter than those two in my first couple of classes alone.”
“Man, what’re you talking about? Those two were clearly eights.”
“If you add them together, maybe. I don’t know what things were like at your high school, but you're on the Ohio State football team now; you’ve got a license to hunt for the big game animals. I’m talking about sorority girls, cheerleaders, dancers; you name it, they’re fair game.”
“Come on man, I’m the kicker and you’re the quarterback; there’s a big difference. I’ll be lucky if I get to talk to one of the girls you mentioned.”
I hadn’t thought about it that way; I had always joked with guys like Tyson that being the kicker made them some sort of pariah when it came to the ladies. But now that I was hearing it from Shannon, it made me question whether my ripping on Tyson made his confidence in finding a girl shrivel.
“Well, what if I was your wingman?”
“What?”
“Yeah, think about it; you’ve got the future star quarterback of this school, helping a bro out on getting laid. And if I ever need help in that department, you swoop in and talk me up. It’s a win-win!”
Before we could shake on it, I was passed a class roster to sign, signaling the beginning of Media Studies 101. The professor, an older, obese man who went by Professor Davidson, passed out stacks of syllabus to each row in the lecture hall as he outlined the key points of the class. It looked like there were zero papers and only four exams, which didn't seem like that much of a challenge.
One of the points of the syllabus made me nudge Shannon to get his attention. “Dude, we get to watch movies in this class? F**k yeah!”
The auditorium quickly grew quiet, as I looked around and saw that nearly everyone was staring at me, including the professor. I must’ve spoken to Shannon a little louder than I wanted to. “Why yes, Mr.…”
“Kapatos. Nick Kapatos.”
“Well, Mr. Kapatos, we will be watching movies. But we are watching the films on this list to analyze, study, and learn from the early techniques of filmmaking, not for your personal enjoyment. If you want to watch movies for fun, I recommend checking them out from the library, or getting a Netflix account.”
As the professor moved on, I slumped into my chair and tried to hide my burning-read face. I’ve never been embarrassed like that in a class before, and I was going to make damn sure it never happened again. For the remainder of the class, I kept my mouth shut and ears open as the professor described the class and the major for everyone in attendance.
The rest of the week went by pretty smoothly after that, with classes and practices all going by in a blur. McCormick was the only guy from the team I had any classes with, which were MST 101 and 204. It was good to have someone on the team I get notes from and study with come exam time.
I had just gotten back from a quick Thursday night study session at the Thompson Library with Shannon and was going to meet him and some of the other guys at the Dining Hall for a late dinner before it closed. Rather than just head that way with Shannon, I figured I would drop my backpack off at the room and meet everyone there.
When I entered the room, I saw Josh reading a textbook at his desk. The book was titled American Sign Language for Beginners, and there was a notebook next to him with neatly-written notes.
“Hey Josh, what’s going on?” Like all week, I was greeted with an uneasy silence from my roommate. “Right. Well, I’m going to meet some of the guys at the Dining Hall in a little bit, you wanna come with? It’ll be good to get out of the dorm and hang with some of your teammates.” Once again, silence on Josh’s end. At this point I had had enough of the silent treatment. So, I angrily slammed my backpack on the tiled floor and turned Josh around so he was facing me.
“What the f**k, Kap? I’m studying here!”
“Well holy sh*t, he finally speaks! I never thought I’d hear you say something ever again.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know what it means. Ever since we spoke last week, you’ve been giving me the silent treatment. And you know what? I’m f**king sick of it! So I found out you’re gay, woopdee f**king doo! I told you last week that I don’t care what you are. As long as you’re a nice person, don’t treat me and others like an asshole, and you keep your personal shit off the football field, then we won’t have any problems.”
“I’m not talking about this with you right now.” Josh got up from his chair and made a move for the door, which I quickly blocked. Despite being an inch taller and outweighing me by more than thirty pounds, I wasn’t afraid to be face-to-face with him.
“So when are we going to talk about this? Tomorrow? Next week? Middle of the season? When we’re both done playing football? The sooner we talk about this, the quicker everything will be resolved.”
“Well what if I don’t want to talk about it?”
“Then it’ll eat you up inside until it destroys you. You want me to reveal a secret? Here’s one: I slept with a teammate’s girlfriend on graduation day, and he still has no idea that it happened. And while I’m at it, here’s another: before that, I fucked my girlfriend’s older sister the day after my seventeenth birthday, something I didn't tell her until after we broke up; she looked like she wanted to rip my head clean off my neck. And she probably would’ve, too, if we weren’t in the middle of a crowded hallway.”
Josh finally broke away from the confrontation and climbed into his bed. “And how does you telling me your sexual conquests and their consequences help me in any way?”
“That’s not the point. The point is that we all have secrets. And while mine are nowhere near as big as yours, telling someone will make you feel so much better. I’m not saying you should tell the whole team, but at least tell a few people.”
As Josh reclined in his bed, I got a text from Shannon, asking me where I was and if I was going to come to the Dining Hall. I quickly texted him that I had a change of plans, and I was staying in tonight. There was no way I was going to abandon a friend right now to go out and get something to eat. While I waited for Josh to say something, I sat down at my desk and reclined.
“So what gave it away,” asked Josh, surprised me so much that I nearly tipped the seat over.
“When you and Gene were walking down the hallway, I thought I saw you guys holding hands.” I heard Josh mutter an obscenity, but I let it go. “If you’re going to be in a relationship with this guy, then go right ahead. But you’ve got to be more careful with it if you don’t want anyone to find out about it, or get suspicious.”
“So what do you think I should do? Get a fake girlfriend or something?”
“Seems that way.” I heard Josh sigh and slam his hand back into the bed. “Hey, I’m just curious, and you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but how did you deal with this in high school?”
“Believe it or not, I actually had a girlfriend in high school,” said Josh, with an uneasy chuckle.
“Wait.. wait, I’m confused.”
Josh sat up in his bed and . “We started dating when I was a freshman, and we were together up until my senior year. In fact, I actually lost my virginity to her. But by the time we had sex, I didn't feel about her the same way I did when I was a freshman. I think that was the point I knew I wasn’t like anyone else. We had a clean break-up, and we’re still friends.”
“Do you think she knew?”
“Looking back on it, probably. I mean, if she didn't consider it before we had sex, then she surely thought about it after.”
“True. So, you gonna be alright now?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Josh hopped off his bed, landing cleanly. “It actually feels good to get this stuff out in the open. Well, about as open as it’s going to get at this point. Didn’t you say you were going to go to dinner with some of the guys?”
“You know… I think I’m going to stay in, order a pizza, get some work done, and sleep early. We’ve got the season opener in a couple days, no need to be out late with a game soon.”
And just like that, everything seemed fine between us. I knew there was still stuff that we needed to talk about, but for now all was right with the world. The next day’s classes and practice seemed to drag on, as I was focused more on Akron’s defense than I was with MLA-style formatting or learning Spanish verbs. As I laid there the bottom bunk, mind racing with thoughts of standing on the Buckeye field for the first time since last year’s Herbstreit Kick-Off Classic against Centerville, I just hoped that I wouldn’t screw anything up in my first college start.
Josh is moody! Lol! Can't wait for the first college game.
He's gay....what do you expect?
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
Man, Josh is a little diva. But really, I don't blame him.. you know there are a lot of intolerant people around a football program
Moody....diva.....gay....I'm just sayin.
I'm going to try to get this update done and posted either tomorrow or Saturday afternoon so I don't have to worry about it while I punish my liver that night.
The pre-game festivities went by like a blur, and before I knew it I was fully dressed and ready to play. I looked in the mirror inside my locker, and marveled at how well the number ten scarlet red jersey fit on me, and how good I looked with the light hitting the silver pants and helmet; this was a serious upgrade over the West Islip blue-and-yellow. I took a look at the digital clock hanging above my locker, and it was officially thirty minutes until the 3:30 kick-off when the nerves kicked in and had to sit down to keep my breakfast from spilling all over the floor.
As the rest of the players were having themselves taped and going through their own pre-game rituals, I was sitting in front of my locker, nervously tapping my cleated feet on the ground and twirling my earbud around my index finger.
It was hard to believe that a almost a year ago, I was sitting in the visiting locker room in West Islip’s away whites, taking on the Ohio powerhouse Centerville Elks. It was that game that got the ball rolling on my eventual journey to where I was now; I took the opportunity of playing against a nationally-known high school on ESPN and turned it into a trio of scholarship offers, a full-ride to Ohio State, and now the starting quarterback position of the defending National Champion Buckeyes.
Even though I was deep in the bowels of Ohio Stadium, I could still faintly hear the music being played through the PA system of the stadium. I continued to twirl the earbud around my finger, not playing any music, without even noticing that the clacking of my cleats on the ground was becoming louder and louder as my foot tapped at an increasing rate.
“Yo Kap,” said Posey, snapping me out of my daze. “You alright, fresh?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little nervous.”
“Yeah, I was nervous my first game, too. As soon as I got that first reception, though, it all went away. And hey, it’s Akron; not like we’re playing Alabama or something.”
Before I could respond, we were all gathered together in the center of the locker room. Surrounded by over fifty large teenagers and young men in pads was head coach Jim Tressel, in one of his trademark Ohio State sweater-vests.
“Alright men, this is it. This is everything we’ve been practicing for since the summer, and I know you’re all ready to start hitting someone other than your teammates.” The rest of the guys, even on the offense, found the idea of finally getting to hit someone else humorous.
“Despite what all the pundits might say, and all the analysts might say, and all your fellow students might say, last year’s National Championship means just that: last year. It’s a whole new year, and now we’ve got the big target on our backs. We cannot get complacent, and we cannot sit back on our accomplishments from last year. Everyone is 0-0, everyone has an equal chance for greatness, and no one is safe. I want a clean, efficient game from everyone. Back-ups, if all goes according to plan, expect to see some playing time today. Everyone get a hand in here.”
Inside the home locker room was the calm before the storm, and Akron was right in the path of Hurricane Buckeye.
“Buckeyes on three. One, two, three…”
“BUCKEYES!”
…
“And welcome to the opening day of the 2011 college football season on a beautiful, sun-drenched day in Columbus, Ohio, on the Big Ten Network. With analyst Derek Rackley, I’m Eric Collins. Today, we present you the Akron Zips of the Mid-American Conference and the number one, defending National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes. And here come the Buckeyes!”
As the fight song was performed to perfection by Ohio State’s marching band, also known as “The Best Damn Band in the Land,” I started to get really fired up. I looked for the first person I could find – which happened to be fullback Zach Boren – and pounded him on the shoulder pads to get him as psyched as I was. All he did was laugh and shake his head, as if to say ‘I remember when I was like you, kid. Save your energy for the game.’
With our arms linked and the band reaching its peak, we burst out of the locker room to the deafening roar of over 100,000 Ohio State fans. Seeing this place at full capacity from the field for the first time was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen or heard.
We then all gathered around the strength coach in a circle as we went through our pre-game ritual of shouts and matching hand signals. It was tough to keep up with, and I was surprised to see all the upperclassmen mimic the strength coach perfectly.
“Derek, as both teams warm up, what do you like about this year’s Buckeyes? Can they repeat as National Champions?”
“Eric, I think the Buckeyes will go as far as their offense takes them. There is no doubt that their defense will be the strong point of this team, returning five starters and eight key contributors. Absolutely crucial to this defense is the front seven, which returns most of the key people on this defense, led by defensive captain John Simon. On the other side of the ball, coach Jim Tressel named freshman Nick Kapatos as his starting quarterback. Kapatos is the first true freshman to start for the Buckeyes since Art Schlichter, during the 1977-1978 season. The Buckeyes will also be starting another freshman, Dominic St-Croix, at the left guard position, where he replaces Outland Trophy semi-finalist Justin Boren. It should be interesting to see if the Akron defense focuses on the young lineman. And with a freshman under center, expect the Ohio State coaches to call a larger number of run plays to senior Dan Herron.”
“Derek, you mentioned the freshman quarterback Kapatos. As we see him warming-up on the field now, what do you think of the true freshman from New York?”
“Eric, I’ve seen the tape on this kid from West Islip High School, and I’m not sure about him. On one hand, he’s six-five, over two-hundred ten pounds, so he’s got the size for the position. And while he isnt going to burn you on the ground, he is deceptively fast once he gets moving. He’s also incredibly skilled in protecting the ball, only losing the ball a combined eleven times over the course of the regular season and playoffs. And finally, he is as hard a worker I’ve seen in a player in a long time. I spoke to his former head coach Tim Horan, and he said that when he wasn’t working tirelessly with his receivers after practice, he was either in the weight-room or studying film on his next opponent. And when I spoke to his coaches here, they pretty much echoed what his high school coaches said…”
As I warmed up with Posey, I heard the Buckeye crowd perform their famous O-H, I-O chant numerous times. I’m not going to lie; hearing it for the first time gave me half a chub. I wasn’t worried about or rankings, what the score was projected to be, or what would happen after the game; I just wanted to enjoy the moment.
“… But what concerns me about the freshman is that he comes from an area of the country that isn’t known for producing quality football recruits. I’m not sure if the stats he put up were because he truly was a great player, or because of the low level of competition. We’ll see this season if he’s the real deal.”
“Well, you’re right about one thing; Long Island is not known for producing high-level talent. The last time Long Island produced a highly-rated recruit was in 2005, when five-star North Babylon running back Jason Gwaltney committed to West Virginia. Unfortunately, he never did anything for the Mountaineers, eventually being kicked off the team and leaving the University entirely. And after him was Ifeanyi Momah from John Glenn-Elwood in 2006, when he committed to Boston College. And while he was never kicked off the team, his career at BC was plagued by injuries. So the bar is set pretty low in terms of success for a Long Island prospect.”
I looked over at the starting quarterback for the Zips, Patrick Nicely, as he warmed up. The junior from Willoughby High School was about as tall as me and looked like he had good zip on his throws, but I wasn’t worried. This wasn’t supposed to be some Game of the Century kind of match-up; it was a highly ranked team opening up with a cupcake.
“Derek, what about the Zips? Do you think they stand any chance of coming out of this game with the W?”
“Eric, the only way I could see Akron pulling off the upset would be if the entire starting Buckeyes line-up failed to show up. And even then it would be a close contest. But I do like their quarterback, junior Patrick Nicely. He had a good year for the Zips, throwing twenty touchdowns against twelve interceptions, but a weak defense and a porous offensive line was the reason they went 4-8 last season.”
The crowd cheered in in response to winning the opening coin-toss, and DeVier Posey took the ball out to the twenty-two. Before I could leave the sideline, coach Tressel pulled me in close so he could go over the opening drive game-plan one more time. It was tough to hear over the band and crowd, so I just nodded and jogged onto the field.
“First down for the Buckeyes, ball on their own twenty-two. Kapatos sets up under center, Herron and Boren lined up behind him.”
“GREEN 22… GREEN 22…” I looked across the Zips’ front seven, who looked a lot smaller and less intimidating during the warm-ups. “SET, HUT!”
“Kapatos takes the snap, hands it off to Herron, and he’s through a large hole to the twenty-nine. A gain of seven for the senior on the first offensive play of the season for the Buckeyes.”
“Good run, Herron, good run! Big misdirection weak on two, on two.”
“Second down for the Buckeyes, in a two tight end set. Kapatos takes the snap and it’s a counter to the left…”
The second I put the ball in Dan’s gut and turned my head around, I saw a big defensive tackle barrel through St-Croix and make a bee-line for Herron. There wasn’t anything I could do other than hope Herron could make the man miss.
“… and Herron is swamped behind the line of scrimmage by the big senior Dan Marcoux. It’s officially ruled a loss of one, and we have our first third down of the day.”
Herron brushed off my supportive smack on the pads, and I looked over at the offensive coordinator to see what play we were running.
“Third and four, clock just over 8:40. The Buckeyes come out with three receivers in a tight end, overloading the right side. Expect a run to that side of the field. Kapatos sends a receiver in motion to the left, takes the snap, rolls right, and hits the tight end Stoneburner for the first down and he’s taken down by a linebacker, but not before picking up fifteen on the first throw from the freshman, and a Buckeye first down.”
“A good throw on the run by the freshman, hitting the senior Stoneburner right in the numbers, and the motion of the slot receiver Corey Brown gave away the zone coverage.”
“Good throw, fresh,” said Jake, smacking me on the helmet. “Damn good throw.”
Two runs of seven and four yards by Herron and we were in Akron’s side of the field at the forty-seven. The crowd, already behind us, was now really letting us know of their support.
“Second and six, ball just at the Zips forty-seven, and Kapatos lines up under center with two receivers to his left. He takes the snap drops back to pass…”
My primary target, Posey was running a quick slant, but the middle linebacker was spying the middle. I could’ve thrown a bomb to Chris Fields down the sideline, but he had the safety playing on-top of him, so he was out. I saw Jake get separation from the linebacker covering him on a post route, so I lofted the ball his way before taking a hit from Marcoux.
“Kapatos fires to Stoneburner, and it’s caught by the senior and quickly taken down for a twenty-six yard gain! He puts enough loft on the ball for it to land right in the tight end’s hands for a big gain on second down.”
“And he took a good lick on that play by Marcoux, officially welcoming the young man to college football.”
…
“Close to seven minutes remaining in the first, ball on the twenty-one yard line for the Buckeyes. Kapatos takes the snap, and fakes the hand-off. He’s got a man wide open down the field and launches it towards the endzone… incomplete! Oh man, he had the slot receiver Brown wide open in the endzone, and he just missed him. He’s going to want that one back.”
“I think he got a little too excited on that play, but he’ll bounce back.”
I smacked my hands after I saw the ball sail through the back of the endzone on a throw I could make in my sleep. And the worst part was that he was wide open; the safeties bit on the play-action, and he beat his man on a post route. All I had to do was throw a catchable ball, and I failed miserably.
“Second down, the Buckeyes come out in the Shotgun, two tight ends and receivers as Kapatos takes the snap. He hands off to Herron on a counter, and he’s got the left corner and the guard St-Croix in front of him. St-Croix flattens the cornerback, and Herron walks in for the touchdown! What a twenty-one yard run by the senior!”
“The reason this play happens is because the left tackle Mike Adams and the tight end Josh Oversonn get the seal on the edge, and St-Croix gets off the line and sweeps in front of the back. This play could not have been run any better, and it leads to the first score of the year for Dan Herron.”
“We’re only three minutes into the first quarter, and Herron is averaging seven-point-six yards on seven carries. That is a recipe for disaster if you’re Akron defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove and head coach Rob Ianello.”
I was the first to congratulate Herron as we jogged back to the sidelines. While the freshman and transfer players were all jumping up and down, all of the upperclassmen were reserved and in control, as if this were business as usual. That didn't stop me from basking in the moment of leading my first touchdown drive.
When the defense entered the game, the Zips got a free first down after an Etienne Sabino facemask, and they allowed Akron’s Broderick Alexander and Nicely to pick up two more first downs before forcing a turnover on downs with a sack by Melvin Fellows on a fourth down to give us great field position.
Unfortunately, after a big run by Posey on first down, we couldn’t keep the drive alive, and McCormick missed a thirty-five yard field goal wide left.
The Zips took advantage of our missed field goal and drove the length of the field until they scored on a one-yard run by Alexander. They missed the extra point, so we had a one-point lead to start the second quarter.
…
“Third down now, ball on the Akron thirty. Kapatos has been impressive on this drive, going two-for-four on this drive for twenty-eight yards. And throw in eighteen yards on the ground for Herron, and this Buckeyes offense is looking incredibly balanced today. Kapatos is in the Shotgun, and sets up to pass. He fires a bullet across the middle to DeVier Posey on a quick slant for a gain of eleven and another Buckeye first down.”
“Posey gets a good burst off the line, and takes advantage of the defender playing soft coverage. And Kapatos makes a lightning-fast throw that looked like it could’ve taken someone’s head off. Expect these two to connect often this season.”
…
“Second and four, ball on Akron’s thirteen yard line, less than seven minutes remaining in the quarter. Ohio State still up, 7-6, is lined up in the Shotgun again, two receivers and a tight end overloading the right. Kapatos takes the snap, and hands it off to Herron…”
The first read-option of the year, I had to correctly read what the defensive-line was doing to get the timing right; either I take it myself, or let Herron run. With the defensive ends crashing, though, there really wasn’t much of a choice on this one.
“Herron takes it to the outside, and he’s got room. He’s at the ten, the five, touchdown Buckeyes! The second on the day for the senior Herron, and Ohio State has a seven-point lead!”
“Once again, the reason why this play is possible is because the entire left side of the line is able to keep on their blocks and seal the edge, allowing Dan Herron to get in the open field and out-run the Akron linebacker trying to chase him. Herron has looked sharp today, gaining eighty-three yards on eleven carries mid-way through the second quarter. Eric, he is gashing this Akron defense.”
“Derek, this could get ugly in a hurry if Akron can’t find a way to at least limit Herron on the ground, and force the Buckeyes to rely on the young quarterback to beat them.”
…
Three straight punts from both teams followed our second touchdown of the very young season. In between trying to drive down the field for another score and watching our defense dominate Akron, I would go over the defense of the previous series with the coaches. It was a lot different than what I had done at West Islip; the coaches would just ask what I saw, how I could do better, and then throw me back out on the field.
Here it was different; all of the quarterbacks would get together and go over aerial photos with the coaches, discuss what the defense did on the previous drive, analyze specific players’ tendencies, and find ways to either avoid them or beat them outright. It was refreshing, yet slightly overwhelming at the same time. But I knew it would all be worth it in the long run when I was playing on Sundays.
…
“Kapatos drops back to pass, and is wrapped up behind the line of scrimmage for a sack! It’s a loss of seven on the sack by Dan Marcoux, and someone missed a blocking assignment on that one.”
“Marcoux, the senior, goes one-on-one with the freshman St-Croix, and Marcoux spins his way out of the block and notches his first sack of the season at the expense of the freshman.”
“Sorry, Kap,” said St-Croix. “Won’t happen again, today. I promise.”
“It’s cool, man,” I said, brushing the black rubber beads off my arms before getting back to the huddle. “Just forget about it.”
…
“After another big run of eleven yards for Herron, it’s third and six at their own forty-five. Under a minute-thirty remaining before Halftime, the Buckeyes line up in the singleback formation, with three receivers bunched together on the right, and a single receiver on the left. Kapatos takes a five-step drop and looks downfield. He launches a bomb down the right sideline… and it’s caught by Posey! And he’s tripped up by the cornerback for a huge gain of thirty-nine on the play!”
“The bunch formation crosses up the secondary and gets them all focused on the middle of the field, and when Posey goes on a wheel route to the outside, all Kapatos has to do is hit Posey downfield, which he does. Another great throw by the freshman, today.”
“No kidding, Derek. Through the first half, Kapatos has completed eight of thirteen attempts for one-hundred forty-two yards. Not a bad start for the freshman, who many predicted would be redshirted at the beginning of summer practices.”
…
“Second and six, ball on Akron’s thirteen yard-line. Under half-a-minute remaining before Halftime. The Buckeyes come out in the Shotgun formation, two receivers and a tight end to the right, and Akron has five defensive backs deep in coverage; they must be expecting a deep throw. Kapatos takes the snap, pump fakes left, and lofts it to Herron for the screen. He catches it and has a convoy of blockers in front of him. Dan Herron practically walks in for the touchdown, and congratulations to Nick Kapatos, for the first of what are hopefully many more touchdown passes!”
After the guys on offense were done congratulating Herron for his third score of the afternoon, I was mobbed by the offensive linemen and special teams players as I made my way to the sidelines. I heard the student section in the south endzone, known as “Block O South”, start a ‘Happy Kappy’ chant, so I responded by pointing to them and pumping my fist in the air. I finally popped my college football cherry, and hopefully it wasn’t the last touchdown of the day.
…
“Three seconds left on the clock for Akron to work with, and it looks like they have five receivers on the field, so we’re going to see how far Nicely can throw before the end of the half. Nicely takes the snap, and drops back deep. The pressure is on, and he’s forced from the pocket by the defensive end, and he heaves one towards the sky. And it’s… incomplete. Batted away by the safety, Orhian Johnson, and that will end the half. Ohio State leads Akron, 21-6, at halftime. We’ll be right back for our first half analysis after the break, on Big Ten Network football.”
…
“We start the second half with a touchback, and as Akron starts at their own twenty, let’s bring you the first half stats, brought to you by Domino’s pizza. Ohio State leads in practically all categories; total yards, rushing, and passing. You name it, they’re leading in the category. Nicely drops back to pass, and is sacked! The ball pops loose, and there’s a pile-up on-top of the football!”
“Etienne Sabino absolutely rocked Patrick Nicely, jarring the ball loose. It looks like Akron’s recovered the ball, but it’s still a loss of six as they maintain possession early in the second half. Nicely didn't even see Sabino coming through the middle on the blitz, and it almost cost him and his team big time.”
…
“Fourth down, ball on the Akron twenty-two, looks like they’re going to punt. Posey is back to receive the punt, and they’ll probably get some good field position out of this. Zach Paul takes the snap, it’s a bit high, and IT’S BLOCKED! Ohio State blocks the punt, and it’s recovered by the Buckeyes at the two yard line! And things are just not going Akron’s way today.”
“Dorian Bell, the starting weak-side linebacker, comes right up the middle, with absolutely zero opposition and makes a textbook punt block. And Cedric Summers, the back-up strong-side linebacker, jumps on the ball, giving the Buckeyes excellent field position to start the third quarter.”
…
“Kapatos under center in the Goal Line formation. He takes the snap, it’s a play-action, and he goes down for a sack! It’s the linebacker Brian Wagner with the sack, the second of the day for this Akron defense, and that’s a loss of five on the play.”
…
“Third and goal, ball on the three. 8:23 in the third following the incompletion on second down. It’s a toss to the right, and Herron dives across the line for a touchdown! Number three on the ground for Dan Herron, and it appears that the route is on in Columbus.”
…
“Second and eight for the Zips, ball inside the Buckeyes forty. Nicely has four receivers spread out in the shotgun, and Ohio State is in the Nickel defense. Nicely takes the low snap and drops back. He’s pressured by the defensive end Nathan Williams, so he scrambles right, and is brought down well behind the line by Williams! A loss of eleven on the play, and that moves Akron all the way back to midfield! That’s sack number four for the Buckeyes, and that forces a third and very long.”
…
“Second down for Ohio State at the five, after a tremendous punt from the Zips. Kapatos drops back, fires a quick strike to Chris Fields, and he runs for another ten for a gain of nineteen and a big first down.”
…
“Third and eleven, ball on their own twenty-three. Midway through the third, Ohio State has dominated this game so far, Kapatos is in the Shotgun with a five receiver set. He takes the snap, sets up in the pocket, has all day to throw, and finds the receiver in the middle of the field; it’s the sophomore James Louis. He picks up a few extra yards before being dragged down at the forty-five yard line! A gain of thirty-two, and another monster gain through the air by the arm of the freshman from Long Island, New York, and these fans are loving it!”
After another huge gain through the air, the scarlet-and-grey crowd showed their appreciation by belting out another one of their O-H, I-O chants; I’ve lost count at how many they’ve done at this point. I wanted, though to give them another reason to cheer for a score, and really pour it on the Zips.
…
“Second down after the incompletion, ball just inside the thirty-five yard line of Akron. Ohio State is lined up in the standard I-formation. Kapatos takes the snap, hands it off –no, it’s play-action! He’s got a wide-open Posey, and he hits him with tons of room ahead of him. He’s at the twenty, the fifteen, the ten, touchdown Buckeyes! Kapatos’ second touchdown pass of the day, and the floodgates have officially opened. Pending the successful PAT attempt, that makes twenty-eight unanswered points since the second quarter.”
“The defense has been getting burnt by the run all game, so it was only a matter of time before they were beat by the play-action. Posey runs a textbook deep in route, and by the time Akron's defense knows what's happening, Posey is already in the endzone for six.”
…
“Just under half-a-minute left in the third quarter, and it has been all Ohio State today. Akron has looked dead in the water since they scored in the first quarter to pull within one. After a six-yard completion to the running back, it’s now second and four at the five. Kapatos takes the snap, hands it off on a counter, and Herron cuts back inside, and dives for a touchdown! There’s number four for the senior, and that should just about do it for the starters. Derek, Dan Herron has taken control of this game. He’s now rushed for one-hundred thirty-two yards on only twenty carries, along with two receptions for twenty-one yards. Should we expect to see this kind of production from him next week at Miami?”
“Eric, if you’re coach Jim Tressel, you better hope Herron can at least match the effort he gave today. Miami brings back a tremendously athletic defense; if they can’t get Herron going, they’ll have to rely on an unproven quarterback to get the job done. Sure he threw for two touchdowns today, but that was against a lackluster defensive effort from Akron; he’s going to need to step it up against Miami’s defense.”
…
After another defensive stand by the defense, highlighted by Nate Williams’ second sack of the afternoon, the starters were officially done at the start of the fourth and final quarter. Today couldn’t have gone any better for myself and the rest of the team; we got out to an early lead and rather than play it safe the rest of the way, we stepped on their throats and padded our stats.
Josh would make a reception for one yard on the first offensive series of the fourth quarter, but the offense –led by Bauserman– couldn’t manage to get a first down, so it was punted to the Akron seventeen. As I downed a cup of Gatorade and listened to the band play The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” for the umpteenth time, Cedric nudged me as the second-string defense made their way onto the field.
“Hey, Kaps. Twenty bucks says I take one to the house on the first play of the drive.”
I scoffed. “Make it fifty and you’ve got a deal.”
“And as Akron has the ball for the first time this quarter, we’ll see Ohio State play it safe and send out the second string defense. Nicely lines up under center, two backs behind him, and Ohio State is in their base 4-3 defense. He takes the snap, drops back to pass, flings it to the right, and the linebacker tips it in the air…”
As the ball floated like a stray bubble caught in the breeze, Cedric tracked the ball as it started to return to earth and stretched his arms out to pluck the ball just before it hit the turf. “No way…”
“And it’s intercepted! It’s the freshman Cedric Summers!”
“No way…”
“Summers is going to take this all the way to the house, touchdown Buckeyes! Now that’s how you make an impact in your first collegiate game by the number one overall recruit of the Class of 2011!”
“No f**king way.”
As the second string defense made their way back to the sideline, Cedric ripped off his helmet to reveal the biggest, cockiest smile I’ve ever seen. He gave me one of those I told you so looks that no one ever wants to get, but everyone wants to give. For the first time in my entire life, I was upset that someone on my own team scored a touchdown.
“I’ll be taking that fifty dollars you owe me later in the locker room, thank you very much.”
“You know we never shook on it, right?” Cedric and I shared a laugh before he had to go back on the field for another series.
The team would add another interception from Christian Bryant, along with two more touchdowns to our total; one on a pass from Bauserman to third tight end Reid Fragel, and another to James Louis from the arm of Guiton. And just like that, it was all over.
“And that’s all she wrote here in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State takes Akron takes Akron to the wood chipper in this one, by the score of 63-6, behind a five-touchdown effort by Dan Herron, who has earned our Player of the Game. Stay tuned for the post-game coverage, brought to you by AT&T. Once again, from all of us here at Ohio Stadium, we’ll see you next time on the Big Ten Network’s presentation of College Football.”
Rather than head straight for the locker room, we all gathered near the back of the south endzone where the band was situated, with the rest of the team, coaches and cheerleaders. We all put our arms around each other, and sang Carmen Ohio, a post-game tradition as old as Ohio State football itself, with whoever was left of the student section.
“Oh come let’s sing Ohio’s praise
And songs to Alma Mater raise
While out hearts rebounding thrill
With joy which death alone can still
Summer’s heat or winter’s cold
The season’s pass, the years will roll
Time and change will surely show
How firm thy friendship…
O–HI–O!”
As the Best Damn Band in the Land played the fight song, I marveled at my first win as a starting quarterback. I had to pinch myself a couple of times while watching the back-ups, as I still had a hard time believing that today was actually happening. But it did, and I would never forget this feeling for as long as I lived.
15-22, 259 yards, 2-0, sacked 2 times
As the rest of the players were having themselves taped and going through their own pre-game rituals, I was sitting in front of my locker, nervously tapping my cleated feet on the ground and twirling my earbud around my index finger.
It was hard to believe that a almost a year ago, I was sitting in the visiting locker room in West Islip’s away whites, taking on the Ohio powerhouse Centerville Elks. It was that game that got the ball rolling on my eventual journey to where I was now; I took the opportunity of playing against a nationally-known high school on ESPN and turned it into a trio of scholarship offers, a full-ride to Ohio State, and now the starting quarterback position of the defending National Champion Buckeyes.
Even though I was deep in the bowels of Ohio Stadium, I could still faintly hear the music being played through the PA system of the stadium. I continued to twirl the earbud around my finger, not playing any music, without even noticing that the clacking of my cleats on the ground was becoming louder and louder as my foot tapped at an increasing rate.
“Yo Kap,” said Posey, snapping me out of my daze. “You alright, fresh?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little nervous.”
“Yeah, I was nervous my first game, too. As soon as I got that first reception, though, it all went away. And hey, it’s Akron; not like we’re playing Alabama or something.”
Before I could respond, we were all gathered together in the center of the locker room. Surrounded by over fifty large teenagers and young men in pads was head coach Jim Tressel, in one of his trademark Ohio State sweater-vests.
“Alright men, this is it. This is everything we’ve been practicing for since the summer, and I know you’re all ready to start hitting someone other than your teammates.” The rest of the guys, even on the offense, found the idea of finally getting to hit someone else humorous.
“Despite what all the pundits might say, and all the analysts might say, and all your fellow students might say, last year’s National Championship means just that: last year. It’s a whole new year, and now we’ve got the big target on our backs. We cannot get complacent, and we cannot sit back on our accomplishments from last year. Everyone is 0-0, everyone has an equal chance for greatness, and no one is safe. I want a clean, efficient game from everyone. Back-ups, if all goes according to plan, expect to see some playing time today. Everyone get a hand in here.”
Inside the home locker room was the calm before the storm, and Akron was right in the path of Hurricane Buckeye.
“Buckeyes on three. One, two, three…”
“BUCKEYES!”
…
“And welcome to the opening day of the 2011 college football season on a beautiful, sun-drenched day in Columbus, Ohio, on the Big Ten Network. With analyst Derek Rackley, I’m Eric Collins. Today, we present you the Akron Zips of the Mid-American Conference and the number one, defending National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes. And here come the Buckeyes!”
As the fight song was performed to perfection by Ohio State’s marching band, also known as “The Best Damn Band in the Land,” I started to get really fired up. I looked for the first person I could find – which happened to be fullback Zach Boren – and pounded him on the shoulder pads to get him as psyched as I was. All he did was laugh and shake his head, as if to say ‘I remember when I was like you, kid. Save your energy for the game.’
With our arms linked and the band reaching its peak, we burst out of the locker room to the deafening roar of over 100,000 Ohio State fans. Seeing this place at full capacity from the field for the first time was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen or heard.
We then all gathered around the strength coach in a circle as we went through our pre-game ritual of shouts and matching hand signals. It was tough to keep up with, and I was surprised to see all the upperclassmen mimic the strength coach perfectly.
“Derek, as both teams warm up, what do you like about this year’s Buckeyes? Can they repeat as National Champions?”
“Eric, I think the Buckeyes will go as far as their offense takes them. There is no doubt that their defense will be the strong point of this team, returning five starters and eight key contributors. Absolutely crucial to this defense is the front seven, which returns most of the key people on this defense, led by defensive captain John Simon. On the other side of the ball, coach Jim Tressel named freshman Nick Kapatos as his starting quarterback. Kapatos is the first true freshman to start for the Buckeyes since Art Schlichter, during the 1977-1978 season. The Buckeyes will also be starting another freshman, Dominic St-Croix, at the left guard position, where he replaces Outland Trophy semi-finalist Justin Boren. It should be interesting to see if the Akron defense focuses on the young lineman. And with a freshman under center, expect the Ohio State coaches to call a larger number of run plays to senior Dan Herron.”
“Derek, you mentioned the freshman quarterback Kapatos. As we see him warming-up on the field now, what do you think of the true freshman from New York?”
“Eric, I’ve seen the tape on this kid from West Islip High School, and I’m not sure about him. On one hand, he’s six-five, over two-hundred ten pounds, so he’s got the size for the position. And while he isnt going to burn you on the ground, he is deceptively fast once he gets moving. He’s also incredibly skilled in protecting the ball, only losing the ball a combined eleven times over the course of the regular season and playoffs. And finally, he is as hard a worker I’ve seen in a player in a long time. I spoke to his former head coach Tim Horan, and he said that when he wasn’t working tirelessly with his receivers after practice, he was either in the weight-room or studying film on his next opponent. And when I spoke to his coaches here, they pretty much echoed what his high school coaches said…”
As I warmed up with Posey, I heard the Buckeye crowd perform their famous O-H, I-O chant numerous times. I’m not going to lie; hearing it for the first time gave me half a chub. I wasn’t worried about or rankings, what the score was projected to be, or what would happen after the game; I just wanted to enjoy the moment.
“… But what concerns me about the freshman is that he comes from an area of the country that isn’t known for producing quality football recruits. I’m not sure if the stats he put up were because he truly was a great player, or because of the low level of competition. We’ll see this season if he’s the real deal.”
“Well, you’re right about one thing; Long Island is not known for producing high-level talent. The last time Long Island produced a highly-rated recruit was in 2005, when five-star North Babylon running back Jason Gwaltney committed to West Virginia. Unfortunately, he never did anything for the Mountaineers, eventually being kicked off the team and leaving the University entirely. And after him was Ifeanyi Momah from John Glenn-Elwood in 2006, when he committed to Boston College. And while he was never kicked off the team, his career at BC was plagued by injuries. So the bar is set pretty low in terms of success for a Long Island prospect.”
I looked over at the starting quarterback for the Zips, Patrick Nicely, as he warmed up. The junior from Willoughby High School was about as tall as me and looked like he had good zip on his throws, but I wasn’t worried. This wasn’t supposed to be some Game of the Century kind of match-up; it was a highly ranked team opening up with a cupcake.
“Derek, what about the Zips? Do you think they stand any chance of coming out of this game with the W?”
“Eric, the only way I could see Akron pulling off the upset would be if the entire starting Buckeyes line-up failed to show up. And even then it would be a close contest. But I do like their quarterback, junior Patrick Nicely. He had a good year for the Zips, throwing twenty touchdowns against twelve interceptions, but a weak defense and a porous offensive line was the reason they went 4-8 last season.”
The crowd cheered in in response to winning the opening coin-toss, and DeVier Posey took the ball out to the twenty-two. Before I could leave the sideline, coach Tressel pulled me in close so he could go over the opening drive game-plan one more time. It was tough to hear over the band and crowd, so I just nodded and jogged onto the field.
“First down for the Buckeyes, ball on their own twenty-two. Kapatos sets up under center, Herron and Boren lined up behind him.”
“GREEN 22… GREEN 22…” I looked across the Zips’ front seven, who looked a lot smaller and less intimidating during the warm-ups. “SET, HUT!”
“Kapatos takes the snap, hands it off to Herron, and he’s through a large hole to the twenty-nine. A gain of seven for the senior on the first offensive play of the season for the Buckeyes.”
“Good run, Herron, good run! Big misdirection weak on two, on two.”
“Second down for the Buckeyes, in a two tight end set. Kapatos takes the snap and it’s a counter to the left…”
The second I put the ball in Dan’s gut and turned my head around, I saw a big defensive tackle barrel through St-Croix and make a bee-line for Herron. There wasn’t anything I could do other than hope Herron could make the man miss.
“… and Herron is swamped behind the line of scrimmage by the big senior Dan Marcoux. It’s officially ruled a loss of one, and we have our first third down of the day.”
Herron brushed off my supportive smack on the pads, and I looked over at the offensive coordinator to see what play we were running.
“Third and four, clock just over 8:40. The Buckeyes come out with three receivers in a tight end, overloading the right side. Expect a run to that side of the field. Kapatos sends a receiver in motion to the left, takes the snap, rolls right, and hits the tight end Stoneburner for the first down and he’s taken down by a linebacker, but not before picking up fifteen on the first throw from the freshman, and a Buckeye first down.”
“A good throw on the run by the freshman, hitting the senior Stoneburner right in the numbers, and the motion of the slot receiver Corey Brown gave away the zone coverage.”
“Good throw, fresh,” said Jake, smacking me on the helmet. “Damn good throw.”
Two runs of seven and four yards by Herron and we were in Akron’s side of the field at the forty-seven. The crowd, already behind us, was now really letting us know of their support.
“Second and six, ball just at the Zips forty-seven, and Kapatos lines up under center with two receivers to his left. He takes the snap drops back to pass…”
My primary target, Posey was running a quick slant, but the middle linebacker was spying the middle. I could’ve thrown a bomb to Chris Fields down the sideline, but he had the safety playing on-top of him, so he was out. I saw Jake get separation from the linebacker covering him on a post route, so I lofted the ball his way before taking a hit from Marcoux.
“Kapatos fires to Stoneburner, and it’s caught by the senior and quickly taken down for a twenty-six yard gain! He puts enough loft on the ball for it to land right in the tight end’s hands for a big gain on second down.”
“And he took a good lick on that play by Marcoux, officially welcoming the young man to college football.”
…
“Close to seven minutes remaining in the first, ball on the twenty-one yard line for the Buckeyes. Kapatos takes the snap, and fakes the hand-off. He’s got a man wide open down the field and launches it towards the endzone… incomplete! Oh man, he had the slot receiver Brown wide open in the endzone, and he just missed him. He’s going to want that one back.”
“I think he got a little too excited on that play, but he’ll bounce back.”
I smacked my hands after I saw the ball sail through the back of the endzone on a throw I could make in my sleep. And the worst part was that he was wide open; the safeties bit on the play-action, and he beat his man on a post route. All I had to do was throw a catchable ball, and I failed miserably.
“Second down, the Buckeyes come out in the Shotgun, two tight ends and receivers as Kapatos takes the snap. He hands off to Herron on a counter, and he’s got the left corner and the guard St-Croix in front of him. St-Croix flattens the cornerback, and Herron walks in for the touchdown! What a twenty-one yard run by the senior!”
“The reason this play happens is because the left tackle Mike Adams and the tight end Josh Oversonn get the seal on the edge, and St-Croix gets off the line and sweeps in front of the back. This play could not have been run any better, and it leads to the first score of the year for Dan Herron.”
“We’re only three minutes into the first quarter, and Herron is averaging seven-point-six yards on seven carries. That is a recipe for disaster if you’re Akron defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove and head coach Rob Ianello.”
I was the first to congratulate Herron as we jogged back to the sidelines. While the freshman and transfer players were all jumping up and down, all of the upperclassmen were reserved and in control, as if this were business as usual. That didn't stop me from basking in the moment of leading my first touchdown drive.
When the defense entered the game, the Zips got a free first down after an Etienne Sabino facemask, and they allowed Akron’s Broderick Alexander and Nicely to pick up two more first downs before forcing a turnover on downs with a sack by Melvin Fellows on a fourth down to give us great field position.
Unfortunately, after a big run by Posey on first down, we couldn’t keep the drive alive, and McCormick missed a thirty-five yard field goal wide left.
The Zips took advantage of our missed field goal and drove the length of the field until they scored on a one-yard run by Alexander. They missed the extra point, so we had a one-point lead to start the second quarter.
…
“Third down now, ball on the Akron thirty. Kapatos has been impressive on this drive, going two-for-four on this drive for twenty-eight yards. And throw in eighteen yards on the ground for Herron, and this Buckeyes offense is looking incredibly balanced today. Kapatos is in the Shotgun, and sets up to pass. He fires a bullet across the middle to DeVier Posey on a quick slant for a gain of eleven and another Buckeye first down.”
“Posey gets a good burst off the line, and takes advantage of the defender playing soft coverage. And Kapatos makes a lightning-fast throw that looked like it could’ve taken someone’s head off. Expect these two to connect often this season.”
…
“Second and four, ball on Akron’s thirteen yard line, less than seven minutes remaining in the quarter. Ohio State still up, 7-6, is lined up in the Shotgun again, two receivers and a tight end overloading the right. Kapatos takes the snap, and hands it off to Herron…”
The first read-option of the year, I had to correctly read what the defensive-line was doing to get the timing right; either I take it myself, or let Herron run. With the defensive ends crashing, though, there really wasn’t much of a choice on this one.
“Herron takes it to the outside, and he’s got room. He’s at the ten, the five, touchdown Buckeyes! The second on the day for the senior Herron, and Ohio State has a seven-point lead!”
“Once again, the reason why this play is possible is because the entire left side of the line is able to keep on their blocks and seal the edge, allowing Dan Herron to get in the open field and out-run the Akron linebacker trying to chase him. Herron has looked sharp today, gaining eighty-three yards on eleven carries mid-way through the second quarter. Eric, he is gashing this Akron defense.”
“Derek, this could get ugly in a hurry if Akron can’t find a way to at least limit Herron on the ground, and force the Buckeyes to rely on the young quarterback to beat them.”
…
Three straight punts from both teams followed our second touchdown of the very young season. In between trying to drive down the field for another score and watching our defense dominate Akron, I would go over the defense of the previous series with the coaches. It was a lot different than what I had done at West Islip; the coaches would just ask what I saw, how I could do better, and then throw me back out on the field.
Here it was different; all of the quarterbacks would get together and go over aerial photos with the coaches, discuss what the defense did on the previous drive, analyze specific players’ tendencies, and find ways to either avoid them or beat them outright. It was refreshing, yet slightly overwhelming at the same time. But I knew it would all be worth it in the long run when I was playing on Sundays.
…
“Kapatos drops back to pass, and is wrapped up behind the line of scrimmage for a sack! It’s a loss of seven on the sack by Dan Marcoux, and someone missed a blocking assignment on that one.”
“Marcoux, the senior, goes one-on-one with the freshman St-Croix, and Marcoux spins his way out of the block and notches his first sack of the season at the expense of the freshman.”
“Sorry, Kap,” said St-Croix. “Won’t happen again, today. I promise.”
“It’s cool, man,” I said, brushing the black rubber beads off my arms before getting back to the huddle. “Just forget about it.”
…
“After another big run of eleven yards for Herron, it’s third and six at their own forty-five. Under a minute-thirty remaining before Halftime, the Buckeyes line up in the singleback formation, with three receivers bunched together on the right, and a single receiver on the left. Kapatos takes a five-step drop and looks downfield. He launches a bomb down the right sideline… and it’s caught by Posey! And he’s tripped up by the cornerback for a huge gain of thirty-nine on the play!”
“The bunch formation crosses up the secondary and gets them all focused on the middle of the field, and when Posey goes on a wheel route to the outside, all Kapatos has to do is hit Posey downfield, which he does. Another great throw by the freshman, today.”
“No kidding, Derek. Through the first half, Kapatos has completed eight of thirteen attempts for one-hundred forty-two yards. Not a bad start for the freshman, who many predicted would be redshirted at the beginning of summer practices.”
…
“Second and six, ball on Akron’s thirteen yard-line. Under half-a-minute remaining before Halftime. The Buckeyes come out in the Shotgun formation, two receivers and a tight end to the right, and Akron has five defensive backs deep in coverage; they must be expecting a deep throw. Kapatos takes the snap, pump fakes left, and lofts it to Herron for the screen. He catches it and has a convoy of blockers in front of him. Dan Herron practically walks in for the touchdown, and congratulations to Nick Kapatos, for the first of what are hopefully many more touchdown passes!”
After the guys on offense were done congratulating Herron for his third score of the afternoon, I was mobbed by the offensive linemen and special teams players as I made my way to the sidelines. I heard the student section in the south endzone, known as “Block O South”, start a ‘Happy Kappy’ chant, so I responded by pointing to them and pumping my fist in the air. I finally popped my college football cherry, and hopefully it wasn’t the last touchdown of the day.
…
“Three seconds left on the clock for Akron to work with, and it looks like they have five receivers on the field, so we’re going to see how far Nicely can throw before the end of the half. Nicely takes the snap, and drops back deep. The pressure is on, and he’s forced from the pocket by the defensive end, and he heaves one towards the sky. And it’s… incomplete. Batted away by the safety, Orhian Johnson, and that will end the half. Ohio State leads Akron, 21-6, at halftime. We’ll be right back for our first half analysis after the break, on Big Ten Network football.”
…
“We start the second half with a touchback, and as Akron starts at their own twenty, let’s bring you the first half stats, brought to you by Domino’s pizza. Ohio State leads in practically all categories; total yards, rushing, and passing. You name it, they’re leading in the category. Nicely drops back to pass, and is sacked! The ball pops loose, and there’s a pile-up on-top of the football!”
“Etienne Sabino absolutely rocked Patrick Nicely, jarring the ball loose. It looks like Akron’s recovered the ball, but it’s still a loss of six as they maintain possession early in the second half. Nicely didn't even see Sabino coming through the middle on the blitz, and it almost cost him and his team big time.”
…
“Fourth down, ball on the Akron twenty-two, looks like they’re going to punt. Posey is back to receive the punt, and they’ll probably get some good field position out of this. Zach Paul takes the snap, it’s a bit high, and IT’S BLOCKED! Ohio State blocks the punt, and it’s recovered by the Buckeyes at the two yard line! And things are just not going Akron’s way today.”
“Dorian Bell, the starting weak-side linebacker, comes right up the middle, with absolutely zero opposition and makes a textbook punt block. And Cedric Summers, the back-up strong-side linebacker, jumps on the ball, giving the Buckeyes excellent field position to start the third quarter.”
…
“Kapatos under center in the Goal Line formation. He takes the snap, it’s a play-action, and he goes down for a sack! It’s the linebacker Brian Wagner with the sack, the second of the day for this Akron defense, and that’s a loss of five on the play.”
…
“Third and goal, ball on the three. 8:23 in the third following the incompletion on second down. It’s a toss to the right, and Herron dives across the line for a touchdown! Number three on the ground for Dan Herron, and it appears that the route is on in Columbus.”
…
“Second and eight for the Zips, ball inside the Buckeyes forty. Nicely has four receivers spread out in the shotgun, and Ohio State is in the Nickel defense. Nicely takes the low snap and drops back. He’s pressured by the defensive end Nathan Williams, so he scrambles right, and is brought down well behind the line by Williams! A loss of eleven on the play, and that moves Akron all the way back to midfield! That’s sack number four for the Buckeyes, and that forces a third and very long.”
…
“Second down for Ohio State at the five, after a tremendous punt from the Zips. Kapatos drops back, fires a quick strike to Chris Fields, and he runs for another ten for a gain of nineteen and a big first down.”
…
“Third and eleven, ball on their own twenty-three. Midway through the third, Ohio State has dominated this game so far, Kapatos is in the Shotgun with a five receiver set. He takes the snap, sets up in the pocket, has all day to throw, and finds the receiver in the middle of the field; it’s the sophomore James Louis. He picks up a few extra yards before being dragged down at the forty-five yard line! A gain of thirty-two, and another monster gain through the air by the arm of the freshman from Long Island, New York, and these fans are loving it!”
After another huge gain through the air, the scarlet-and-grey crowd showed their appreciation by belting out another one of their O-H, I-O chants; I’ve lost count at how many they’ve done at this point. I wanted, though to give them another reason to cheer for a score, and really pour it on the Zips.
…
“Second down after the incompletion, ball just inside the thirty-five yard line of Akron. Ohio State is lined up in the standard I-formation. Kapatos takes the snap, hands it off –no, it’s play-action! He’s got a wide-open Posey, and he hits him with tons of room ahead of him. He’s at the twenty, the fifteen, the ten, touchdown Buckeyes! Kapatos’ second touchdown pass of the day, and the floodgates have officially opened. Pending the successful PAT attempt, that makes twenty-eight unanswered points since the second quarter.”
“The defense has been getting burnt by the run all game, so it was only a matter of time before they were beat by the play-action. Posey runs a textbook deep in route, and by the time Akron's defense knows what's happening, Posey is already in the endzone for six.”
…
“Just under half-a-minute left in the third quarter, and it has been all Ohio State today. Akron has looked dead in the water since they scored in the first quarter to pull within one. After a six-yard completion to the running back, it’s now second and four at the five. Kapatos takes the snap, hands it off on a counter, and Herron cuts back inside, and dives for a touchdown! There’s number four for the senior, and that should just about do it for the starters. Derek, Dan Herron has taken control of this game. He’s now rushed for one-hundred thirty-two yards on only twenty carries, along with two receptions for twenty-one yards. Should we expect to see this kind of production from him next week at Miami?”
“Eric, if you’re coach Jim Tressel, you better hope Herron can at least match the effort he gave today. Miami brings back a tremendously athletic defense; if they can’t get Herron going, they’ll have to rely on an unproven quarterback to get the job done. Sure he threw for two touchdowns today, but that was against a lackluster defensive effort from Akron; he’s going to need to step it up against Miami’s defense.”
…
After another defensive stand by the defense, highlighted by Nate Williams’ second sack of the afternoon, the starters were officially done at the start of the fourth and final quarter. Today couldn’t have gone any better for myself and the rest of the team; we got out to an early lead and rather than play it safe the rest of the way, we stepped on their throats and padded our stats.
Josh would make a reception for one yard on the first offensive series of the fourth quarter, but the offense –led by Bauserman– couldn’t manage to get a first down, so it was punted to the Akron seventeen. As I downed a cup of Gatorade and listened to the band play The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” for the umpteenth time, Cedric nudged me as the second-string defense made their way onto the field.
“Hey, Kaps. Twenty bucks says I take one to the house on the first play of the drive.”
I scoffed. “Make it fifty and you’ve got a deal.”
“And as Akron has the ball for the first time this quarter, we’ll see Ohio State play it safe and send out the second string defense. Nicely lines up under center, two backs behind him, and Ohio State is in their base 4-3 defense. He takes the snap, drops back to pass, flings it to the right, and the linebacker tips it in the air…”
As the ball floated like a stray bubble caught in the breeze, Cedric tracked the ball as it started to return to earth and stretched his arms out to pluck the ball just before it hit the turf. “No way…”
“And it’s intercepted! It’s the freshman Cedric Summers!”
“No way…”
“Summers is going to take this all the way to the house, touchdown Buckeyes! Now that’s how you make an impact in your first collegiate game by the number one overall recruit of the Class of 2011!”
“No f**king way.”
As the second string defense made their way back to the sideline, Cedric ripped off his helmet to reveal the biggest, cockiest smile I’ve ever seen. He gave me one of those I told you so looks that no one ever wants to get, but everyone wants to give. For the first time in my entire life, I was upset that someone on my own team scored a touchdown.
“I’ll be taking that fifty dollars you owe me later in the locker room, thank you very much.”
“You know we never shook on it, right?” Cedric and I shared a laugh before he had to go back on the field for another series.
The team would add another interception from Christian Bryant, along with two more touchdowns to our total; one on a pass from Bauserman to third tight end Reid Fragel, and another to James Louis from the arm of Guiton. And just like that, it was all over.
“And that’s all she wrote here in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State takes Akron takes Akron to the wood chipper in this one, by the score of 63-6, behind a five-touchdown effort by Dan Herron, who has earned our Player of the Game. Stay tuned for the post-game coverage, brought to you by AT&T. Once again, from all of us here at Ohio Stadium, we’ll see you next time on the Big Ten Network’s presentation of College Football.”
Rather than head straight for the locker room, we all gathered near the back of the south endzone where the band was situated, with the rest of the team, coaches and cheerleaders. We all put our arms around each other, and sang Carmen Ohio, a post-game tradition as old as Ohio State football itself, with whoever was left of the student section.
“Oh come let’s sing Ohio’s praise
And songs to Alma Mater raise
While out hearts rebounding thrill
With joy which death alone can still
Summer’s heat or winter’s cold
The season’s pass, the years will roll
Time and change will surely show
How firm thy friendship…
O–HI–O!”
As the Best Damn Band in the Land played the fight song, I marveled at my first win as a starting quarterback. I had to pinch myself a couple of times while watching the back-ups, as I still had a hard time believing that today was actually happening. But it did, and I would never forget this feeling for as long as I lived.
15-22, 259 yards, 2-0, sacked 2 times
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DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
Good start for Kap. He'll benefit from this run-run-play-action offense for his first year if Herron stays healthy.
Nice and efficient. A little too early to be thinking about the league in the first game of freshman year huh? Lol good update
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The alcohol flowed, the women were aplenty, and good times were being had following the party at Posey’s following the blowout win over Akron. It helped that we had an afternoon game, so we basically had all night to party and lose our minds following a win. Even though Dan Herron was rightfully the main focus of analysts, commentators, and fellow students after his huge five touchdown game, I was still being congratulated for my two-touchdown effort.
I was sitting on a nearby couch, red Solo cup of beer half-empty, and marveled at all the attractive party goers of the opposite sex. There were a few cute girls at the last party I went to, but that was during the summer, when there was practically no one on campus. But since this was during the school year, and since this was a football party, the hot girls came out in droves. I had never seen so many eights, nines, and tens all in the same place together; I swear, I‘ve fallen in love with at least five different girls at this party so far.
I had my eye on one girl in particular – a short, even-skinned dirty-blonde haired stunner in a short denim shorts and a very revealing tube top sporting a trio of Greek letters; even though I was half Greek, I didn't know any of the Greek letters, so the letters on her shirt might as well have been Plutonian or something.
I’ve been trying to work up the courage to go over and talk to her all night, but she was always seen talking to other people at the party and surrounded by who I assumed were her friends.
“Hey, Nick,” said Stoneburner, crashing into the open space on the couch. “Hell of a game today, bro.”
“Yeah, thanks.” I re-adjusted myself in the seat, and when I looked over at the girl again, she was looking in my direction. I panicked and quickly looked away.
Stoneburner slapped me on the back and laughed. “You got a crush on that girl or something, man?”
“What? No.” I took a large gulp of my cup of keg beer, and checked out of the corner of my eye if the girl was still staring at me; she was, with a cozy little smile across the side of her mouth.
“Come on, if you wanna hit that, then just go talk to her.”
“I can’t just go up to her and tell her ‘Hey, you’re cute. Wanna f**k?’ Besides, she’s with her friends. I don’t want to be rude and interrupt just so I can hit on her.”
Jake put his big arm around my shoulder and brought me in closer. I could smell a faint hint of alcohol on his breath as he spoke to me.
“Kid, listen; you’re on the football team. Better yet, you’re the quarterback of the football team; that’s basically your golden ticket to any unclaimed ass on campus. I’m not telling you to go up there and demand she suck your d**k, but work your way to it.” The hot blonde broke away from her group of friends and made her way to the keg line. “Now’s your chance, man. F**kin’ go!”
As I was pushed off the couch, I made my way to the line for the keg. I was still on my first cup of beer, so I was feeling about as good as one could after taking a few good hits just a few hours earlier. Seeing that the hot blonde was standing right in front of me, not talking to anyone, I finally worked up the nerve to talk to her.
“Um, hi.”
The cute blonde, with brown eyes and luscious lips, whipped around with a startled face, which soon melted away into a pleasant smile when she saw it was me who tried to get her attention. She looked very pleased to see me.
“Oh, hi! What’s your name?” I wasn’t wearing anything that would give away that I was on the team, so it would be interesting to see if people knew who I was outside of my jersey and helmet.
“Nick. And you are?”
“Hi Nick, I’m Kerri. With an ‘I’.” She stumbled a little bit after extending her hand for a handshake; clearly she’s had a few.
“Well, ‘Kerri with an I,’ it’s very nice to meet you. So are you having a good time?”
She giggled. “Oh yeah, I’m having a great time. I came here with a few of my sorority sisters at around nine, and we’ve been here ever since.”
“You’re in a sorority? That’s cool,” I should’ve figured someone like her would be in a sorority. “Which one are you in?”
“Kappa Alpha Theta,” she said, pointing to the letters on her low-cut shirt.
“So do you want me to get you and your friends a couple of drinks?”
“Aw, that’s so sweet. But I think I can get us our own drinks. You can stay and chat, if you want.”
“I’d like that, actually.”
As the line slowly moved forward, I got to know this girl a little more. She was a junior from Cincinnati, a Communications Studies major, she joined the sorority the spring of her freshman year, and was a former gymnast in high school –something that perked my interest very much.
Before long, we were at the front of the line, and after I got my beer and Kerri got three for herself and her friends, the keg ran out before she could get her fourth friend a cup. I didn't know how many she had already had, which made it even stranger when she got really sad and started to look like she was going to cry.
“You know what? Here,” I picked her up off the carpeted floor and handed her my cup of beer. “I’m sure your friends will enjoy this more than would. I think I’m going to head out in a little bit, and I’ve got to drive back to campus.”
“Go? But the party just started!”
“Yeah, but I’m pretty tired from running around all day and trying not to get hurt.”
“Running around? Not getting hurt?” It was in that moment that a light switch flipped on in her head., and her eyes lit up.
She was at the game today with the same friends she was at the party with tonight. She mentioned to them how she thought the new quarterback looked like a hunk on the field. And when she finally realized it was me who was taking snaps from the center and throwing touchdown passes, she had to restrain herself from screaming at the top of her lungs.
“Oh my God! Why didn't you tell me you were the quarterback?” She probably would’ve given me a shove if she didn't have two cups of beer in each hand.
“You never asked.” I laughed as she silently cursed herself for not knowing that the six-five blonde-haired freshman making small talk with her during the party held by the football team was in fact the starting quarterback. “So should we go deliver these beers to your friends?”
“Oh, forget them; they were starting to get on my nerves. Do you want to go somewhere a little more… private?”
…
We barged into the empty room upstairs, lips locked and clothes coming off quicker than we could fall onto the bed. Before my ass hit the mattress, she was ripping the belt off my jeans and throwing it onto the ground. By the time our shirts were off, things were heating up; we were sloppily making out as I failed to get the last hook off her bra while simultaneously kicking both of my sandals off.
As she was on top, she stopped momentarily to marvel at my physique while I stared at her and smiled.
“A word of advice, girls like a clean-shaven guy.”
“Really,” I asked, rubbing the stubble on my face.
“Not there, silly. Your body; girls love a clean guy, both upstairs and down. No one should have a d**k-fro when they’re in college.”
“Do all girls like that?”
“Only the ones that matter.” She started to move her hands lower and lower, until she had her hand deep in my underwear. She started to remove my jeans, and I finally succeeded in unclipping her bra, when there was a loud knocking on the door. This caused both of us to stop what we were doing and make sure we heard what we thought we heard. There was soon a second knock at the door, and Kerri was starting to get nervous.
“Maybe if we’re real quiet, they’ll think no one’s in here,” I said, trying to get the sorority girl back in the mood, before there was another thundering knock on the door. I shouted to whoever was interrupting us “F**king occupied, man!”
It was just then that the door swung open, and a group of large men were standing in the doorway with flashlights and camera-phones ready. Despite having a light in my eyes, I could tell from the voices that it was Jake Stoneburner, and John Simon in the doorway.
“Surprise, bitch,” shouted Simon, as he took a picture with his phone. He showed it to the others, and they all laughed at the faces we made and the situation we were in.
While I was too stunned to move, Kerri was freaking out. She fell off the bed, hands covering her breasts, found her clothes and was quickly out the door before I could apologize. I stumbled out of the bed, trying to both keep my pants on and hide my erection, as I passed through the chorus of cat-calls and laughter from the duo. By the time I got to the stairs overlooking the living room, I couldn’t find her anywhere in the now thinned out crowd.
I angrily marched back to the bedroom and got myself changed. “You guys are f**king assholes,” I said, zipping my pants back up, over the sounds of their roaring laughter. “What the f**k, Jake?”
“Sorry, man, I couldn’t resist.” Jake had to take deep breaths because he was laughing so hard. “You’d have done the same thing.” The tight end soon turned to his partner in crime. “Did you guys see the face he made when we opened the door!?!” They both resumed laughing like a pack of hyenas as I put my belt back through the pant loops.
I silently dressed myself, put on my sandals, and stormed out of the party. I was in such a fury that I peeled out of with my SUV and into the warm Columbus night, utterly embarrassed at myself.
By the time I went in on Monday for an early-morning workout, Simon had texted the picture of myself and Kerri with deer-in-headlights looks to everyone on the team. I was the butt of many jokes through most of those two days.
I tried getting in touch with Kerri, despite not having gotten her number or last name. I asked around where her sorority house was, but when I got there I was told she wanted nothing to do with me. I apologized profusely, but she still wanted me gone; she even threatened to call the cops if I didn't leave the property.
It was all I could think about throughout my classes, especially Spanish, where we were going over blue. After hearing the professor and class go over the different shades of colors, all I kept thinking about was how bad my blue-balls were, and how little sleep I got that night.
“Señor Kapatos,” asked my Spanish professor, Señora Gianca. “How do you say ‘your balls were blue’?”
“Huh?”
“I said, how do you say ‘the pants are brown’?”
I took a sigh and shook my head, pushing aside what I thought I heard. “Um… ¿los pantalones son marrón?”
“Correcto.” The professor looked at her watch, and closed her textbook. “OK, that is class for today. Remember that your Quía online homework is due by Sunday at midnight, so please don’t wait until the last second to do finish it. Adiós, clase.”
“Adiós, profesora,” I half-heartedly said, along with the rest of the class. I was nearly out the door when I heard Professor Gianca call me to her desk.
“Nick, do you realize why I am asked you to stay after?”
“To be honest, no. Not at all, ma’am.”
“It’s because I am concerned about you not having turned in the last two homeworks, nor did you turn in your Quía assignment. I understand that being on the football team means you’ll have very limited time for your homework, but that does not mean I’ll give you an A just for showing up and not doing any of the work. It’s unfair to you, myself and the rest of the students I teach who may or may not be on any of this University’s athletic teams. Is that understood?”
I uneasily shifted my weight on my feet, cheeks flushed to a burning red as I was given my second tongue-lashing by a professor of the young semester. “Believe me, profesora, I’m not expecting to get an automatic A. And I apologize for not turning in my last couple of assignments; I could give you some excuse for why, but I won’t do that. I’ll make sure I turn in all of my assignments completed and on time from now on.”
“Well, good. And I’m going to need your team’s schedule, so that I’ll know what days you won’t be able to attend my class.”
“I don’t have it on me at the moment, but as soon as I can I’ll e-mail it to you.”
“That would be very wise of you.” It looked like she wanted to say more, but the students for her next class started to come in and find their seats. “Unless you want to go over today’s less on first hand, I suggest you head to your next class. Have a nice day, Mr. Kapatos.”
Leaving the classroom, like a dog with its tail between its legs, I thought to myself why she was singling me out. There was no way I was the only one out of the twenty-five students in the class to not turn in their homework or do the online assignment, so why else would she be making an example out of me? Being an athlete couldn’t have been the only reason, so I had to find out more.
I was sitting on a nearby couch, red Solo cup of beer half-empty, and marveled at all the attractive party goers of the opposite sex. There were a few cute girls at the last party I went to, but that was during the summer, when there was practically no one on campus. But since this was during the school year, and since this was a football party, the hot girls came out in droves. I had never seen so many eights, nines, and tens all in the same place together; I swear, I‘ve fallen in love with at least five different girls at this party so far.
I had my eye on one girl in particular – a short, even-skinned dirty-blonde haired stunner in a short denim shorts and a very revealing tube top sporting a trio of Greek letters; even though I was half Greek, I didn't know any of the Greek letters, so the letters on her shirt might as well have been Plutonian or something.
I’ve been trying to work up the courage to go over and talk to her all night, but she was always seen talking to other people at the party and surrounded by who I assumed were her friends.
“Hey, Nick,” said Stoneburner, crashing into the open space on the couch. “Hell of a game today, bro.”
“Yeah, thanks.” I re-adjusted myself in the seat, and when I looked over at the girl again, she was looking in my direction. I panicked and quickly looked away.
Stoneburner slapped me on the back and laughed. “You got a crush on that girl or something, man?”
“What? No.” I took a large gulp of my cup of keg beer, and checked out of the corner of my eye if the girl was still staring at me; she was, with a cozy little smile across the side of her mouth.
“Come on, if you wanna hit that, then just go talk to her.”
“I can’t just go up to her and tell her ‘Hey, you’re cute. Wanna f**k?’ Besides, she’s with her friends. I don’t want to be rude and interrupt just so I can hit on her.”
Jake put his big arm around my shoulder and brought me in closer. I could smell a faint hint of alcohol on his breath as he spoke to me.
“Kid, listen; you’re on the football team. Better yet, you’re the quarterback of the football team; that’s basically your golden ticket to any unclaimed ass on campus. I’m not telling you to go up there and demand she suck your d**k, but work your way to it.” The hot blonde broke away from her group of friends and made her way to the keg line. “Now’s your chance, man. F**kin’ go!”
As I was pushed off the couch, I made my way to the line for the keg. I was still on my first cup of beer, so I was feeling about as good as one could after taking a few good hits just a few hours earlier. Seeing that the hot blonde was standing right in front of me, not talking to anyone, I finally worked up the nerve to talk to her.
“Um, hi.”
The cute blonde, with brown eyes and luscious lips, whipped around with a startled face, which soon melted away into a pleasant smile when she saw it was me who tried to get her attention. She looked very pleased to see me.
“Oh, hi! What’s your name?” I wasn’t wearing anything that would give away that I was on the team, so it would be interesting to see if people knew who I was outside of my jersey and helmet.
“Nick. And you are?”
“Hi Nick, I’m Kerri. With an ‘I’.” She stumbled a little bit after extending her hand for a handshake; clearly she’s had a few.
“Well, ‘Kerri with an I,’ it’s very nice to meet you. So are you having a good time?”
She giggled. “Oh yeah, I’m having a great time. I came here with a few of my sorority sisters at around nine, and we’ve been here ever since.”
“You’re in a sorority? That’s cool,” I should’ve figured someone like her would be in a sorority. “Which one are you in?”
“Kappa Alpha Theta,” she said, pointing to the letters on her low-cut shirt.
“So do you want me to get you and your friends a couple of drinks?”
“Aw, that’s so sweet. But I think I can get us our own drinks. You can stay and chat, if you want.”
“I’d like that, actually.”
As the line slowly moved forward, I got to know this girl a little more. She was a junior from Cincinnati, a Communications Studies major, she joined the sorority the spring of her freshman year, and was a former gymnast in high school –something that perked my interest very much.
Before long, we were at the front of the line, and after I got my beer and Kerri got three for herself and her friends, the keg ran out before she could get her fourth friend a cup. I didn't know how many she had already had, which made it even stranger when she got really sad and started to look like she was going to cry.
“You know what? Here,” I picked her up off the carpeted floor and handed her my cup of beer. “I’m sure your friends will enjoy this more than would. I think I’m going to head out in a little bit, and I’ve got to drive back to campus.”
“Go? But the party just started!”
“Yeah, but I’m pretty tired from running around all day and trying not to get hurt.”
“Running around? Not getting hurt?” It was in that moment that a light switch flipped on in her head., and her eyes lit up.
She was at the game today with the same friends she was at the party with tonight. She mentioned to them how she thought the new quarterback looked like a hunk on the field. And when she finally realized it was me who was taking snaps from the center and throwing touchdown passes, she had to restrain herself from screaming at the top of her lungs.
“Oh my God! Why didn't you tell me you were the quarterback?” She probably would’ve given me a shove if she didn't have two cups of beer in each hand.
“You never asked.” I laughed as she silently cursed herself for not knowing that the six-five blonde-haired freshman making small talk with her during the party held by the football team was in fact the starting quarterback. “So should we go deliver these beers to your friends?”
“Oh, forget them; they were starting to get on my nerves. Do you want to go somewhere a little more… private?”
…
We barged into the empty room upstairs, lips locked and clothes coming off quicker than we could fall onto the bed. Before my ass hit the mattress, she was ripping the belt off my jeans and throwing it onto the ground. By the time our shirts were off, things were heating up; we were sloppily making out as I failed to get the last hook off her bra while simultaneously kicking both of my sandals off.
As she was on top, she stopped momentarily to marvel at my physique while I stared at her and smiled.
“A word of advice, girls like a clean-shaven guy.”
“Really,” I asked, rubbing the stubble on my face.
“Not there, silly. Your body; girls love a clean guy, both upstairs and down. No one should have a d**k-fro when they’re in college.”
“Do all girls like that?”
“Only the ones that matter.” She started to move her hands lower and lower, until she had her hand deep in my underwear. She started to remove my jeans, and I finally succeeded in unclipping her bra, when there was a loud knocking on the door. This caused both of us to stop what we were doing and make sure we heard what we thought we heard. There was soon a second knock at the door, and Kerri was starting to get nervous.
“Maybe if we’re real quiet, they’ll think no one’s in here,” I said, trying to get the sorority girl back in the mood, before there was another thundering knock on the door. I shouted to whoever was interrupting us “F**king occupied, man!”
It was just then that the door swung open, and a group of large men were standing in the doorway with flashlights and camera-phones ready. Despite having a light in my eyes, I could tell from the voices that it was Jake Stoneburner, and John Simon in the doorway.
“Surprise, bitch,” shouted Simon, as he took a picture with his phone. He showed it to the others, and they all laughed at the faces we made and the situation we were in.
While I was too stunned to move, Kerri was freaking out. She fell off the bed, hands covering her breasts, found her clothes and was quickly out the door before I could apologize. I stumbled out of the bed, trying to both keep my pants on and hide my erection, as I passed through the chorus of cat-calls and laughter from the duo. By the time I got to the stairs overlooking the living room, I couldn’t find her anywhere in the now thinned out crowd.
I angrily marched back to the bedroom and got myself changed. “You guys are f**king assholes,” I said, zipping my pants back up, over the sounds of their roaring laughter. “What the f**k, Jake?”
“Sorry, man, I couldn’t resist.” Jake had to take deep breaths because he was laughing so hard. “You’d have done the same thing.” The tight end soon turned to his partner in crime. “Did you guys see the face he made when we opened the door!?!” They both resumed laughing like a pack of hyenas as I put my belt back through the pant loops.
I silently dressed myself, put on my sandals, and stormed out of the party. I was in such a fury that I peeled out of with my SUV and into the warm Columbus night, utterly embarrassed at myself.
By the time I went in on Monday for an early-morning workout, Simon had texted the picture of myself and Kerri with deer-in-headlights looks to everyone on the team. I was the butt of many jokes through most of those two days.
I tried getting in touch with Kerri, despite not having gotten her number or last name. I asked around where her sorority house was, but when I got there I was told she wanted nothing to do with me. I apologized profusely, but she still wanted me gone; she even threatened to call the cops if I didn't leave the property.
It was all I could think about throughout my classes, especially Spanish, where we were going over blue. After hearing the professor and class go over the different shades of colors, all I kept thinking about was how bad my blue-balls were, and how little sleep I got that night.
“Señor Kapatos,” asked my Spanish professor, Señora Gianca. “How do you say ‘your balls were blue’?”
“Huh?”
“I said, how do you say ‘the pants are brown’?”
I took a sigh and shook my head, pushing aside what I thought I heard. “Um… ¿los pantalones son marrón?”
“Correcto.” The professor looked at her watch, and closed her textbook. “OK, that is class for today. Remember that your Quía online homework is due by Sunday at midnight, so please don’t wait until the last second to do finish it. Adiós, clase.”
“Adiós, profesora,” I half-heartedly said, along with the rest of the class. I was nearly out the door when I heard Professor Gianca call me to her desk.
“Nick, do you realize why I am asked you to stay after?”
“To be honest, no. Not at all, ma’am.”
“It’s because I am concerned about you not having turned in the last two homeworks, nor did you turn in your Quía assignment. I understand that being on the football team means you’ll have very limited time for your homework, but that does not mean I’ll give you an A just for showing up and not doing any of the work. It’s unfair to you, myself and the rest of the students I teach who may or may not be on any of this University’s athletic teams. Is that understood?”
I uneasily shifted my weight on my feet, cheeks flushed to a burning red as I was given my second tongue-lashing by a professor of the young semester. “Believe me, profesora, I’m not expecting to get an automatic A. And I apologize for not turning in my last couple of assignments; I could give you some excuse for why, but I won’t do that. I’ll make sure I turn in all of my assignments completed and on time from now on.”
“Well, good. And I’m going to need your team’s schedule, so that I’ll know what days you won’t be able to attend my class.”
“I don’t have it on me at the moment, but as soon as I can I’ll e-mail it to you.”
“That would be very wise of you.” It looked like she wanted to say more, but the students for her next class started to come in and find their seats. “Unless you want to go over today’s less on first hand, I suggest you head to your next class. Have a nice day, Mr. Kapatos.”
Leaving the classroom, like a dog with its tail between its legs, I thought to myself why she was singling me out. There was no way I was the only one out of the twenty-five students in the class to not turn in their homework or do the online assignment, so why else would she be making an example out of me? Being an athlete couldn’t have been the only reason, so I had to find out more.
Oh damn, the teacher wants the D.
Eager to see how Kap gets along with Jake now. Payback is a B!
Hopefully the team can stay on track and not take an L.
There were a million things I would rather be doing right now; going over Miami’s 4-3 defense, hitting the weight room for a quick lifting session, hanging out with the guys, or talking things over with the coaches. Instead, I was stuck in the Thompson Library, having just finished my writing assignment for English and now working on Spanish vocabulary sentences.
Thompson Library had a good view of the adjacent Mirror Lake, which students would jump into before the end-of-the-season Michigan game. I had never gotten the opportunity to see Mirror Lake in the daylight, but from the view I had on the third floor, with the lights shining on it, it looked beautiful.
As I stared at the Google Translate page on my laptop, my mind started to drift towards the Miami game. We were their first game of the year, so we had to watch film from most of last year to get a look at their offense, led by quarterback Jacory Harris. They were also led on defense by linebacker Sean Spence and safety Ray-Ray Armstrong, two seniors who were top NFL prospects. This was probably going to be one of the more athletic defenses I’ll face all year, as the Big Ten had a bad reputation for not being as defensively athletic as the other BCS-conferences. But I think we have the kind of talented players on both sides of the ball to make up the difference.
For some reason, I headed over to Newsday’s High School football section to check on West Islip’s schedule. The teams they were playing were all from Division I, which confused me as we were Division II only a year ago. The enrollment size must’ve increased, causing the school to move up a Division in all sports. I thought it was great that we were moving up to a higher level of competition across the board, as it would be a better showcase for the talented players on the roster.
I scrolled to see when their first game was, and it was the tenth of September. Not only was the game the day after my birthday (which was a Friday, I might add), but it was the week of our Bye. I would have to make the decision early in the week if I wanted to see the 2011-edition of the West Islip Lions open up against the Patchogue-Medford Raiders.
My mind was so wrapped up in everything aside from my studies, that I never noticed some of the people staring at me from across the group of benches on the library’s fourth floor. I thought I saw a few of the other people stuck in the library this late at night take a couple of pictures with their phones. Seeing a member of one of the big-time teams at any time must’ve been something, but to see one in the library on a weeknight? They’d have a better chance at seeing a talking dog riding a Unicorn than a football player in the library.
I had just finished writing a sentence for the vocabulary portion of the homework when I heard the familiar sounds of flip-flops stop next to me. I turned away from my notebook to see who it was that had stopped by my desk; it was a short, fair-skinned girl with raven-black hair in a pony-tail, big brown eyes and a tiny smattering of freckles around her nose.
“Excuse me, but you missed a couple of things on your sentence,” she said, pointing at my notebook.
“I’m sorry?”
“Your third sentence, you missed an accent mark on the ‘a’. And you used an ‘el’ what you should’ve used a ‘la’ on your fifth sentence.”
I looked at my notebook, and then looked back at the girl, with a raised eyebrow and a playful smile. “You know? This isn’t the best way to introduce yourself.”
She giggled and brushed a rogue strand of hair away from her eyes. “I’m sorry, I thought you’d have recognized me; I’m Morgan.”
“Morgan, I’m Nick. Why would I recognize you?”
“Because we’re in the same Spanish class. I sit a few rows behind you.”
I let my head fall limp, with my chin hitting my chest, and laughed awkwardly. “Of course I wouldn’t know that we’re in the same class.”
“It’s OK; I’m usually in the back row, and I keep to myself.” She whipped her backpack around to get something out of it, which read Property of Ohio State Athletics across the middle pouch, matching my backpack resting underneath the table from which I was working at. I didn't need to do anything more put two and two together to learn that she was on one of the many sports teams here.
“So,” I said, pointing to the backpack. “Which team are you on?”
“Volleyball. We have a tournament in San Diego this weekend, and then we open up at home next Wednesday against Appalachian State. You and some of the guys should come to it; we could use a cheering section of people other than our parents.”
“You know, that actually sounds pretty fun. We have a bye next week, so the practices should be lighter. I’ll see if I can bring some of the guys out. I’m still trying to find my way around campus, so do you mind telling me where the game is?”
“Better yet, I’ll write it down for you.”
She proceeded to take a pen from her purse, a piece of paper from her notebook, wrote down everything I needed to know, and handed it to me with a smile and a wave goodbye. It felt good to have a distraction from my work, and it also gave me something to do next week when I wasn’t on the practice field or in the weight room.
I would eventually finish my Spanish homework rather quickly after getting some unintentional help from Morgan, and I left the library just before the clock struck midnight. Thank God I only had one class tomorrow, because right after the morning lift, I was going to go right back to sleep.
The phone on the other side continued to ring, as I relaxed on a sofa in the lobby outside the locker room in the Hayes Center. A hard practice just ended, and I should’ve probably headed straight home so I could shower and get my readings done.
Seeing as how we were leaving for Miami tomorrow, no one was doing anything too stupid tonight. I figured I would give Skinner a call and ask how he team was doing. I remembered from reading the pre-season poll that they were picked to finish fifth in the Division, but I wanted to hear from Skinner himself on how he thought the team would do in transitioning to a higher level of competition after they graduated one of the best senior classes in team history.
“Hello?”
“Skinner, its Kap! What’s up, man?”
“Holy shit, never thought I’d hear from you again! It’s going good, I’m about to hit the weight room for a quick workout. I didn’t get a chance to watch your first game, but I saw some highlights; looking good commanding the number one team in the country!”
“I wouldn’t say I’m commanding the offense; more like I’m in charge of not fucking up and making sure I hand the ball off to the running back without fumbling it.”
“Come on, man, don’t sell yourself short like that. You earned that spot for a reason.”
“Hey, enough about me, man, how about you? I heard you were named second team pre-season All-Division, that’s pretty cool.”
“Yeah. It’s, like, whatever. I’m not in it for the accolades and stuff. I just want to focus on playing football, getting scholarship offers, and then deciding what school I’m going to go to.”
“What schools are looking at you?”
“No major schools, just a couple of teams on the East Coast. Maryland’s been going at me pretty hard, I’ve gotten stuff from Rutgers, and I got a letter from Virginia last week.”
“That’s great, dude. You leaning anywhere in particular?”
“Not really, man. I think I’m gonna wait it out until the summer before I do anything.”
“Sounds good. How’s the team looking this year? I saw that the team moved up to D-I.”
“Lookin’ alright, we have a lotta holes to replace cause of all the seniors leaving, and we have a new quarterback to break in, Beck quit.”
“He quit?”
“Yeah, man. He never showed up for the first day of summer practice, and when I saw him at the mall over that weekend, he said he wasn’t doing football anymore. So no matter what, we’re gonna have a freshman under center this year.”
“Damn. I mean, I knew he was never going to be that great of a QB, but I never expected him to quit like that. So who’s gonna be the quarterback?”
“Coach still hasn’t decided. It’s either going to be some little shit who has a noodle arm, or this baseball player who has no accuracy but can throw the ball the length of the field. Either way, I’m getting a lot of carries this year.”
“I guess that’s a good thing, then. But don’t be surprised if they stack the box and make you guys pass.”
“Hey, I can catch a pass if need be. I’m the complete back!”
“Call me when you can pass block consistently, and then I’ll call you a complete back.”
“Man, fuck you. Look, I gotta go. Really good talking to you again, man. You gonna come out to our first game next week?”
“I don’t know. We’ve got a bye, so I might. It all depends on what coach has us do on the weekend. If I don’t get a chance to see the game, good luck next week. Later.”
As I hung up the phone, Josh was talking on his phone as he exited the locker room. I assumed it was a family member, because I could overhear him saying ‘I love you, Mom.’
“Hey,” I said, getting up from the couch as Josh put away his phone. “How do you feel about taking a ride with me out to Long Island next week for my birthday?”
“I don’t know man, a nine-hour ride for just a weekend? Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun to me.”
“Come on, I know a bunch of people who’ll be having parties over the weekend. I can show you how we do things on the Island. Besides, it’s my high school’s opening game; should be fun.”
“You know what? I’ll think about it. If I don’t have a lot of work to do, let’s do it.”
“That’s what I like to hear, bud,” I happily said, slapping my roommate on the back. “And hey, maybe we can take a ride to your place for your birthday.”
“You do know how far apart Oregon and Ohio are, right? That’s almost a two-day drive. And there’s no way both of us can afford two-way plane tickets.”
“Hey, it’s an idea.” As we walked into the misty Ohio night to my SUV, I saw that someone stuck a flyer underneath my windshield wiper that read BEAT MIAMI. “I can’t fucking wait till Saturday! I’ve never been to Miami before.”
“I went there with a friend’s family one year for a vacation, it was nice. I’m not sure how much sight-seeing we’re going to do when we’re only going to be there for a day and a half.”
“Regardless, it’s still going to be amazing. We’ll check out some of the beaches, hit a few clubs, and have some fun. And then we’ll dominate the Canes the next day and come home to a loving fan base and a monster victory party.”
“Sounds like you got things all planned out.” I unlocked the doors, and we both got in.
“It helps to plan ahead.”
I returned from the bathroom and as I found my seat next to Josh o the plane, I thought to myself how much of a coincidence it was that every time I flew in a plane, Ohio State was involved. As I looked out the window to see a massive rain cloud over a town, my phone started to ring. It was Mom.
“Hey Mom.” Cedric who was sitting in the row behind us, must’ve heard I was speaking with my Mom, so he got a couple of the guys to start yelling nonsensical things so that it would be difficult for me to hear her. “Sorry about this, some of the guys just want to say hello.”
“Nicholas, I need to talk to you.” She sounded exhausted, almost as if she had been up all night.
“Yeah, sure go right ahead,” I tried waving the other guys away, but that only caused them to be louder.
“Is there anywhere quiet you can go?”
“Hold on.” I got up from my seat and headed back for the bathroom, which was thankfully open. I locked the door behind me and leaned against the sink. “OK, what’s up?”
“Do you remember how your father’s back has been hurting him?”
“Of course, I’ve told him times before that he needs to get it checked out.”
“Well, he couldn’t sleep last night because he was in so much pain, and I took him to the Hospital… and they ran some tests…”
“Come on, Mom, just tell me what’s going on.”
“They found a cancerous growth on his right kidney… it’s Stage Two.”
The second she said cancer, my legs gave out and I collapsed to the bathroom floor. I didn't know whether I should cry or be angry, so I did neither. I could feel my face losing its color and a knot form in my stomach.
“Is… is he going to die,” I asked through the lump in my stomach.
“No, thank God. The doctor said it was early enough in Stage Two where the chances of surviving the surgery would be good.”
“I want to talk to him.”
“He’s sleeping, Nick.”
“I don’t care, I want to talk to him.”
“He’s had a rough night, and he needs his rest.”
I sensed an anger rising in me, one I couldn’t control. “I don’t give a shit! I want to talk to my father! Is that so God damn hard to understand?”
“Nick, you need to understand–“
Before she could finish, I punched the mirror with my non-throwing hand, leaving a good cracked indent in the mirror. I started throwing soaps and whatever I could find at the walls and screamed at the top of my lungs. I never felt this kind of anger before, and I knew why I was angry; because my father was sitting in a Hospital bed and there was nothing I could do to help him. I always pictured my Dad as this superhero-type figure, impervious to anything that could kill him. And to hear that he has cancer shook me to the core.
I looked at the cracks where my fist hit the mirror, and then at my bleeding hand, not even acknowledging the pain I was in. I then saw a lone tear streak down my cheek and land on the counter surrounding the sink. I wiped my eyes, ran a hand through my hair, and checked to see if Mom was still on the other line. She must’ve hung up the phone while I went on my rampage. I made a mental note to try and call her back when we touched down.
I exited the bathroom, and except for the faint roar of the engines from outside, the entire plane was dead silent. Everyone kept doing their thing, but I could feel the occasional glances as I slowly made my way back to my seat.
“Everything alright,” asked Josh, breaking the eerie silence. “Sounded pretty rough in there.”
“My dad has cancer,” I said, voice empty of any emotion. “Stage two… in his kidney.”
“You want to talk about it?”
“Not right now, no.”
And that was all I said from that moment until I stepped foot in my hotel room. I didn't even take the time to marvel at the view of the cityscape. I did none of the things I wanted to do; all I did was eat, watch TV while the team went sightseeing, and went to bed. At this point, I just wanted the Miami game to be over with so I could have the time to speak with my father.
Thompson Library had a good view of the adjacent Mirror Lake, which students would jump into before the end-of-the-season Michigan game. I had never gotten the opportunity to see Mirror Lake in the daylight, but from the view I had on the third floor, with the lights shining on it, it looked beautiful.
As I stared at the Google Translate page on my laptop, my mind started to drift towards the Miami game. We were their first game of the year, so we had to watch film from most of last year to get a look at their offense, led by quarterback Jacory Harris. They were also led on defense by linebacker Sean Spence and safety Ray-Ray Armstrong, two seniors who were top NFL prospects. This was probably going to be one of the more athletic defenses I’ll face all year, as the Big Ten had a bad reputation for not being as defensively athletic as the other BCS-conferences. But I think we have the kind of talented players on both sides of the ball to make up the difference.
For some reason, I headed over to Newsday’s High School football section to check on West Islip’s schedule. The teams they were playing were all from Division I, which confused me as we were Division II only a year ago. The enrollment size must’ve increased, causing the school to move up a Division in all sports. I thought it was great that we were moving up to a higher level of competition across the board, as it would be a better showcase for the talented players on the roster.
I scrolled to see when their first game was, and it was the tenth of September. Not only was the game the day after my birthday (which was a Friday, I might add), but it was the week of our Bye. I would have to make the decision early in the week if I wanted to see the 2011-edition of the West Islip Lions open up against the Patchogue-Medford Raiders.
My mind was so wrapped up in everything aside from my studies, that I never noticed some of the people staring at me from across the group of benches on the library’s fourth floor. I thought I saw a few of the other people stuck in the library this late at night take a couple of pictures with their phones. Seeing a member of one of the big-time teams at any time must’ve been something, but to see one in the library on a weeknight? They’d have a better chance at seeing a talking dog riding a Unicorn than a football player in the library.
I had just finished writing a sentence for the vocabulary portion of the homework when I heard the familiar sounds of flip-flops stop next to me. I turned away from my notebook to see who it was that had stopped by my desk; it was a short, fair-skinned girl with raven-black hair in a pony-tail, big brown eyes and a tiny smattering of freckles around her nose.
“Excuse me, but you missed a couple of things on your sentence,” she said, pointing at my notebook.
“I’m sorry?”
“Your third sentence, you missed an accent mark on the ‘a’. And you used an ‘el’ what you should’ve used a ‘la’ on your fifth sentence.”
I looked at my notebook, and then looked back at the girl, with a raised eyebrow and a playful smile. “You know? This isn’t the best way to introduce yourself.”
She giggled and brushed a rogue strand of hair away from her eyes. “I’m sorry, I thought you’d have recognized me; I’m Morgan.”
“Morgan, I’m Nick. Why would I recognize you?”
“Because we’re in the same Spanish class. I sit a few rows behind you.”
I let my head fall limp, with my chin hitting my chest, and laughed awkwardly. “Of course I wouldn’t know that we’re in the same class.”
“It’s OK; I’m usually in the back row, and I keep to myself.” She whipped her backpack around to get something out of it, which read Property of Ohio State Athletics across the middle pouch, matching my backpack resting underneath the table from which I was working at. I didn't need to do anything more put two and two together to learn that she was on one of the many sports teams here.
“So,” I said, pointing to the backpack. “Which team are you on?”
“Volleyball. We have a tournament in San Diego this weekend, and then we open up at home next Wednesday against Appalachian State. You and some of the guys should come to it; we could use a cheering section of people other than our parents.”
“You know, that actually sounds pretty fun. We have a bye next week, so the practices should be lighter. I’ll see if I can bring some of the guys out. I’m still trying to find my way around campus, so do you mind telling me where the game is?”
“Better yet, I’ll write it down for you.”
She proceeded to take a pen from her purse, a piece of paper from her notebook, wrote down everything I needed to know, and handed it to me with a smile and a wave goodbye. It felt good to have a distraction from my work, and it also gave me something to do next week when I wasn’t on the practice field or in the weight room.
I would eventually finish my Spanish homework rather quickly after getting some unintentional help from Morgan, and I left the library just before the clock struck midnight. Thank God I only had one class tomorrow, because right after the morning lift, I was going to go right back to sleep.
The phone on the other side continued to ring, as I relaxed on a sofa in the lobby outside the locker room in the Hayes Center. A hard practice just ended, and I should’ve probably headed straight home so I could shower and get my readings done.
Seeing as how we were leaving for Miami tomorrow, no one was doing anything too stupid tonight. I figured I would give Skinner a call and ask how he team was doing. I remembered from reading the pre-season poll that they were picked to finish fifth in the Division, but I wanted to hear from Skinner himself on how he thought the team would do in transitioning to a higher level of competition after they graduated one of the best senior classes in team history.
“Hello?”
“Skinner, its Kap! What’s up, man?”
“Holy shit, never thought I’d hear from you again! It’s going good, I’m about to hit the weight room for a quick workout. I didn’t get a chance to watch your first game, but I saw some highlights; looking good commanding the number one team in the country!”
“I wouldn’t say I’m commanding the offense; more like I’m in charge of not fucking up and making sure I hand the ball off to the running back without fumbling it.”
“Come on, man, don’t sell yourself short like that. You earned that spot for a reason.”
“Hey, enough about me, man, how about you? I heard you were named second team pre-season All-Division, that’s pretty cool.”
“Yeah. It’s, like, whatever. I’m not in it for the accolades and stuff. I just want to focus on playing football, getting scholarship offers, and then deciding what school I’m going to go to.”
“What schools are looking at you?”
“No major schools, just a couple of teams on the East Coast. Maryland’s been going at me pretty hard, I’ve gotten stuff from Rutgers, and I got a letter from Virginia last week.”
“That’s great, dude. You leaning anywhere in particular?”
“Not really, man. I think I’m gonna wait it out until the summer before I do anything.”
“Sounds good. How’s the team looking this year? I saw that the team moved up to D-I.”
“Lookin’ alright, we have a lotta holes to replace cause of all the seniors leaving, and we have a new quarterback to break in, Beck quit.”
“He quit?”
“Yeah, man. He never showed up for the first day of summer practice, and when I saw him at the mall over that weekend, he said he wasn’t doing football anymore. So no matter what, we’re gonna have a freshman under center this year.”
“Damn. I mean, I knew he was never going to be that great of a QB, but I never expected him to quit like that. So who’s gonna be the quarterback?”
“Coach still hasn’t decided. It’s either going to be some little shit who has a noodle arm, or this baseball player who has no accuracy but can throw the ball the length of the field. Either way, I’m getting a lot of carries this year.”
“I guess that’s a good thing, then. But don’t be surprised if they stack the box and make you guys pass.”
“Hey, I can catch a pass if need be. I’m the complete back!”
“Call me when you can pass block consistently, and then I’ll call you a complete back.”
“Man, fuck you. Look, I gotta go. Really good talking to you again, man. You gonna come out to our first game next week?”
“I don’t know. We’ve got a bye, so I might. It all depends on what coach has us do on the weekend. If I don’t get a chance to see the game, good luck next week. Later.”
As I hung up the phone, Josh was talking on his phone as he exited the locker room. I assumed it was a family member, because I could overhear him saying ‘I love you, Mom.’
“Hey,” I said, getting up from the couch as Josh put away his phone. “How do you feel about taking a ride with me out to Long Island next week for my birthday?”
“I don’t know man, a nine-hour ride for just a weekend? Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun to me.”
“Come on, I know a bunch of people who’ll be having parties over the weekend. I can show you how we do things on the Island. Besides, it’s my high school’s opening game; should be fun.”
“You know what? I’ll think about it. If I don’t have a lot of work to do, let’s do it.”
“That’s what I like to hear, bud,” I happily said, slapping my roommate on the back. “And hey, maybe we can take a ride to your place for your birthday.”
“You do know how far apart Oregon and Ohio are, right? That’s almost a two-day drive. And there’s no way both of us can afford two-way plane tickets.”
“Hey, it’s an idea.” As we walked into the misty Ohio night to my SUV, I saw that someone stuck a flyer underneath my windshield wiper that read BEAT MIAMI. “I can’t fucking wait till Saturday! I’ve never been to Miami before.”
“I went there with a friend’s family one year for a vacation, it was nice. I’m not sure how much sight-seeing we’re going to do when we’re only going to be there for a day and a half.”
“Regardless, it’s still going to be amazing. We’ll check out some of the beaches, hit a few clubs, and have some fun. And then we’ll dominate the Canes the next day and come home to a loving fan base and a monster victory party.”
“Sounds like you got things all planned out.” I unlocked the doors, and we both got in.
“It helps to plan ahead.”
I returned from the bathroom and as I found my seat next to Josh o the plane, I thought to myself how much of a coincidence it was that every time I flew in a plane, Ohio State was involved. As I looked out the window to see a massive rain cloud over a town, my phone started to ring. It was Mom.
“Hey Mom.” Cedric who was sitting in the row behind us, must’ve heard I was speaking with my Mom, so he got a couple of the guys to start yelling nonsensical things so that it would be difficult for me to hear her. “Sorry about this, some of the guys just want to say hello.”
“Nicholas, I need to talk to you.” She sounded exhausted, almost as if she had been up all night.
“Yeah, sure go right ahead,” I tried waving the other guys away, but that only caused them to be louder.
“Is there anywhere quiet you can go?”
“Hold on.” I got up from my seat and headed back for the bathroom, which was thankfully open. I locked the door behind me and leaned against the sink. “OK, what’s up?”
“Do you remember how your father’s back has been hurting him?”
“Of course, I’ve told him times before that he needs to get it checked out.”
“Well, he couldn’t sleep last night because he was in so much pain, and I took him to the Hospital… and they ran some tests…”
“Come on, Mom, just tell me what’s going on.”
“They found a cancerous growth on his right kidney… it’s Stage Two.”
The second she said cancer, my legs gave out and I collapsed to the bathroom floor. I didn't know whether I should cry or be angry, so I did neither. I could feel my face losing its color and a knot form in my stomach.
“Is… is he going to die,” I asked through the lump in my stomach.
“No, thank God. The doctor said it was early enough in Stage Two where the chances of surviving the surgery would be good.”
“I want to talk to him.”
“He’s sleeping, Nick.”
“I don’t care, I want to talk to him.”
“He’s had a rough night, and he needs his rest.”
I sensed an anger rising in me, one I couldn’t control. “I don’t give a shit! I want to talk to my father! Is that so God damn hard to understand?”
“Nick, you need to understand–“
Before she could finish, I punched the mirror with my non-throwing hand, leaving a good cracked indent in the mirror. I started throwing soaps and whatever I could find at the walls and screamed at the top of my lungs. I never felt this kind of anger before, and I knew why I was angry; because my father was sitting in a Hospital bed and there was nothing I could do to help him. I always pictured my Dad as this superhero-type figure, impervious to anything that could kill him. And to hear that he has cancer shook me to the core.
I looked at the cracks where my fist hit the mirror, and then at my bleeding hand, not even acknowledging the pain I was in. I then saw a lone tear streak down my cheek and land on the counter surrounding the sink. I wiped my eyes, ran a hand through my hair, and checked to see if Mom was still on the other line. She must’ve hung up the phone while I went on my rampage. I made a mental note to try and call her back when we touched down.
I exited the bathroom, and except for the faint roar of the engines from outside, the entire plane was dead silent. Everyone kept doing their thing, but I could feel the occasional glances as I slowly made my way back to my seat.
“Everything alright,” asked Josh, breaking the eerie silence. “Sounded pretty rough in there.”
“My dad has cancer,” I said, voice empty of any emotion. “Stage two… in his kidney.”
“You want to talk about it?”
“Not right now, no.”
And that was all I said from that moment until I stepped foot in my hotel room. I didn't even take the time to marvel at the view of the cityscape. I did none of the things I wanted to do; all I did was eat, watch TV while the team went sightseeing, and went to bed. At this point, I just wanted the Miami game to be over with so I could have the time to speak with my father.
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simms2bavaro
No Longer a Noob
- Jan 3, 2006
- 7,463
- 646
Close, right?
My father got diagnosed with kidney cancer three years ago, don't remember if it was back pain that prompted him to get checked out. Actually, I think it was just a regular check-up with a little more testing than usual because he's in his 60's. In the interest of avoiding a potential spoiler I won't go into detail about the treatment process (not that you couldn't just find the information on WebMD), but I'll point out that he's fine now, or at least as "fine" as one can be post-kidney cancer.
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Tough news for Nick right before game day.
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
I'm medically illiterate, so cancer to me is just "cancer". Red lights go off. Hope Nick didn't screw up his hand too bad for the game.
Also going to have to keep tabs on Morgan.
Also going to have to keep tabs on Morgan.
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i haven't read this right from the start, but i'd just like to say that the writing has gotten so much better. that's not to say it was bad in the first place, but it has definitely improved alot, and i'm enjoying this alot too.
also, volleyball players![[face_drooling]](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ignboards.com/styles/ign/ign/smilies/classic/drooling.gif "Drooling [face_drooling]")
also, volleyball players
“And welcome to Sun Life Stadium, in beautiful Miami, Florida. This is a presentation of ESPN College Football on ABC, brought to you by Buffalo Wild Wings. I’m Sean McDonough, with analyst and former NFL GM Matt Millen, and Samantha Steele roaming the sidelines. On this a gorgeous Miami afternoon, we bring you the number one Ohio State Buckeyes and the Hurricanes of Miami. Matt, we have two very talented, very storied programs competing today, and after last year’s thrilling 27-19 Buckeye victory in Columbus. What do you think is going to put each team on top today?”
“Well Sean, Ohio State needs to continue pounding that rock like they did against Akron, churning out over one-hundred fifty-yards on the ground. Senior Dan Herron, who had over one-hundred thirty five yards and four scores on the ground, needs to continue where he left off so they don’t put all the pressure on the freshman quarterback Nick Kapatos. And for Miami, they have to bottle up Herron and the Buckeyes rushing offense and make the young quarterback beat them with his arm. Although the freshman threw for over two-hundred fifty yards and a pair of scores, I don’t think he’ll have that kind of success against a much more talented Hurricanes defense.”
“For more on the Buckeyes, let’s bring it down to Samantha Steele on the sidelines.”
Standing behind me as I warmed up with the other quarterbacks, the incredibly beautiful Samantha Steele performed her job as the new female sideline reporter, replacing the recently-departed Erin Andrews. “Sean, you’ll notice throughout the game freshman quarterback Nick Kapatos wearing a thick glove on his non-throwing hand. According to team officials, Kapatos suffered a hand injury the other day during a light practice, and had it bandaged before today’s game. They wouldn’t discuss the injury any further, and when I asked Kapatos how the extra padding felt when he threw the ball, he said that he didn't feel any problems. We’ll see how the hand affects him as the game progresses.”
I was in no mood to answer any of the reporter’s questions, no matter how beautiful I thought she was. While I might have sounded like a jerk by giving as little information as possible, I didn't care; I just wanted this game to start so I could get some of my frustrations out.
“And DeVier Posey takes the opening kickoff deep in his own endzone, and he’s past the twenty and he loses the football! Posey was stripped of the football, and there is a massive pile on where the ball landed, with the players on both team signaling that their team has possession… and it looks like the officials are signaling Miami ball! Not exactly the way coach Jim Tressel wanted to start this game.”
“And it was the reserve tight end, Asante Cleveland on the strip. What a good job by the junior to pop the ball out of Posey’s grasp. And the senior safety Jared Campbell comes out from under the pile with the ball at the Ohio State eighteen.”
…
“And here comes Jacory Harris, the six-four senior out of Northwestern High School, out to lead the Hurricanes deep in Buckeye territory. Miami is in their pro-set, and Ohio State counters with their base 4-3 defense. Harris takes the snap, hands it off up the middle and Michael James is swallowed up behind the line of scrimmage for a one-yard loss at the hands of redshirt sophomore tackle Adam Bellamy.”
…
Still yet to see the field, I cheered for my defense after the forced the Jacory Harris throw away. I watched as Harris eluded the grasps of both John Simon and Melvin Fellows, only to be forced to throw the ball away by the spying Etienne Sabino.
“And here comes junior placekicker Jake Wieclaw, on for what looks like a thirty-eight yard field goal from the left hash-mark. The snap is high, and the kick sails wide left, no good! And the Buckeye defense holds inside their own twenty-five without giving up a score.”
“The snap was incredibly high, and I give credit for the holder on getting it down, but it caused Wieclaw to rush his kick, sending it wide left. Not even close to the uprights.”
…
“Third down for the Buckeyes, following a loss of two on the run by Jaamal Berry, and Kapatos is under center, with two receivers and the tight end Josh Oversonn lined up to the left, and Jake Stoneburner to the right. Kapatos sends Oversonn in motion to the right, and takes the snap. He rolls to the right, and hits Posey on the run. He’s past the first down marker and is finally brought down after a gain of sixteen yards on the play.”
“An absolute bullet by the Kapatos, and Posey finds a hole in the secondary and picks up another eight after the catch to get the first down.”
…
“Another long third down for the Buckeyes, as they come out in the Ace-bunch formation, with Herron in the place of the tight end. Kapatos takes the snap, and fires to Herron in the flats. He tries to turn up-field, but is taken down after a gain of one. It was the safety Ray-Ray Armstrong on the tackle, and that will force the punt.”
…
The next series for Miami was a long one; after starting at their twenty, they ran the ball down our throats. They had to have averaged five yards a carry as they quickly reached our redzone. Thankfully, after a sack by the cornerback Travis Howard and a defensive stop on third down, the Hurricanes had to settle for a field goal.
The two drives that followed the field goal were three-and-outs for both teams as the end of the first quarter neared.
“Following the seven yard gain by Herron, it’s first down at Ohio State’s own twenty-seven. Down three, just over a minute twenty left in the quarter, the Buckeyes are in the five wide receiver Shotgun formation. Kapatos takes the snap, and fires to his left for Posey. He has the first down and is hit by the linebacker, and the ball pops free! And the ball a Hurricane falls on the football, and Posey fumbles for the second time, and Miami has great position late in the first quarter.”
“Posey is coming across on the slant route, and he makes a good job of making a tough catch over his head on a ball that wasn’t thrown particularly well by Kapatos. But it looks like he didn't see the linebacker Sean Spence coming from the middle of the field and the linebacker just levels Posey, before falling on the ball for the recovery What great awareness to know where the ball is and then fall on it.”
“And the fumble recovery, the second of the day for the Hurricanes, sets them up with great field position at the Ohio State thirty-three yard line. Miami comes out in the single-back formation, and Ohio State in the Nickel. Harris takes the snap, fakes the pitch to the left, and is rolling right. He lobs one up for Laron Byrd. He makes the catch and he’s stripped of the football! It’s batted around, and is scooped up by the Buckeyes! And it’s Travis Howard with the recovery after the safety Orhian Johnson forced the strip! And just like that, Ohio State has the ball again.”
…
Unfortunately after the two fumbles, neither offense could move the ball with consistency. We had a drive going at the beginning of the second quarter, but dumb penalties forced us into long conversion situations, and we were then forced to punt.
It was halfway through the second, when Miami started with the ball at their own five following a fantastic punt by Ben Buchanon.
“First and ten, ball on Miami’s five, just under six minutes remaining in the half. Harris drops back to pass, and the blitz is coming. Harris fires to the left and is intercepted! The safety Orhian Johnson picks it off and he runs in untouched for the touchdown!”
The touchdown definitely lifted the spirits of our sidelines, giving us the 7-3 lead midway through the half, and the defense followed up the pick-six by forcing the Hurricanes to make a fifty-four yard field goal attempt, which was way short.
Two more punts followed the missed field goal attempt, and before long there was only thirty seconds left before halftime. We all wanted to go into the locker rooms with a bigger lead, so the emphasis on scoring was magnified.
…
“First down, ball on the twenty for Ohio State following the touchback. Kapatos is in the Shotgun, three receivers to his left. Kapatos takes the low snap, and is immediately under pressure from a Miami blitz. He sees a hole up the middle and he’s in the open field. He crosses the first down marker and has tons of room in front of him! He cuts right and is at the thirty-five, the forty, the forty-five, and steps out of bounds at the fifty yard-line, stopping the clock at fifteen seconds!”
“Wow, what athleticism from the six-five freshman to be able to escape the blitz and keep moving for as long as he could. He didn’t run a lot last week against Akron, so I could see why the Miami defense wouldn’t expect it, but that is still incredible how he was able to not only gain thirty yards on the run, but be able to step out of bounds with barely anyone around him.”
…
“Ball at midfield, the Buckeyes come out in the Shotgun, five receivers spread the field. Kapatos takes the snap, pump-fakes left and hits the receiver over the middle. It’s James Jackson, and he jukes the linebacker and is across the first down marker before being dragged down by the safety Armstrong. Tressel is screaming for a timeout, and is given one with eight seconds left. What a great effort to get the first down by Jackson, as the Buckeyes are left with two timeouts.”
…
“Kapatos is in the Pistol formation, Herron behind him and the fullback Boren to his right, with Chris Fields and Posey set up to the left. Kapatos takes the snap, sets up to pass. Waiting, waiting, he finally fires deep to the endzone… and it’s caught for the touchdown! Chris Fields with the over-the-shoulder catch for six, and Ohio State now has a ten-point lead just before halftime, and you couldn’t ask for a better throw from the freshman.”
“Boy, what a great end to the first half, if you’re an Ohio State fan. Even though it didn't start great, with two fumbles in the first quarter by Posey, but fourteen unanswered points more than makes up for the mistakes.”
…
Even though we were up eleven on Miami, the mood in the locker room was less than joyous. Even as the offensive coordinator was laying into us about how we punted the ball away five times and only scored on the last series of the half, it was still hard to hear over the swearing and shouting of the defensive coordinator. I guess giving up close to two hundred total yards would make any defensive coordinator’s face red. Aside from forcing the interception, the blitz wasn’t getting the job done, and the secondary was benefitting from an inaccurate Jacory Harris. If this were a better quarterback, like an Andrew Luck or a Landry Jones, we probably wouldn’t be in the game by this point.
On the offensive side of the ball, we weren’t doing any better. After running and passing all over Akron last week, we had only ran for fifty yards on the ground and passed for one hundred. Without Herron or Jammal Berry able to get anything going on the ground, the defense was keying on the pass. The defensive line was getting through so quickly, I wasn’t allowed to make all of my reads in time. So I was forced to either take the sack (something I had no intention of willingly doing), make a throw earlier than I wanted to and risk a turnover, or I had to throw it away.
…
“Second down, ball on Ohio State’s five yard line, Miami has been moving down the field on the opening drive of the third quarter in large chunks, most notably on the twenty-nine yard pass to Byrd, and the fifteen yard tacked on by the facemask. Harris takes the snap, hands it off to James up the middle and he’s in for the touchdown. Mike James goes untouched straight up the middle as the Hurricanes close to within five.”
Giving up a touchdown on the opening drive was bad enough, but to give it up in the redzone without anyone on the defense laying a finger on the runner was even worse, and I could slowly feel the momentum start to turn in the favor of Miami.
…
“Third and five, ball at the Buckeye twenty-one, seven forty-three remaining in the third quarter. Ohio State is in the shotgun, two receivers to the right, Posey alone to the left, Herron and Boren lined up next to Kapatos. He takes the snap, and immediately sprints right, where he has a hole. He gets the first down and slides for a pick-up of ten on the play.”
…
“Third down again for Ohio State, five thirty-five to go, ball at the Hurricane forty-one, three receivers to the left as Ohio State comes out in the Shotgun. Kapatos fakes the run, sets up to pass, throws it to the left and it’s incomplete, intended for Fields. And that brings up another fourth down.”
“Kapatos sailed this pass wide way left to Fields, who was running a corner route and covered tightly by , so he would’ve had a tough time completing the pass anyway.”
"Kapatos took a shot after that throw by the lineman Olivier Vernon, and the punt team sets up for another punt, their sixth of the afternoon.”
…
“Following the false start by the right tackle, it’s now third and five from Miami’s own twenty-five yard line. Harris drops back to pass, scrambles left, and makes the throw on the run. It hangs up there, and it’s intercepted! That’s Orhian Johnson with his second pick of the day, intended for the tight end , and Ohio State starts with the ball inside Miami territory with four-forty to go in the quarter.”
“My God, what a day the redshirt junior is having; that’s his third forced turnover of the game. If I were on the Miami sideline, I would tell my players to avoid going in his direction at all costs.”
…
Much like most of the game, we couldn’t capitalize on the turnover, and we were forced to punt again. After another incompletion, I ripped my chinstrap out in frustration and slammed my helmet onto the bench. Nothing was going right for the offense tonight, and at some point the defense wasn’t going to be able mask our ineffectiveness and then we would be in trouble. If we made it out of this game with a W, I would have to remember to give everyone on the defense a fruit basket, because without them we wouldn’t be in this game.
And just as I was silently thanking the defense for holding the Hurricanes to ten points, they forced another fumble, this time by cornerback Christian Bryant. Once again, we had the ball on Miami’s side of the field, and it was time to finally put the nail in the coffin.
…
“Third and goal, ball at the nine yard line, under fifty seconds to go in the third. Ohio State is in the Shotgun, two receivers to the left. Miami responds with the 3-3-5, expecting the pass. Kapatos takes the snap, hits Posey on a slant route and he’s… stopped at the one-yard line! Oh man, I thought for sure he was going to get in on that play.”
“Kapatos’ throw was behind Posey, forcing him to come back to the ball, and allowing the defenders time to get to the receiver. If the ball was thrown in front of the receiver, he walks in for six.”
“And Matt, rather than go for it, it looks like Tressel’s going to send out the field goal unit for a twenty-two yard field goal. Do you agree with this call?”
“Absolutely not, Sean. I understand that you only have a four-point lead, but this is too conservative a call by Tressel. When you have the opportunity to put your opponent out of the game with a touchdown, you have to take it.”
Some called going for the field goal a yard away from a touchdown a give-up call, some might call it too conservative. But with the way our offense has been playing, I’m just happy we were getting points.
“And McCormick’s kick is good, right through the uprights. So with nine seconds left in the quarter, Ohio State now has a seven point lead.”
…
“Fourth and about one for the Hurricanes, and they decide to go for it down seven with under eight minutes in the final quarter of play. Miami in the Shotgun, four receivers spread on the field and the running back James is in the backfield. Harris takes the snap, and it’s an option to the right. He pitches it to James, and James has daylight. He spins out of a tackle, and dives over the pylon and… it’s a touchdown! What an amazing run by Michael James, and just like that we’re one point away from a tie game!”
…
Another possession, and another failed drive. We stalled out after two straight throw aways and a dropped bomb to Corey Brown. But for some reason, coach decided now was the time for us to start going for it on fourth down. I didn’t agree with the call, but I had no say when it came to the play-calling. So like the good little soldier I was, I ran onto the field to try and keep the drive alive.
“And I don’t believe this, but Ohio State is going for it on fourth and ten at the Miami thirty-six yard-line. Kapatos drops back from the Shotgun, looks left, all time to throw on this play, and he finally lets one fly to Posey. And it’s… caught, no dropped! DeVier Posey drops the pass, and it’s turnover on downs for the Buckeyes.”
“That was one of Kapatos’ better thrown balls of the day, and it hits a wide open Posey right in the hands on a slant route. It looks like he took his eyes off the ball for a second, and it goes right through his hands. If he makes that catch, he might have another twenty yards ahead of him, because there was no one around him.”
“It’s just been that kind of day for Kapatos; that was his thirty-first passing attempt, and he’s only completed fifteen of them for one-hundred ninety-seven yards and the lone offensive touchdown for the Buckeyes.”
…
“First down for Miami, ball on their own thirty-six yard line, six twenty-two to go in the game. Harris drops back, looks left and lobs one to the running back, and it’s intercepted! It’s the linebacker Dorian Bell with the interception, the third of the afternoon for Ohio State, and they have the ball back at their own forty-one yard line.”
…
“Another fourth down for the Buckeyes, and they’ll go for it again at the Miami forty-one. They’re in the Ace formation, two receivers and the tight end bunched up to the right. Kapatos drops back to pass, looks deep, and is stripped of the football! He’s stripped of the football and a Miami player has it! It’s the linebacker Sean Spence, and he’s past midfield, at the forty, the thirty-five, the thirty, and he high steps it the rest of the way as Miami returns the fumble fifty-three yards for the touchdown!”
“Spence comes through the hole on the left side, and blows through Herron and strips the ball. It takes a couple of bounces and he’s then able to pick it up and return it to finish the job. And with the way Ohio State’s offense has been playing today, that might be it.”
By the time I heard the linebacker coming, it was already too late as he stripped me while trying to dump it off to Herron on the play-action. I disgusted with myself for not recognizing blitz and audibling to something else.
We had to score once we got the ball back, or else Miami would bleed the clock out. There was no more need for Miami to have Harris throw the ball; all they could do is have James gash our defense until the cows came home and they could walk out of here with the upset. I refused to let that happen.
…
“Following the eight yard end-around run by Chris Fields, it’s first down at the Ohio State thirty-nine with three twenty-five remaining in the game. Ohio State comes out in the Ace formation, two tight ends bunched up to the right. Kapatos fakes the hand-off, and looks for a receiver. He sets up and throws it right and it’s completed to the tight end Josh Oversonn! Wow, what a one-handed catch by the freshman tight end for a gain of seventeen!”
“You said it, brother; Kapatos puts a little too much on this throw and it almost gets away from the tight end. But Oversonn has such a huge wingspan and soft hands, he makes the one-handed grab and keeps the offense moving.”
“The amazing thing to me is that he’s making these catches as a freshman.”
I thanked Josh for making the catch when we got back to the huddle; there was no way I thought he could make the catch with the safety draped all over him. But Josh continues to surprise me with these circus catches.
…
“And it’s third down, ball at the Miami forty-one following the throw away. Ohio State has all their receivers on the field as they continue to try and tie this game up. Kapatos takes the snap, pump fakes left, and launches one down the right sideline… and it’s intercepted! It’s the All-American senior Brandon Harris with the interception, and he’s tackled at the thirty-nine yard line! And that just might do it here at Sun Life Stadium.”
“Miami was in zone, and it looked like Kapatos put a little too much on that throw as he was trying to get it to Fields on the go route. Kapatos paid the price for his second turnover of the game, and Miami can just ice this one away.”
Walking off the field, I felt absolutely sick to my stomach; I could feel the color in my face draining away as I single-handedly lost us this game with my last two turnovers. There would be no objections from the fans, analysts and media personnel as I turned the ball over on consecutive possessions and lost us this game.
After going over the previous play with the coaches and other quarterbacks, I walked over to the very end of the bench, far away from the rest of the team, and watched as our defense tried to give us another chance at redemption.
…
“Following the Buckeyes’ second timeout, it’s third and seven on the Ohio State forty-two with over a minute-forty left in the game.”
“The Buckeyes need a stop here, Sean, if they want another chance at tying this game up.”
“Harris takes the snap, and is immediately under pressure from the blitz. He scrambles left and lets one fly towards the middle of the field. And it’s… caught! Caught by the senior Aldarius Johnson, and brought down immediately by the safety Johnson! And that catch puts them all the way down at the Ohio State seven yard line!”
“Jacory Harris throws this one up for grabs, and safety Orhian Johnson was in perfect position to make the interception, but Aldarius Johnson comes back for the ball and uses his bigger frame to box out the safety and make the catch on the jump ball.”
They would tack on another field goal with a minute remaining in the game, and we would start with the ball at the twenty-four following a twenty-five yard return by Herron. We would need to score quickly, then get the onside kick, and score again… all in fifty-five seconds. Easy.
“Kapatos sets up in the Shotgun, three receivers and the running back Herron to his left. Kapatos motions the tight end Stoneburner into the backfield for an extra blocker. He takes the snap, sets up and fires to Posey on an out. He makes the catch and is immediately tackled by the safety Armstrong before he can get out of bounds. A gain of twenty-two, and Kapatos hurries the Buckeyes back to the line.”
“The clock is ticking, he needs to get this play off.”
“Kapatos takes the snap, and is looking to his left again. Here comes a lineman, and he hits Kapatos as he throws it! The ball is in the air and it’s intercepted. It’s Ray-Ray Armstrong with the interception, and that’s the game.”
As the Hurricane players celebrated the interception and eventual upset win, I sat on the Sun Life Stadium turf, unwilling to get up and join my teammates, let alone pick the chunk of grass sticking out of my facemask. I was finally helped up by Dominic, and we both walked off to the sidelines as the Miami offense came out in the Victory formation. As we walked off the field, I could hear the Hurricane crowd doing the Good-bye chant, as well as a few chants of overrated. At the moment, I couldn’t argue with them.
When I finally made it to the sidelines, I felt the rest of the guys give me pats on the helmet and shoulder pads as I went to take my seat on the bench. While it felt good to know that I had the support of the team, even in defeat, it didn't make me feel any less worse that I cost us the game.
Watching the senior Harris take that final kneel down and celebrate with his teammates on the huge upset victory, I felt like I had let the entire team down by playing like a freshman afraid of playing on a national stage –which wasn’t the case, at all.
18-40, 258 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, sacked 1 time
3 rushing attempts, 32 yards, 1 fumble lost
“Well Sean, Ohio State needs to continue pounding that rock like they did against Akron, churning out over one-hundred fifty-yards on the ground. Senior Dan Herron, who had over one-hundred thirty five yards and four scores on the ground, needs to continue where he left off so they don’t put all the pressure on the freshman quarterback Nick Kapatos. And for Miami, they have to bottle up Herron and the Buckeyes rushing offense and make the young quarterback beat them with his arm. Although the freshman threw for over two-hundred fifty yards and a pair of scores, I don’t think he’ll have that kind of success against a much more talented Hurricanes defense.”
“For more on the Buckeyes, let’s bring it down to Samantha Steele on the sidelines.”
Standing behind me as I warmed up with the other quarterbacks, the incredibly beautiful Samantha Steele performed her job as the new female sideline reporter, replacing the recently-departed Erin Andrews. “Sean, you’ll notice throughout the game freshman quarterback Nick Kapatos wearing a thick glove on his non-throwing hand. According to team officials, Kapatos suffered a hand injury the other day during a light practice, and had it bandaged before today’s game. They wouldn’t discuss the injury any further, and when I asked Kapatos how the extra padding felt when he threw the ball, he said that he didn't feel any problems. We’ll see how the hand affects him as the game progresses.”
I was in no mood to answer any of the reporter’s questions, no matter how beautiful I thought she was. While I might have sounded like a jerk by giving as little information as possible, I didn't care; I just wanted this game to start so I could get some of my frustrations out.
“And DeVier Posey takes the opening kickoff deep in his own endzone, and he’s past the twenty and he loses the football! Posey was stripped of the football, and there is a massive pile on where the ball landed, with the players on both team signaling that their team has possession… and it looks like the officials are signaling Miami ball! Not exactly the way coach Jim Tressel wanted to start this game.”
“And it was the reserve tight end, Asante Cleveland on the strip. What a good job by the junior to pop the ball out of Posey’s grasp. And the senior safety Jared Campbell comes out from under the pile with the ball at the Ohio State eighteen.”
…
“And here comes Jacory Harris, the six-four senior out of Northwestern High School, out to lead the Hurricanes deep in Buckeye territory. Miami is in their pro-set, and Ohio State counters with their base 4-3 defense. Harris takes the snap, hands it off up the middle and Michael James is swallowed up behind the line of scrimmage for a one-yard loss at the hands of redshirt sophomore tackle Adam Bellamy.”
…
Still yet to see the field, I cheered for my defense after the forced the Jacory Harris throw away. I watched as Harris eluded the grasps of both John Simon and Melvin Fellows, only to be forced to throw the ball away by the spying Etienne Sabino.
“And here comes junior placekicker Jake Wieclaw, on for what looks like a thirty-eight yard field goal from the left hash-mark. The snap is high, and the kick sails wide left, no good! And the Buckeye defense holds inside their own twenty-five without giving up a score.”
“The snap was incredibly high, and I give credit for the holder on getting it down, but it caused Wieclaw to rush his kick, sending it wide left. Not even close to the uprights.”
…
“Third down for the Buckeyes, following a loss of two on the run by Jaamal Berry, and Kapatos is under center, with two receivers and the tight end Josh Oversonn lined up to the left, and Jake Stoneburner to the right. Kapatos sends Oversonn in motion to the right, and takes the snap. He rolls to the right, and hits Posey on the run. He’s past the first down marker and is finally brought down after a gain of sixteen yards on the play.”
“An absolute bullet by the Kapatos, and Posey finds a hole in the secondary and picks up another eight after the catch to get the first down.”
…
“Another long third down for the Buckeyes, as they come out in the Ace-bunch formation, with Herron in the place of the tight end. Kapatos takes the snap, and fires to Herron in the flats. He tries to turn up-field, but is taken down after a gain of one. It was the safety Ray-Ray Armstrong on the tackle, and that will force the punt.”
…
The next series for Miami was a long one; after starting at their twenty, they ran the ball down our throats. They had to have averaged five yards a carry as they quickly reached our redzone. Thankfully, after a sack by the cornerback Travis Howard and a defensive stop on third down, the Hurricanes had to settle for a field goal.
The two drives that followed the field goal were three-and-outs for both teams as the end of the first quarter neared.
“Following the seven yard gain by Herron, it’s first down at Ohio State’s own twenty-seven. Down three, just over a minute twenty left in the quarter, the Buckeyes are in the five wide receiver Shotgun formation. Kapatos takes the snap, and fires to his left for Posey. He has the first down and is hit by the linebacker, and the ball pops free! And the ball a Hurricane falls on the football, and Posey fumbles for the second time, and Miami has great position late in the first quarter.”
“Posey is coming across on the slant route, and he makes a good job of making a tough catch over his head on a ball that wasn’t thrown particularly well by Kapatos. But it looks like he didn't see the linebacker Sean Spence coming from the middle of the field and the linebacker just levels Posey, before falling on the ball for the recovery What great awareness to know where the ball is and then fall on it.”
“And the fumble recovery, the second of the day for the Hurricanes, sets them up with great field position at the Ohio State thirty-three yard line. Miami comes out in the single-back formation, and Ohio State in the Nickel. Harris takes the snap, fakes the pitch to the left, and is rolling right. He lobs one up for Laron Byrd. He makes the catch and he’s stripped of the football! It’s batted around, and is scooped up by the Buckeyes! And it’s Travis Howard with the recovery after the safety Orhian Johnson forced the strip! And just like that, Ohio State has the ball again.”
…
Unfortunately after the two fumbles, neither offense could move the ball with consistency. We had a drive going at the beginning of the second quarter, but dumb penalties forced us into long conversion situations, and we were then forced to punt.
It was halfway through the second, when Miami started with the ball at their own five following a fantastic punt by Ben Buchanon.
“First and ten, ball on Miami’s five, just under six minutes remaining in the half. Harris drops back to pass, and the blitz is coming. Harris fires to the left and is intercepted! The safety Orhian Johnson picks it off and he runs in untouched for the touchdown!”
The touchdown definitely lifted the spirits of our sidelines, giving us the 7-3 lead midway through the half, and the defense followed up the pick-six by forcing the Hurricanes to make a fifty-four yard field goal attempt, which was way short.
Two more punts followed the missed field goal attempt, and before long there was only thirty seconds left before halftime. We all wanted to go into the locker rooms with a bigger lead, so the emphasis on scoring was magnified.
…
“First down, ball on the twenty for Ohio State following the touchback. Kapatos is in the Shotgun, three receivers to his left. Kapatos takes the low snap, and is immediately under pressure from a Miami blitz. He sees a hole up the middle and he’s in the open field. He crosses the first down marker and has tons of room in front of him! He cuts right and is at the thirty-five, the forty, the forty-five, and steps out of bounds at the fifty yard-line, stopping the clock at fifteen seconds!”
“Wow, what athleticism from the six-five freshman to be able to escape the blitz and keep moving for as long as he could. He didn’t run a lot last week against Akron, so I could see why the Miami defense wouldn’t expect it, but that is still incredible how he was able to not only gain thirty yards on the run, but be able to step out of bounds with barely anyone around him.”
…
“Ball at midfield, the Buckeyes come out in the Shotgun, five receivers spread the field. Kapatos takes the snap, pump-fakes left and hits the receiver over the middle. It’s James Jackson, and he jukes the linebacker and is across the first down marker before being dragged down by the safety Armstrong. Tressel is screaming for a timeout, and is given one with eight seconds left. What a great effort to get the first down by Jackson, as the Buckeyes are left with two timeouts.”
…
“Kapatos is in the Pistol formation, Herron behind him and the fullback Boren to his right, with Chris Fields and Posey set up to the left. Kapatos takes the snap, sets up to pass. Waiting, waiting, he finally fires deep to the endzone… and it’s caught for the touchdown! Chris Fields with the over-the-shoulder catch for six, and Ohio State now has a ten-point lead just before halftime, and you couldn’t ask for a better throw from the freshman.”
“Boy, what a great end to the first half, if you’re an Ohio State fan. Even though it didn't start great, with two fumbles in the first quarter by Posey, but fourteen unanswered points more than makes up for the mistakes.”
…
Even though we were up eleven on Miami, the mood in the locker room was less than joyous. Even as the offensive coordinator was laying into us about how we punted the ball away five times and only scored on the last series of the half, it was still hard to hear over the swearing and shouting of the defensive coordinator. I guess giving up close to two hundred total yards would make any defensive coordinator’s face red. Aside from forcing the interception, the blitz wasn’t getting the job done, and the secondary was benefitting from an inaccurate Jacory Harris. If this were a better quarterback, like an Andrew Luck or a Landry Jones, we probably wouldn’t be in the game by this point.
On the offensive side of the ball, we weren’t doing any better. After running and passing all over Akron last week, we had only ran for fifty yards on the ground and passed for one hundred. Without Herron or Jammal Berry able to get anything going on the ground, the defense was keying on the pass. The defensive line was getting through so quickly, I wasn’t allowed to make all of my reads in time. So I was forced to either take the sack (something I had no intention of willingly doing), make a throw earlier than I wanted to and risk a turnover, or I had to throw it away.
…
“Second down, ball on Ohio State’s five yard line, Miami has been moving down the field on the opening drive of the third quarter in large chunks, most notably on the twenty-nine yard pass to Byrd, and the fifteen yard tacked on by the facemask. Harris takes the snap, hands it off to James up the middle and he’s in for the touchdown. Mike James goes untouched straight up the middle as the Hurricanes close to within five.”
Giving up a touchdown on the opening drive was bad enough, but to give it up in the redzone without anyone on the defense laying a finger on the runner was even worse, and I could slowly feel the momentum start to turn in the favor of Miami.
…
“Third and five, ball at the Buckeye twenty-one, seven forty-three remaining in the third quarter. Ohio State is in the shotgun, two receivers to the right, Posey alone to the left, Herron and Boren lined up next to Kapatos. He takes the snap, and immediately sprints right, where he has a hole. He gets the first down and slides for a pick-up of ten on the play.”
…
“Third down again for Ohio State, five thirty-five to go, ball at the Hurricane forty-one, three receivers to the left as Ohio State comes out in the Shotgun. Kapatos fakes the run, sets up to pass, throws it to the left and it’s incomplete, intended for Fields. And that brings up another fourth down.”
“Kapatos sailed this pass wide way left to Fields, who was running a corner route and covered tightly by , so he would’ve had a tough time completing the pass anyway.”
"Kapatos took a shot after that throw by the lineman Olivier Vernon, and the punt team sets up for another punt, their sixth of the afternoon.”
…
“Following the false start by the right tackle, it’s now third and five from Miami’s own twenty-five yard line. Harris drops back to pass, scrambles left, and makes the throw on the run. It hangs up there, and it’s intercepted! That’s Orhian Johnson with his second pick of the day, intended for the tight end , and Ohio State starts with the ball inside Miami territory with four-forty to go in the quarter.”
“My God, what a day the redshirt junior is having; that’s his third forced turnover of the game. If I were on the Miami sideline, I would tell my players to avoid going in his direction at all costs.”
…
Much like most of the game, we couldn’t capitalize on the turnover, and we were forced to punt again. After another incompletion, I ripped my chinstrap out in frustration and slammed my helmet onto the bench. Nothing was going right for the offense tonight, and at some point the defense wasn’t going to be able mask our ineffectiveness and then we would be in trouble. If we made it out of this game with a W, I would have to remember to give everyone on the defense a fruit basket, because without them we wouldn’t be in this game.
And just as I was silently thanking the defense for holding the Hurricanes to ten points, they forced another fumble, this time by cornerback Christian Bryant. Once again, we had the ball on Miami’s side of the field, and it was time to finally put the nail in the coffin.
…
“Third and goal, ball at the nine yard line, under fifty seconds to go in the third. Ohio State is in the Shotgun, two receivers to the left. Miami responds with the 3-3-5, expecting the pass. Kapatos takes the snap, hits Posey on a slant route and he’s… stopped at the one-yard line! Oh man, I thought for sure he was going to get in on that play.”
“Kapatos’ throw was behind Posey, forcing him to come back to the ball, and allowing the defenders time to get to the receiver. If the ball was thrown in front of the receiver, he walks in for six.”
“And Matt, rather than go for it, it looks like Tressel’s going to send out the field goal unit for a twenty-two yard field goal. Do you agree with this call?”
“Absolutely not, Sean. I understand that you only have a four-point lead, but this is too conservative a call by Tressel. When you have the opportunity to put your opponent out of the game with a touchdown, you have to take it.”
Some called going for the field goal a yard away from a touchdown a give-up call, some might call it too conservative. But with the way our offense has been playing, I’m just happy we were getting points.
“And McCormick’s kick is good, right through the uprights. So with nine seconds left in the quarter, Ohio State now has a seven point lead.”
…
“Fourth and about one for the Hurricanes, and they decide to go for it down seven with under eight minutes in the final quarter of play. Miami in the Shotgun, four receivers spread on the field and the running back James is in the backfield. Harris takes the snap, and it’s an option to the right. He pitches it to James, and James has daylight. He spins out of a tackle, and dives over the pylon and… it’s a touchdown! What an amazing run by Michael James, and just like that we’re one point away from a tie game!”
…
Another possession, and another failed drive. We stalled out after two straight throw aways and a dropped bomb to Corey Brown. But for some reason, coach decided now was the time for us to start going for it on fourth down. I didn’t agree with the call, but I had no say when it came to the play-calling. So like the good little soldier I was, I ran onto the field to try and keep the drive alive.
“And I don’t believe this, but Ohio State is going for it on fourth and ten at the Miami thirty-six yard-line. Kapatos drops back from the Shotgun, looks left, all time to throw on this play, and he finally lets one fly to Posey. And it’s… caught, no dropped! DeVier Posey drops the pass, and it’s turnover on downs for the Buckeyes.”
“That was one of Kapatos’ better thrown balls of the day, and it hits a wide open Posey right in the hands on a slant route. It looks like he took his eyes off the ball for a second, and it goes right through his hands. If he makes that catch, he might have another twenty yards ahead of him, because there was no one around him.”
“It’s just been that kind of day for Kapatos; that was his thirty-first passing attempt, and he’s only completed fifteen of them for one-hundred ninety-seven yards and the lone offensive touchdown for the Buckeyes.”
…
“First down for Miami, ball on their own thirty-six yard line, six twenty-two to go in the game. Harris drops back, looks left and lobs one to the running back, and it’s intercepted! It’s the linebacker Dorian Bell with the interception, the third of the afternoon for Ohio State, and they have the ball back at their own forty-one yard line.”
…
“Another fourth down for the Buckeyes, and they’ll go for it again at the Miami forty-one. They’re in the Ace formation, two receivers and the tight end bunched up to the right. Kapatos drops back to pass, looks deep, and is stripped of the football! He’s stripped of the football and a Miami player has it! It’s the linebacker Sean Spence, and he’s past midfield, at the forty, the thirty-five, the thirty, and he high steps it the rest of the way as Miami returns the fumble fifty-three yards for the touchdown!”
“Spence comes through the hole on the left side, and blows through Herron and strips the ball. It takes a couple of bounces and he’s then able to pick it up and return it to finish the job. And with the way Ohio State’s offense has been playing today, that might be it.”
By the time I heard the linebacker coming, it was already too late as he stripped me while trying to dump it off to Herron on the play-action. I disgusted with myself for not recognizing blitz and audibling to something else.
We had to score once we got the ball back, or else Miami would bleed the clock out. There was no more need for Miami to have Harris throw the ball; all they could do is have James gash our defense until the cows came home and they could walk out of here with the upset. I refused to let that happen.
…
“Following the eight yard end-around run by Chris Fields, it’s first down at the Ohio State thirty-nine with three twenty-five remaining in the game. Ohio State comes out in the Ace formation, two tight ends bunched up to the right. Kapatos fakes the hand-off, and looks for a receiver. He sets up and throws it right and it’s completed to the tight end Josh Oversonn! Wow, what a one-handed catch by the freshman tight end for a gain of seventeen!”
“You said it, brother; Kapatos puts a little too much on this throw and it almost gets away from the tight end. But Oversonn has such a huge wingspan and soft hands, he makes the one-handed grab and keeps the offense moving.”
“The amazing thing to me is that he’s making these catches as a freshman.”
I thanked Josh for making the catch when we got back to the huddle; there was no way I thought he could make the catch with the safety draped all over him. But Josh continues to surprise me with these circus catches.
…
“And it’s third down, ball at the Miami forty-one following the throw away. Ohio State has all their receivers on the field as they continue to try and tie this game up. Kapatos takes the snap, pump fakes left, and launches one down the right sideline… and it’s intercepted! It’s the All-American senior Brandon Harris with the interception, and he’s tackled at the thirty-nine yard line! And that just might do it here at Sun Life Stadium.”
“Miami was in zone, and it looked like Kapatos put a little too much on that throw as he was trying to get it to Fields on the go route. Kapatos paid the price for his second turnover of the game, and Miami can just ice this one away.”
Walking off the field, I felt absolutely sick to my stomach; I could feel the color in my face draining away as I single-handedly lost us this game with my last two turnovers. There would be no objections from the fans, analysts and media personnel as I turned the ball over on consecutive possessions and lost us this game.
After going over the previous play with the coaches and other quarterbacks, I walked over to the very end of the bench, far away from the rest of the team, and watched as our defense tried to give us another chance at redemption.
…
“Following the Buckeyes’ second timeout, it’s third and seven on the Ohio State forty-two with over a minute-forty left in the game.”
“The Buckeyes need a stop here, Sean, if they want another chance at tying this game up.”
“Harris takes the snap, and is immediately under pressure from the blitz. He scrambles left and lets one fly towards the middle of the field. And it’s… caught! Caught by the senior Aldarius Johnson, and brought down immediately by the safety Johnson! And that catch puts them all the way down at the Ohio State seven yard line!”
“Jacory Harris throws this one up for grabs, and safety Orhian Johnson was in perfect position to make the interception, but Aldarius Johnson comes back for the ball and uses his bigger frame to box out the safety and make the catch on the jump ball.”
They would tack on another field goal with a minute remaining in the game, and we would start with the ball at the twenty-four following a twenty-five yard return by Herron. We would need to score quickly, then get the onside kick, and score again… all in fifty-five seconds. Easy.
“Kapatos sets up in the Shotgun, three receivers and the running back Herron to his left. Kapatos motions the tight end Stoneburner into the backfield for an extra blocker. He takes the snap, sets up and fires to Posey on an out. He makes the catch and is immediately tackled by the safety Armstrong before he can get out of bounds. A gain of twenty-two, and Kapatos hurries the Buckeyes back to the line.”
“The clock is ticking, he needs to get this play off.”
“Kapatos takes the snap, and is looking to his left again. Here comes a lineman, and he hits Kapatos as he throws it! The ball is in the air and it’s intercepted. It’s Ray-Ray Armstrong with the interception, and that’s the game.”
As the Hurricane players celebrated the interception and eventual upset win, I sat on the Sun Life Stadium turf, unwilling to get up and join my teammates, let alone pick the chunk of grass sticking out of my facemask. I was finally helped up by Dominic, and we both walked off to the sidelines as the Miami offense came out in the Victory formation. As we walked off the field, I could hear the Hurricane crowd doing the Good-bye chant, as well as a few chants of overrated. At the moment, I couldn’t argue with them.
When I finally made it to the sidelines, I felt the rest of the guys give me pats on the helmet and shoulder pads as I went to take my seat on the bench. While it felt good to know that I had the support of the team, even in defeat, it didn't make me feel any less worse that I cost us the game.
Watching the senior Harris take that final kneel down and celebrate with his teammates on the huge upset victory, I felt like I had let the entire team down by playing like a freshman afraid of playing on a national stage –which wasn’t the case, at all.
18-40, 258 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, sacked 1 time
3 rushing attempts, 32 yards, 1 fumble lost
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
Pause
I think the calls for Bauserman or even Joey Lewis are going to come down hard after this game
Tough loss! As a Miami fan though, I'm glad to see them win. I think that non-throwing hand injury impacted the game more than Nick thought it would.
Media Blackout.
Before team officials shooed away members of the media trying to get a post-game quote, I had never heard of the phrase. I basically wasn’t allowed to talk to the media, and the media wasn’t allowed to talk to me. And it wasn’t just for me; all of the freshman were placed under media blackouts, and I could see why the coaches wouldn’t want inexperienced freshmen speaking with the media.
But on the other hand, when you’ve had the performance I had today, you would want to try and explain why you played like shit. Instead, you don’t get the opportunity to defend yourself as the media rips you apart for their perceived reasons.
Besides, I didn't want to talk to anyone in the media, anyway. There was only one person I wanted to talk to in the whole world.
“Hey, Dad,” I said into my phone, my voice filled with a mixture of exhaustion and depression.
“Hey Nick, how are you?”
“I’m alright. Just finished getting changed and now I’m outside the locker room waiting for Josh so we can get on the bus.”
“I’m sorry you guys lost tonight. I thought you were going to lead a late-game drive, like the ones you did in high school.”
“Yeah, me too. I played like shit, tonight. I don’t know what it was.” I winced after saying that last part. I knew exactly why I played so terrible; I was distracted by what was going on with Dad.
“You didn't play as well as I know you’re capable of, but you didn't play that bad.”
“Three turnovers on the last three offensive possessions of the game, including one that was returned for the game-losing touchdown, isn’t considered playing like shit?”
“You still had a touchdown pass; that was a great throw, by the way. And you had that long run.”
“Thanks. That definitely makes up for all the missed throws I made.” I exited the locker room, bag draped over my shoulder as I walked out into the warm Miami night
“Nick, you’re being too hard on yourself. So you had a bad game, it was bound to happen.”
“Yeah, I know. I just wish it wasn’t on national television, against a ranked opponent. Enough about my game, how about you? Mom told me about your visit to the doctor’s late last night.”
“Actually, I’m feeling pretty alright.”
That comment took me aback. “Really? Because taking into account that last night you found out you have Stage two kidney cancer, I’d figure ‘pretty alright’ would be the farthest away from describing how you felt.”
“Well, it’s benign, so I’ve got that going for me. And the doctor said it’s very treatable. Actually, he said that it was just dangling from my kidney. So I’ll go in for surgery, they’ll hack it off, and I should be fine.”
“That’s it? No chemo? No radiation? No nothing?”
“No, thank God.”
“Wow. That’s… that’s incredible,” I said, with a laugh as Josh came out of the locker room. “That’s actually some of the best news I’ve heard in a long time. When are you scheduled for surgery?”
“They said they scheduled me for the seventeenth.”
“What’s up,” asked Josh as we headed toward the bus.
“I’ll tell you on the bus.”
“Was that Josh? Tell him I said hi.”
“Yeah, sure.” I turned to Josh. “Dad says hey.” Josh gave me the thumbs up as he put on his headphones. “So I take it you won’t be able to make it to the Navy game?”
“That was that week? Geez, I wish I could, but there’s no way to reschedule. I told them to make it that week because I figured you would be coming home next weekend.”
“It depends on how much work I have, and how the practice schedule looks. If anything opens up, though, I’ll let you know. I wouldn’t count on it, though. But hey, at least you’ve got one more weekend with the cancerous kidney.”
Dad laughed. “Yeah, lucky me. I heard that sideline reporter say something about a hand injury during warm-ups. What happened?"
“Oh, yeah, that,” I said, observing my bandaged left hand. “I was in the airplane bathroom when Mom called and told me the news. I wanted to talk to you, but she kept telling me that you were resting. I got pissed and punched the mirror. Nothing serious, just a couple of cuts.”
“Come on, Nick. You’ve gotta be more careful than that. I can understand why you were upset like that, but you could’ve seriously hurt yourself. I know you’re smarter than that.”
“Yeah, I know. I let my emotions get to me and I made a pretty nice dent in the bathroom mirror. I was lucky this time, I know that.”
“Well, it’s late, so I think I’m gonna go to bed.
I boarded the relatively-empty bus and took a seat near the middle of the bus. “Have a good sleep, Daddio. It was good talking to you.”
“Alright, I‘ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Hey Dad... I love you.”
“I love you too, Nick.”
Hanging up the phone, I felt way better now than I did at the beginning of this trip. The return trip back to Columbus felt like a blur, and before I knew it I was in my bed and out like a light.
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT KID DOIN OUT THER IN THE SECND HALF? HE LOOKED TRRBLE!!!! THIS WHAT I HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO EVRY SATRDAY? MIGHT S WEL NOT EVN BOTHER TERNING ON DA GAME!!
What I saw tonight was an absolute JOKE! If this is who Tressel went to start with, what does that say about the rest of our quarterbacks? I see a 6-6 record and barely making a bowl game if they keep playing like this.
There were dozens, possibly hundreds more, comments posted in the BleacherReport comments board for an article discussing the loss. It would be the only thing related to the game I would read on Sunday, but it was more than enough to know what the fans expected out of the team; perfection on a weekly basis. Anything less than that might as well be the end of the world. I didn’t let it bother me, though; if you let the opinions of fans have an impact over how you play, then you’ll always be worrying. You have to only worry about yourself, and fuck all the haters and doubters.
The Monday following the Miami game was about as opposite of the Monday after the Akron win, where everyone was going out of their way to congratulate myself and the rest of the guys on the team for the win. Maybe it was because it was the team’s first loss in over a year, maybe it was because we dropped seven spots in the most recent poll, or maybe it was because we lost a very winnable game.
Things in class made making it through the first day back from Miami a little more bearable. I got one of the top grades in the class on my English assignment, I felt incredibly confident when the Media Studies professor gave us a pop quiz, and I actually understood what was being talked about in Spanish. I even had a good bounce-back practice and film session at the end of the day. And having only one class and practice to worry about on Tuesdays was a blessing, as I was done with my day by dinner time.
Wednesday, however, was a different story. I started off my day by almost sleeping through English class. I had to decide between skipping my shower or eating breakfast (I skipped breakfast), and rushed to the English building, only to be caught in the pouring rain as I burst into the classroom as the professor was taking roll call. I then forgot my Spanish books back in my room, so not only did I not have my Spanish homework with me, but I had to write down my notes in my English book and look over at someone else’s book, earning myself one of those looks from the professor and a waging finger from Morgan.
The worst though, was my 10:00 Media Writing course. I heard from a few other students that the professor, Mrs. Davisson, was very aloof, forgetful, and an all-around bad professor. After getting drenched again walking halfway across campus to the Campbell Hall, I picked an empty seat and waited, along with the other twenty or so other students registered for the class, for the professor to show up. Ten minutes went by before a nerdy-looking guy asked where Professor Davisson was.
Another five minutes later, still nothing. I checked my phone’s email to see if she sent us anything, but there was nothing from her. Another five minutes passed and the same student shouted an expletive and left the room in a huff. He was followed shortly thereafter by three more students, then another five left as the clock hit twenty past ten. Another couple of minutes would pass when, after all but a few were remaining in class, I finally got up and left to get something to eat before Media History.
How could a professor, or anyone in her position, not show up to class without giving anyone notice? Completely and totally unprofessional. As I walked down the stairs and past a group of faculty members, I thought if I should drop this course. The syllabus was very unorganized and the assignments weren’t given very good descriptions. How someone like this could be a professor at a big-time university like Ohio State was beyond me. She was an older looking woman, so she must’ve been here for a long time, but that’s still no excuse for failing to show up without telling your students first.
I then thought about dropping the course, but I remembered that she was the only professor who teaches the course. And it was a required course, so I had to take it at some point. So with no other options, I was resigned to having to stay in this class and just ride it out. It couldn’t get any worse from this point on.
Blackfoot and Rees Lead Irish to Opening Day Victory
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Before today, no one had heard of the name Treyvon Blackfoot. Now, every head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterback should know the name of Notre Dame’s next potential defensive star.
An outstanding defensive performance by the freshman cornerback Blackfoot (East Islip, NY), coupled with two touchdowns from quarterback Tommy Reese, led the Irish to an opening day, 33-14 victory over visiting South Florida.
Blackfoot recorded two interceptions against Bulls quarterback B.J. Daniels, both in the second quarter, and gave his Irish offense short fields to work with. Blackfoot’s first interception came off an under-thrown jump ball intended for receiver Evan Ladni, giving the Irish the ball at the South Florida thirty yard-line. The second interception, again intended for Landi inside Notre Dame territory, Blackfoot jumped the route and returned the ball nineteen yards before he was pushed out of bounds by a Bulls lineman.
Both interceptions led to touchdowns, one from a seven-yard run by junior Cierre Wood, and another from a thirteen-yard touchdown pass from Rees to senior Michael Floyd. Playing in the first college game of his career, it didn't seem like the cornerback was fazed by the big stage.
“To me it was just another football game. Regardless of where you play, you have to perform when you get the opportunity, and I was just fortunate to make a contribution to the victory.”
Blackfoot would also contribute three tackles and a pass break-up to a Fighting Irish defense that did not give up a touchdown until the eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, when Daniels dove over the pile in a goal-line situation. The Bulls would score again on their next possession, a seven-yard run by Darrell Scott, to make the score 24-14. But three straight field goals by David Ruffer, and two more South Florida turnovers, quickly dashed any hopes of a comeback.
Rees, who completed 18 of 33 passes and threw for 231 yards, would add another touchdown late in the third quarter, when he connected with senior tight end Kyle Rudolph on a thirty-seven yard touchdown throw on a play-action to extend the lead to 24-0 before the start of the fourth quarter.
The game started off with a 29-yard field goal by the fifth-year senior, and they wouldn’t score again until 9:22 in the second quarter on Woods’ short-yard touchdown
run up the middle. This score would follow two more touchdowns through the air before South Florida was finally able to respond with a score of their own.
Now in his third year at Notre Dame, head coach Brian Kelly liked what he saw from the freshman cornerback. “For a player his age, and to just come out of high school, he has great instincts and discipline. He made some really nice plays today, and hopefully he can build off it and continue to play like this next week. I really like what I’ve seen from him.”
Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, also in his third year with the Irish, continued to praise the first-year defensive back. “The kid is special. He loves to get out there and play, and he always tries to be in the right place at the right time. I can see him being the anchor of this secondary for the next three to four years.”
Notre Dame (1-0) travels next week to Ann Arbor to resume their rivalry with the Michigan Wolverines (1-0), while South Florida (0-1) returns home as they try to notch their first win of the season against the Ball State Cardinals (1-0).
...
As I scrolled through the article, I felt happy for Treyvon. He was an incredibly talented player who pushed me to play my best the last two times we played each other, and he deserved whatever success came his way. In a way, I thought of him as a defensive version of myself.
I continued to scroll through ESPN, intentionally avoiding anything relating to Ohio State, I got a text from Josh, who was at the St. John Arena, where the volleyball teams played, with Cedric and Dominic, asking me if I was coming to the game. I totally forgot that tonight was the volleyball game against Appalachian State. Not wanting to disappoint the guys, and to support Morgan, I closed my laptop and quickly headed to the St. John Arena to catch some volleyball.
…
By the time I made it to the Arena, the Buckeye volleyball team was just starting their warm-ups, and the timer on the scoreboard read 9:40 as I searched for my friends. The inside of the Arena was very large, too large for an arena used exclusively for volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling. But for such a large interior, there weren’t a lot of empty seats.
With my volleyball program in hand, I looked for the guys as the warm-up music blasted. After craning my neck up like a prairie-dog, I finally found the trio, as they were closest to the court.
“Sup Kap,” asked Cedric, giving me a high five as I sat in an empty seat. “Didn’t think you’d show.”
“Yeah, thanks to Josh’s text I almost forget. Since when did you become a volleyball fan?”
“Since I saw what kinds of uniforms these girls wear. God damn they make those asses pop!”
I nodded my head in agreement, having never noticed until now how nice those tight shorts made a girl’s ass look. Scanning through the Buckeye players as they practiced a variety of warm-ups, I continued to search for the raven-haired Morgan. When I thought I saw her, I double checked with the program to confirm it was her. Yes, number seven was in fact Morgan Hart.
I didn't realize until now, mainly because I was never able to get a good look at her, but Morgan had an amazing body. The tight volleyball uniform revealed a very slim, yet toned body. You could tell that she took very good care of her body from the way it like there was more muscle than fat on her five-nine frame.
She looked over towards her coach, who was standing in front of where we were sitting, and she must’ve noticed me because she smiled and waved before returning practicing her serves.
“Yo,” said Cedric, seeing that I was waving to Morgan. “Who’s that dime piece waving to you?”
“Just this girl in my Spanish class.”
“Man, that girl is fine!” Cedric then turned to Dominic and Josh to get their attentions and point to Morgan. “Yo, check out this girl our boy Kap knows from class.”
“Number seven,” asked Dominic, searching for Morgan before seeing her and letting out a low whistle. “Yeah, man, she’s something else.”
“Got to admit, she is attractive," commented Josh.
Before anyone else could say anything, the band started playing and before we knew it the match had started. I didn't know if Ohio Stat was that good or if Appalachian State was that bad, but the Buckeyes blew the opponents out of the Arena. At least I think they did; I’m not very familiar with volleyball, so I don’t know if scores like 25-19, 25-20, and 25-17 were blowout-type scores. Even without knowing a lot about volleyball, I still had a great time.
We all got really into the game, yelling at the refs when a call went against Ohio State, going along with the chants, and caught some of the thrown t-shirts thrown by the cheerleaders. All and all, I’d consider it a great night, something I would definitely have to do again.
As we got up to leave the Arena after the band played Carmen Ohio, I turned back to retrieve my jacket. After I got the Ohio State sweatshirt that was draped over the back of the chair, I saw Morgan jogging over from the bench to where I was. Even covered in sweat from a hard-earned victory, she still looked amazing. The silver headband she was wearing really stood out against her black hair, and
“Hey there, thanks for coming out! Glad to see some of you football guys supporting the team.”
“Oh yeah, it was no problem at all. We actually had a great time.”
“Um, a few of my roommate’s fraternity friends are having a party this Saturday, and she said I could invite whoever I wanted. It would be really cool if you and the guys you went with could come.”
“You know? That does sound like a lot of fun. And it’s my birthday this weekend, so I needed somewhere to go to celebrate.”
“It’s your birthday this weekend? Well then you’ll have to come! I’ll email you the address, just remember to bring a bathing suit.”
“Is there a pool or something?”
“You’ll see.” With a wink of her deep-brown eyes, she jogged back to rejoin her teammates in celebrating the victory.
I returned with news of the party invite to my friends, who were more than willing to attend their first frat party of the semester. I’d have to call Mom and disappoint her by telling her I wasn’t coming home for my birthday, but other than that my schedule was clear for fun.
Before team officials shooed away members of the media trying to get a post-game quote, I had never heard of the phrase. I basically wasn’t allowed to talk to the media, and the media wasn’t allowed to talk to me. And it wasn’t just for me; all of the freshman were placed under media blackouts, and I could see why the coaches wouldn’t want inexperienced freshmen speaking with the media.
But on the other hand, when you’ve had the performance I had today, you would want to try and explain why you played like shit. Instead, you don’t get the opportunity to defend yourself as the media rips you apart for their perceived reasons.
Besides, I didn't want to talk to anyone in the media, anyway. There was only one person I wanted to talk to in the whole world.
“Hey, Dad,” I said into my phone, my voice filled with a mixture of exhaustion and depression.
“Hey Nick, how are you?”
“I’m alright. Just finished getting changed and now I’m outside the locker room waiting for Josh so we can get on the bus.”
“I’m sorry you guys lost tonight. I thought you were going to lead a late-game drive, like the ones you did in high school.”
“Yeah, me too. I played like shit, tonight. I don’t know what it was.” I winced after saying that last part. I knew exactly why I played so terrible; I was distracted by what was going on with Dad.
“You didn't play as well as I know you’re capable of, but you didn't play that bad.”
“Three turnovers on the last three offensive possessions of the game, including one that was returned for the game-losing touchdown, isn’t considered playing like shit?”
“You still had a touchdown pass; that was a great throw, by the way. And you had that long run.”
“Thanks. That definitely makes up for all the missed throws I made.” I exited the locker room, bag draped over my shoulder as I walked out into the warm Miami night
“Nick, you’re being too hard on yourself. So you had a bad game, it was bound to happen.”
“Yeah, I know. I just wish it wasn’t on national television, against a ranked opponent. Enough about my game, how about you? Mom told me about your visit to the doctor’s late last night.”
“Actually, I’m feeling pretty alright.”
That comment took me aback. “Really? Because taking into account that last night you found out you have Stage two kidney cancer, I’d figure ‘pretty alright’ would be the farthest away from describing how you felt.”
“Well, it’s benign, so I’ve got that going for me. And the doctor said it’s very treatable. Actually, he said that it was just dangling from my kidney. So I’ll go in for surgery, they’ll hack it off, and I should be fine.”
“That’s it? No chemo? No radiation? No nothing?”
“No, thank God.”
“Wow. That’s… that’s incredible,” I said, with a laugh as Josh came out of the locker room. “That’s actually some of the best news I’ve heard in a long time. When are you scheduled for surgery?”
“They said they scheduled me for the seventeenth.”
“What’s up,” asked Josh as we headed toward the bus.
“I’ll tell you on the bus.”
“Was that Josh? Tell him I said hi.”
“Yeah, sure.” I turned to Josh. “Dad says hey.” Josh gave me the thumbs up as he put on his headphones. “So I take it you won’t be able to make it to the Navy game?”
“That was that week? Geez, I wish I could, but there’s no way to reschedule. I told them to make it that week because I figured you would be coming home next weekend.”
“It depends on how much work I have, and how the practice schedule looks. If anything opens up, though, I’ll let you know. I wouldn’t count on it, though. But hey, at least you’ve got one more weekend with the cancerous kidney.”
Dad laughed. “Yeah, lucky me. I heard that sideline reporter say something about a hand injury during warm-ups. What happened?"
“Oh, yeah, that,” I said, observing my bandaged left hand. “I was in the airplane bathroom when Mom called and told me the news. I wanted to talk to you, but she kept telling me that you were resting. I got pissed and punched the mirror. Nothing serious, just a couple of cuts.”
“Come on, Nick. You’ve gotta be more careful than that. I can understand why you were upset like that, but you could’ve seriously hurt yourself. I know you’re smarter than that.”
“Yeah, I know. I let my emotions get to me and I made a pretty nice dent in the bathroom mirror. I was lucky this time, I know that.”
“Well, it’s late, so I think I’m gonna go to bed.
I boarded the relatively-empty bus and took a seat near the middle of the bus. “Have a good sleep, Daddio. It was good talking to you.”
“Alright, I‘ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Hey Dad... I love you.”
“I love you too, Nick.”
Hanging up the phone, I felt way better now than I did at the beginning of this trip. The return trip back to Columbus felt like a blur, and before I knew it I was in my bed and out like a light.
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT KID DOIN OUT THER IN THE SECND HALF? HE LOOKED TRRBLE!!!! THIS WHAT I HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO EVRY SATRDAY? MIGHT S WEL NOT EVN BOTHER TERNING ON DA GAME!!
What I saw tonight was an absolute JOKE! If this is who Tressel went to start with, what does that say about the rest of our quarterbacks? I see a 6-6 record and barely making a bowl game if they keep playing like this.
There were dozens, possibly hundreds more, comments posted in the BleacherReport comments board for an article discussing the loss. It would be the only thing related to the game I would read on Sunday, but it was more than enough to know what the fans expected out of the team; perfection on a weekly basis. Anything less than that might as well be the end of the world. I didn’t let it bother me, though; if you let the opinions of fans have an impact over how you play, then you’ll always be worrying. You have to only worry about yourself, and fuck all the haters and doubters.
The Monday following the Miami game was about as opposite of the Monday after the Akron win, where everyone was going out of their way to congratulate myself and the rest of the guys on the team for the win. Maybe it was because it was the team’s first loss in over a year, maybe it was because we dropped seven spots in the most recent poll, or maybe it was because we lost a very winnable game.
Things in class made making it through the first day back from Miami a little more bearable. I got one of the top grades in the class on my English assignment, I felt incredibly confident when the Media Studies professor gave us a pop quiz, and I actually understood what was being talked about in Spanish. I even had a good bounce-back practice and film session at the end of the day. And having only one class and practice to worry about on Tuesdays was a blessing, as I was done with my day by dinner time.
Wednesday, however, was a different story. I started off my day by almost sleeping through English class. I had to decide between skipping my shower or eating breakfast (I skipped breakfast), and rushed to the English building, only to be caught in the pouring rain as I burst into the classroom as the professor was taking roll call. I then forgot my Spanish books back in my room, so not only did I not have my Spanish homework with me, but I had to write down my notes in my English book and look over at someone else’s book, earning myself one of those looks from the professor and a waging finger from Morgan.
The worst though, was my 10:00 Media Writing course. I heard from a few other students that the professor, Mrs. Davisson, was very aloof, forgetful, and an all-around bad professor. After getting drenched again walking halfway across campus to the Campbell Hall, I picked an empty seat and waited, along with the other twenty or so other students registered for the class, for the professor to show up. Ten minutes went by before a nerdy-looking guy asked where Professor Davisson was.
Another five minutes later, still nothing. I checked my phone’s email to see if she sent us anything, but there was nothing from her. Another five minutes passed and the same student shouted an expletive and left the room in a huff. He was followed shortly thereafter by three more students, then another five left as the clock hit twenty past ten. Another couple of minutes would pass when, after all but a few were remaining in class, I finally got up and left to get something to eat before Media History.
How could a professor, or anyone in her position, not show up to class without giving anyone notice? Completely and totally unprofessional. As I walked down the stairs and past a group of faculty members, I thought if I should drop this course. The syllabus was very unorganized and the assignments weren’t given very good descriptions. How someone like this could be a professor at a big-time university like Ohio State was beyond me. She was an older looking woman, so she must’ve been here for a long time, but that’s still no excuse for failing to show up without telling your students first.
I then thought about dropping the course, but I remembered that she was the only professor who teaches the course. And it was a required course, so I had to take it at some point. So with no other options, I was resigned to having to stay in this class and just ride it out. It couldn’t get any worse from this point on.
Blackfoot and Rees Lead Irish to Opening Day Victory
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Before today, no one had heard of the name Treyvon Blackfoot. Now, every head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterback should know the name of Notre Dame’s next potential defensive star.
An outstanding defensive performance by the freshman cornerback Blackfoot (East Islip, NY), coupled with two touchdowns from quarterback Tommy Reese, led the Irish to an opening day, 33-14 victory over visiting South Florida.
Blackfoot recorded two interceptions against Bulls quarterback B.J. Daniels, both in the second quarter, and gave his Irish offense short fields to work with. Blackfoot’s first interception came off an under-thrown jump ball intended for receiver Evan Ladni, giving the Irish the ball at the South Florida thirty yard-line. The second interception, again intended for Landi inside Notre Dame territory, Blackfoot jumped the route and returned the ball nineteen yards before he was pushed out of bounds by a Bulls lineman.
Both interceptions led to touchdowns, one from a seven-yard run by junior Cierre Wood, and another from a thirteen-yard touchdown pass from Rees to senior Michael Floyd. Playing in the first college game of his career, it didn't seem like the cornerback was fazed by the big stage.
“To me it was just another football game. Regardless of where you play, you have to perform when you get the opportunity, and I was just fortunate to make a contribution to the victory.”
Blackfoot would also contribute three tackles and a pass break-up to a Fighting Irish defense that did not give up a touchdown until the eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, when Daniels dove over the pile in a goal-line situation. The Bulls would score again on their next possession, a seven-yard run by Darrell Scott, to make the score 24-14. But three straight field goals by David Ruffer, and two more South Florida turnovers, quickly dashed any hopes of a comeback.
Rees, who completed 18 of 33 passes and threw for 231 yards, would add another touchdown late in the third quarter, when he connected with senior tight end Kyle Rudolph on a thirty-seven yard touchdown throw on a play-action to extend the lead to 24-0 before the start of the fourth quarter.
The game started off with a 29-yard field goal by the fifth-year senior, and they wouldn’t score again until 9:22 in the second quarter on Woods’ short-yard touchdown
run up the middle. This score would follow two more touchdowns through the air before South Florida was finally able to respond with a score of their own.
Now in his third year at Notre Dame, head coach Brian Kelly liked what he saw from the freshman cornerback. “For a player his age, and to just come out of high school, he has great instincts and discipline. He made some really nice plays today, and hopefully he can build off it and continue to play like this next week. I really like what I’ve seen from him.”
Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, also in his third year with the Irish, continued to praise the first-year defensive back. “The kid is special. He loves to get out there and play, and he always tries to be in the right place at the right time. I can see him being the anchor of this secondary for the next three to four years.”
Notre Dame (1-0) travels next week to Ann Arbor to resume their rivalry with the Michigan Wolverines (1-0), while South Florida (0-1) returns home as they try to notch their first win of the season against the Ball State Cardinals (1-0).
...
As I scrolled through the article, I felt happy for Treyvon. He was an incredibly talented player who pushed me to play my best the last two times we played each other, and he deserved whatever success came his way. In a way, I thought of him as a defensive version of myself.
I continued to scroll through ESPN, intentionally avoiding anything relating to Ohio State, I got a text from Josh, who was at the St. John Arena, where the volleyball teams played, with Cedric and Dominic, asking me if I was coming to the game. I totally forgot that tonight was the volleyball game against Appalachian State. Not wanting to disappoint the guys, and to support Morgan, I closed my laptop and quickly headed to the St. John Arena to catch some volleyball.
…
By the time I made it to the Arena, the Buckeye volleyball team was just starting their warm-ups, and the timer on the scoreboard read 9:40 as I searched for my friends. The inside of the Arena was very large, too large for an arena used exclusively for volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling. But for such a large interior, there weren’t a lot of empty seats.
With my volleyball program in hand, I looked for the guys as the warm-up music blasted. After craning my neck up like a prairie-dog, I finally found the trio, as they were closest to the court.
“Sup Kap,” asked Cedric, giving me a high five as I sat in an empty seat. “Didn’t think you’d show.”
“Yeah, thanks to Josh’s text I almost forget. Since when did you become a volleyball fan?”
“Since I saw what kinds of uniforms these girls wear. God damn they make those asses pop!”
I nodded my head in agreement, having never noticed until now how nice those tight shorts made a girl’s ass look. Scanning through the Buckeye players as they practiced a variety of warm-ups, I continued to search for the raven-haired Morgan. When I thought I saw her, I double checked with the program to confirm it was her. Yes, number seven was in fact Morgan Hart.
I didn't realize until now, mainly because I was never able to get a good look at her, but Morgan had an amazing body. The tight volleyball uniform revealed a very slim, yet toned body. You could tell that she took very good care of her body from the way it like there was more muscle than fat on her five-nine frame.
She looked over towards her coach, who was standing in front of where we were sitting, and she must’ve noticed me because she smiled and waved before returning practicing her serves.
“Yo,” said Cedric, seeing that I was waving to Morgan. “Who’s that dime piece waving to you?”
“Just this girl in my Spanish class.”
“Man, that girl is fine!” Cedric then turned to Dominic and Josh to get their attentions and point to Morgan. “Yo, check out this girl our boy Kap knows from class.”
“Number seven,” asked Dominic, searching for Morgan before seeing her and letting out a low whistle. “Yeah, man, she’s something else.”
“Got to admit, she is attractive," commented Josh.
Before anyone else could say anything, the band started playing and before we knew it the match had started. I didn't know if Ohio Stat was that good or if Appalachian State was that bad, but the Buckeyes blew the opponents out of the Arena. At least I think they did; I’m not very familiar with volleyball, so I don’t know if scores like 25-19, 25-20, and 25-17 were blowout-type scores. Even without knowing a lot about volleyball, I still had a great time.
We all got really into the game, yelling at the refs when a call went against Ohio State, going along with the chants, and caught some of the thrown t-shirts thrown by the cheerleaders. All and all, I’d consider it a great night, something I would definitely have to do again.
As we got up to leave the Arena after the band played Carmen Ohio, I turned back to retrieve my jacket. After I got the Ohio State sweatshirt that was draped over the back of the chair, I saw Morgan jogging over from the bench to where I was. Even covered in sweat from a hard-earned victory, she still looked amazing. The silver headband she was wearing really stood out against her black hair, and
“Hey there, thanks for coming out! Glad to see some of you football guys supporting the team.”
“Oh yeah, it was no problem at all. We actually had a great time.”
“Um, a few of my roommate’s fraternity friends are having a party this Saturday, and she said I could invite whoever I wanted. It would be really cool if you and the guys you went with could come.”
“You know? That does sound like a lot of fun. And it’s my birthday this weekend, so I needed somewhere to go to celebrate.”
“It’s your birthday this weekend? Well then you’ll have to come! I’ll email you the address, just remember to bring a bathing suit.”
“Is there a pool or something?”
“You’ll see.” With a wink of her deep-brown eyes, she jogged back to rejoin her teammates in celebrating the victory.
I returned with news of the party invite to my friends, who were more than willing to attend their first frat party of the semester. I’d have to call Mom and disappoint her by telling her I wasn’t coming home for my birthday, but other than that my schedule was clear for fun.
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
Liked how you handled the media aspect of the loss and the Notre Dame snippet. Guessing there's a hot tub at this frat house.. better watch out for Joey Lewis again.
Next update should be done and posted by Saturday, the latest.
Written on the dry-erase board at the front of the room in big, capital letters was ‘EXAMEN MIÉRCOLES’. Señora Gianca was walking up and down the outsides aisles of the classroom, handing out study guides for each student to pass down the row.
“The exam will be broken up into three sections, and have a total twenty-five questions,” said Señora Gianca, as the study guides continued to be passed around and looked at. “Section one will be a mix vocabulary and fill in the blanks. Section two will be short answer, and section three will be a short essay question. Time will start the second I pass out the exams, and you will have the normal class time to finish it, although you probably won’t need it. Once you finish your exam, turn it in to me at the front of the class, and you can leave.”
Looking at the study guide, which was covered from front to back in terms and names of people that we’ve gone over since the first week of class, a sense of nervousness and dread came over me as I listened to the elderly professor explain the exam. The first exam set the tone for the rest of the semester, and I needed a good grade to get myself out of the professor’s dog house.
“Hey,” whispered Morgan, tapping me on the shoulder. “Want to get together and study next week?”
“Yeah, sure. Why not this weekend?”
“I have a lot of homework to do in other classes this weekend, and it’s not like the exam is on Monday.”
“That’s true.” I turned back to pay attention to what the professor was saying. But after realizing that speaking with Morgan was a lot more interesting than listening to the teacher, I turned back to Morgan. “Hey, you want my number? That way we can figure out when we should get together and study.”
“Sure. I was actually going to ask you for yours, so I could text you the address of the party.”
We exchanged numbers, chatted for a little bit more after class ended, and I walked her to her Biology class in Jennings Hall. If she wasn’t wearing an Ohio State volleyball jacket and backpack, you would never guess she was an athlete. She had the personality of a normal college student, and she didn't like to brag about being on the volleyball team.
When we finally made it to Jennings Hall, across the street from Mirror Lake and Thompson Library, she gave me a kiss on the cheek. Not one of those long, sloppy kisses, but more of a quick peck. I was completely and utterly stunned, and before I could ask her what it was for, she was gone.
I tried texting her to see what she meant by the kiss, but she never responded. For the rest of the day, leading up to practice, I was utterly confused. We had never hung out in public, and we had only just started talking to each other. Hopefully by tomorrow night, things would be cleared up.
…
“DOWN… RED 18 SET… GREEN 22, GREEN 22… HUT, HUT!”
I took the Shotgun snap, and set up to pass. I could feel the defensive ends coming around the edge, so I stepped up in the pocket, saw Posey get separation on a deep go-route, and launched a bomb down the left sideline. I fit the ball just over the defender’s grasp and right into DeVier’s out-stretched hands for a touchdown.
“Heck of a throw, Nicholas,” said coach Tressel from the sidelines, as I jogged over. “I don’t think you’ve missed a receiver all day?”
“Really? Huh, I guess I haven’t noticed.”
“I really like what I’ve been seeing this past week. Way to put the loss to Miami behind you.”
“Yeah, well, you can only think about a loss for so long. Gotta have a short memory, right coach?”
“Exactly, Nicholas.” Coach Tressel gave me a slap on the back as I grabbed a drink from a water bottle. “So how are things with your father? I recall he was recently diagnosed with cancer, correct?”
I stopped squeezing the water bottle and slowly brought it down from my mouth. Coach must’ve sensed he hit a nerve because he immediately started to apologize. “I’m sorry, Nicholas. I didn't mean to–”
“No, it’s fine, sir. He’s actually feeling really optimistic about the whole thing. He said it was dangling off his kidney, so they’ll just remove it with surgery. No chemo, no radiation, nothing.”
“Really? That’s amazing. So when is he scheduled for surgery?”
“I think he said the day of the Navy game, so that would be next week.”
“You know, if you want, you can go home and be with him for his surgery. I think we can do just fine with Joseph taking the snaps.”
I was taken aback by coach’s suggestion. To think that a head coach of a nationally ranked program would let his starting quarterback purposefully miss a game, regardless of the reason, was unimaginable.
“While I’m truly thankful that you would allow me to miss next week’s game to be with my father, I can’t do it. I can’t let the team down, and he would want me to stay here and play for him.”
“OK, I can respect that. If you change your mind, or if you need to talk, my office is always open.” Coach gave me another pat on the back and blew his whistle, signaling the end of the break.
As I put my helmet back on and strapped my chin-strap, I suddenly remembered Week 16 of the 2003 NFL season. It was Monday Night Football in Oakland, and Green Bay’s gunslinger quarterback Brett Favre, now remembered more for a controversy during his time as a Jet involving reporter Jen Sterger and a dick-pic than for his play, had lost his father the night before to a heart attack.
He would end up playing that game, throwing four touchdowns and close to four-hundred yards in the first half, and even receive applause from the diehard Raider Nation. I remembered being ten years old watching that game, and at the time I didn’t know the specifics of what made that performance so special.
Was what Favre went through comparable to what I’m going through? No, not by a long shot. But it got me thinking; what better way to honor my father than to have my own Favre-ian performance? I knew he would want me to have an amazing day if he was able to come to the game.
I jogged back onto the field with a new goal; to honor my father as he battled cancer with the performance of a lifetime.
With Cedric sitting up front as my co-pilot, and Josh and Dominic in the back, we searched through the residential houses for the fraternity house where Morgan said the party was. Neither of us had bathing suits, so we just brought with us pairs of Ohio State football shorts; I’m sure no one would deny us because we weren’t wearing the proper swim attire.
We had been driving through the neighborhood for what felt like an eternity, constantly looking for the big house with a purple flag and gold DTD letters on it.
“Yo Kap, you’re fucking lost,” said an impatient Cedric. “Just call this chick you got the directions from and ask here where the party’s at.”
“I’m not lost, man,” I said, looking at the directions on my phone, before making a right at the stop sign. “It’s just taking us longer to get there than I thought it would.”
“I could’ve walked to this place before you get us there.”
“Well how about I let you out so you can walk there yourself? Or maybe you can just shut the fuck up and let me drive, OK?”
“Hey, guys,” said Dominic, maneuvering himself to the front and pointing ahead to the large gathering of people on the front lawn of a large house. “I think we’re here.”
As I slowly pulled up to the house, noting to myself how massive the house was, I noticed the purple flag with the gold-colored DTD hanging from the balcony. We exited the SUV, marveled at the size of the house; it was a very nice two-story house, with Greek-styled columns. The front lawn was very well-kept together, and the paint looked brand new. We were about to enter before we were stopped by a man in a shirt bearing the letters of his fraternity.
“Can I see all your school IDs,” he asked, pointing to us.
“Don’t y’all recognize us,” asked Cedric, pointing to all four of us. “We’re on the football team!”
“Sorry guys, but I gotta to see your school IDs. I’d let you in without them if I could, but it’s the President’s rules.”
Cedric looked like he was about to protest, but I elbowed him in the ribs and shook my head; best not to pick a fight with the hosts of the party. We showed them our school IDs, the man at the door checked them, and gave them back to us with a smile.
“Sorry about that, guys. We’re trying to keep this as an OSU-only party. Keg’s in the kitchen, pool’s out back, and you all make sure you have a good time.”
No matter what the outside of the house looked like, it didn't compare to the inside. Strobe lights and disco lights were in every single first-floor room, hot co-eds in skimpy bikinis were drunkenly running around everywhere, some kind of music called ‘dubstep’ was blasting throughout the house and everyone inside looked like they were having the time of their lives.
“Guys,” I said, as I was eye-fucked by a smoking hot brunette walking through the hallway in nothing but a two-piece bikini. “Remind me to join a frat in the Spring.”
“Oh, you wanna join a frat, brah,” asked Josh, mimicking the way frat boys stereotypically speak. “Yeah, I’m sure they’d love to humiliate you so you can pay them to be your friend.”
“Whatever, I was making a joke. Let’s have some fun.”
As we made our way through the logjam to get to the keg, the other party-goers recognized who we were, and took the opportunity to take pictures with us. It wasn’t every day that your average student gets to party with members of the football team, and who were we to deny them a photo?
When we finally got to the keg, we all started to pour our cups. Josh, though, was the only one to not pour himself a cup of beer.
“You’re not drinking tonight,” I asked, as Josh removed himself from the line. I began to pour myself a nice cold cup of whatever beer this was.
“Nah. Someone has to drive you idiots home, tonight.”
“You’re always the DD. Fuckin’ live a little.” I handed him my filled-cup to Josh, and grabbed another one next to the keg and proceeded to fill that one, as well.
“Nick, I can’t have this.”
“Why?” I turned around, cup filled to the brim, clinked my cup with Josh’s, and took a large gulp. “You allergic to beer or something?”
Josh nervously looked around the room at all the people drinking from their cups, then he looked into the cold, still-foamy cup of beer in his hand. “My dad’s a recovering alcoholic, and my Grandfather was one, too, before he died when I was a kid. I don’t want that to happen to me, since chances are good that I’ll be an alcoholic, too.”
Hearing that made me stop for a moment. I’d never known anyone who had problems with drinking, as the members of my family that I kept in touch with had relatively no vices similar to alcoholism. Being in an environment like college where alcohol is not only plentiful, but drinking it is encouraged, I respected Josh a lot more now that I knew the reason for him abstaining from drinking.
“So not only are you gay, but you’re also at risk for abusing alcohol? Dude, that fucking sucks. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Nah, it’s OK.”
I took the cup from Josh’s hand. By this point, Dominic and Cedric had gone their own ways, so it was now us two at the keg line. “OK, let’s go find Morgan. We can chill for a bit, swim, and then we’ll get the two knuckleheads and leave. Cool?”
Casually taking sips from both cups, I walked into the back with Josh in tow, and witnessed the main attraction for the house: an in-ground pool/hot tub combo, both filled with men and women in bathing suits. My mouth was figuratively on the floor upon seeing this. I turned to Josh, who looked equally impressed with the pool. I assumed these guys had some serious connections, because there was no way they could afford a pool like this on their own.
I heard an excited squeal coming from behind, and I turned around to see Morgan practically jump out of the hot tub. She was wearing nothing but an incredibly sexy-looking two-piece orange bikini, had a wide smile, and was coming right for me with open arms.
“Hey, you made it!” She wrapped her arms around my waste, and brought me over to the hot tub. “I never thought you would get here.”
“Yeah, it took us a little longer than I thought, but here I am.”
She laughed. “I can see that. Why don’t you and your friend jump in this hot tub with me, my friends, and some shots?”
Josh politely waved his hands. “Sorry, but I can’t have any alcohol. I’m driving tonight.”
“Aww, lame. But that doesn’t mean you can’t come and have fun in this hot tub.” Morgan slowly rejoined her friends in the tub, making sure that I got a good look at her ass… and I did.
After a few seconds of thought, Josh took his shirt off and climbed into the pool. I followed soon after, and everyone in the tub (sans Josh) drank their beer, took their shots, and enjoyed an over-the-top college party.
Even as P.M. turned to A.M., the party was still going on strong. I hadn’t seen much of Dominic or Cedric, aside from the occasional beer run or trip to the bathroom line, while Josh had been hanging around our group, making sure none of us didn’t anything outstandingly foolish.
I somehow managed to get Morgan away from her group of friends, as we walked into the kitchen. We small talked for a little bit, but it felt like that really weren’t getting anywhere. I felt that at any moment, either Josh or one of her friends would pull as away before anything could happen. I had to get some answers.
“Hey, you remember after Spanish yesterday, when I walked you to your next class? And then you kissed me before you went inside the building?”
“Yeah,” she said, leaning on the nearby counter. “What about it?”
“Well… the hell was that for?”
“Oh, it was just…” I saw Morgan look at her empty cup, then into my eyes, and her voice trailed off. “You know…”
Before I could hear what else she was saying, Morgan’s tongue was halfway down my throat. Within seconds, we were drunkenly making out and rushed to find an empty bedroom.
…
After a night of fun and debauchery, I awoke to the sounds of a hardwood floor squeaking and light from the nearby window sneaking through the half-drawn blinds. I started to come to my senses, first by noticing that I wasn't in my dorm room. I rolled over and saw Morgan slipping into a jean-skirt and putting on an Ohio State hoodie.
I sat up in the bed and watched as the volleyball player looked for her missing sandal “Leaving so soon?”
This caused her to jump and turn around. I didn't think she was expecting me to be up so soon, but it didn't look like she was too upset about it. “Well, good morning.”
“And good morning to you, too.” She sexily crawled onto the bed and over to me until she was inches from my face. My God, was she beautiful. “So, last night was…”
“Was something else. A lot better than I expected it would be.”
She leaned in to gently kiss me on the lips. Her lips lingered on mine for a while as I lay in the bed. “So does this mean we’re a couple or something?”
She giggled and sat up in the bed. “No offense, but I’m not looking for a relationship at the moment. I got out of a year-long relationship a few weeks ago, and I needed something to get my mind off of him. It’s nothing personal, and it’s definitely not you; I’m just looking to have some fun for a change.” She gave me another long kiss on the lips, ran his slender finger down the bridge of my nose, and walked out the door. “I’ll see you in class on Monday.”
Long after the door closed shut, I was still sitting in the bed. Naked from the waist down, I tried to comprehend what just happened. I had been used for mindless revenge sex by a girl I had a small crush on. And it wasn’t like I would never see her again; she was in my Spanish class, for God’s sake. She used me up and threw me aside like I was a gum wrapper.
But on the other hand, I did want to have sex with her, or at the very least go out on a few dates with her. And what she did to me just now was what I intended to do to any other girl on campus, albeit quieter or a little more courteous. Who was I to judge her when I probably would’ve done the same thing?
I had never gotten out of bed so confused in my entire life before now. I finished getting dressed, I found the guys (Josh passed out in the passenger seat, Dominic on a couch, and Cedric half-naked on the front lawn), and drove back to campus to have a relaxing Sunday before the weekly grind started up again.
“The exam will be broken up into three sections, and have a total twenty-five questions,” said Señora Gianca, as the study guides continued to be passed around and looked at. “Section one will be a mix vocabulary and fill in the blanks. Section two will be short answer, and section three will be a short essay question. Time will start the second I pass out the exams, and you will have the normal class time to finish it, although you probably won’t need it. Once you finish your exam, turn it in to me at the front of the class, and you can leave.”
Looking at the study guide, which was covered from front to back in terms and names of people that we’ve gone over since the first week of class, a sense of nervousness and dread came over me as I listened to the elderly professor explain the exam. The first exam set the tone for the rest of the semester, and I needed a good grade to get myself out of the professor’s dog house.
“Hey,” whispered Morgan, tapping me on the shoulder. “Want to get together and study next week?”
“Yeah, sure. Why not this weekend?”
“I have a lot of homework to do in other classes this weekend, and it’s not like the exam is on Monday.”
“That’s true.” I turned back to pay attention to what the professor was saying. But after realizing that speaking with Morgan was a lot more interesting than listening to the teacher, I turned back to Morgan. “Hey, you want my number? That way we can figure out when we should get together and study.”
“Sure. I was actually going to ask you for yours, so I could text you the address of the party.”
We exchanged numbers, chatted for a little bit more after class ended, and I walked her to her Biology class in Jennings Hall. If she wasn’t wearing an Ohio State volleyball jacket and backpack, you would never guess she was an athlete. She had the personality of a normal college student, and she didn't like to brag about being on the volleyball team.
When we finally made it to Jennings Hall, across the street from Mirror Lake and Thompson Library, she gave me a kiss on the cheek. Not one of those long, sloppy kisses, but more of a quick peck. I was completely and utterly stunned, and before I could ask her what it was for, she was gone.
I tried texting her to see what she meant by the kiss, but she never responded. For the rest of the day, leading up to practice, I was utterly confused. We had never hung out in public, and we had only just started talking to each other. Hopefully by tomorrow night, things would be cleared up.
…
“DOWN… RED 18 SET… GREEN 22, GREEN 22… HUT, HUT!”
I took the Shotgun snap, and set up to pass. I could feel the defensive ends coming around the edge, so I stepped up in the pocket, saw Posey get separation on a deep go-route, and launched a bomb down the left sideline. I fit the ball just over the defender’s grasp and right into DeVier’s out-stretched hands for a touchdown.
“Heck of a throw, Nicholas,” said coach Tressel from the sidelines, as I jogged over. “I don’t think you’ve missed a receiver all day?”
“Really? Huh, I guess I haven’t noticed.”
“I really like what I’ve been seeing this past week. Way to put the loss to Miami behind you.”
“Yeah, well, you can only think about a loss for so long. Gotta have a short memory, right coach?”
“Exactly, Nicholas.” Coach Tressel gave me a slap on the back as I grabbed a drink from a water bottle. “So how are things with your father? I recall he was recently diagnosed with cancer, correct?”
I stopped squeezing the water bottle and slowly brought it down from my mouth. Coach must’ve sensed he hit a nerve because he immediately started to apologize. “I’m sorry, Nicholas. I didn't mean to–”
“No, it’s fine, sir. He’s actually feeling really optimistic about the whole thing. He said it was dangling off his kidney, so they’ll just remove it with surgery. No chemo, no radiation, nothing.”
“Really? That’s amazing. So when is he scheduled for surgery?”
“I think he said the day of the Navy game, so that would be next week.”
“You know, if you want, you can go home and be with him for his surgery. I think we can do just fine with Joseph taking the snaps.”
I was taken aback by coach’s suggestion. To think that a head coach of a nationally ranked program would let his starting quarterback purposefully miss a game, regardless of the reason, was unimaginable.
“While I’m truly thankful that you would allow me to miss next week’s game to be with my father, I can’t do it. I can’t let the team down, and he would want me to stay here and play for him.”
“OK, I can respect that. If you change your mind, or if you need to talk, my office is always open.” Coach gave me another pat on the back and blew his whistle, signaling the end of the break.
As I put my helmet back on and strapped my chin-strap, I suddenly remembered Week 16 of the 2003 NFL season. It was Monday Night Football in Oakland, and Green Bay’s gunslinger quarterback Brett Favre, now remembered more for a controversy during his time as a Jet involving reporter Jen Sterger and a dick-pic than for his play, had lost his father the night before to a heart attack.
He would end up playing that game, throwing four touchdowns and close to four-hundred yards in the first half, and even receive applause from the diehard Raider Nation. I remembered being ten years old watching that game, and at the time I didn’t know the specifics of what made that performance so special.
Was what Favre went through comparable to what I’m going through? No, not by a long shot. But it got me thinking; what better way to honor my father than to have my own Favre-ian performance? I knew he would want me to have an amazing day if he was able to come to the game.
I jogged back onto the field with a new goal; to honor my father as he battled cancer with the performance of a lifetime.
With Cedric sitting up front as my co-pilot, and Josh and Dominic in the back, we searched through the residential houses for the fraternity house where Morgan said the party was. Neither of us had bathing suits, so we just brought with us pairs of Ohio State football shorts; I’m sure no one would deny us because we weren’t wearing the proper swim attire.
We had been driving through the neighborhood for what felt like an eternity, constantly looking for the big house with a purple flag and gold DTD letters on it.
“Yo Kap, you’re fucking lost,” said an impatient Cedric. “Just call this chick you got the directions from and ask here where the party’s at.”
“I’m not lost, man,” I said, looking at the directions on my phone, before making a right at the stop sign. “It’s just taking us longer to get there than I thought it would.”
“I could’ve walked to this place before you get us there.”
“Well how about I let you out so you can walk there yourself? Or maybe you can just shut the fuck up and let me drive, OK?”
“Hey, guys,” said Dominic, maneuvering himself to the front and pointing ahead to the large gathering of people on the front lawn of a large house. “I think we’re here.”
As I slowly pulled up to the house, noting to myself how massive the house was, I noticed the purple flag with the gold-colored DTD hanging from the balcony. We exited the SUV, marveled at the size of the house; it was a very nice two-story house, with Greek-styled columns. The front lawn was very well-kept together, and the paint looked brand new. We were about to enter before we were stopped by a man in a shirt bearing the letters of his fraternity.
“Can I see all your school IDs,” he asked, pointing to us.
“Don’t y’all recognize us,” asked Cedric, pointing to all four of us. “We’re on the football team!”
“Sorry guys, but I gotta to see your school IDs. I’d let you in without them if I could, but it’s the President’s rules.”
Cedric looked like he was about to protest, but I elbowed him in the ribs and shook my head; best not to pick a fight with the hosts of the party. We showed them our school IDs, the man at the door checked them, and gave them back to us with a smile.
“Sorry about that, guys. We’re trying to keep this as an OSU-only party. Keg’s in the kitchen, pool’s out back, and you all make sure you have a good time.”
No matter what the outside of the house looked like, it didn't compare to the inside. Strobe lights and disco lights were in every single first-floor room, hot co-eds in skimpy bikinis were drunkenly running around everywhere, some kind of music called ‘dubstep’ was blasting throughout the house and everyone inside looked like they were having the time of their lives.
“Guys,” I said, as I was eye-fucked by a smoking hot brunette walking through the hallway in nothing but a two-piece bikini. “Remind me to join a frat in the Spring.”
“Oh, you wanna join a frat, brah,” asked Josh, mimicking the way frat boys stereotypically speak. “Yeah, I’m sure they’d love to humiliate you so you can pay them to be your friend.”
“Whatever, I was making a joke. Let’s have some fun.”
As we made our way through the logjam to get to the keg, the other party-goers recognized who we were, and took the opportunity to take pictures with us. It wasn’t every day that your average student gets to party with members of the football team, and who were we to deny them a photo?
When we finally got to the keg, we all started to pour our cups. Josh, though, was the only one to not pour himself a cup of beer.
“You’re not drinking tonight,” I asked, as Josh removed himself from the line. I began to pour myself a nice cold cup of whatever beer this was.
“Nah. Someone has to drive you idiots home, tonight.”
“You’re always the DD. Fuckin’ live a little.” I handed him my filled-cup to Josh, and grabbed another one next to the keg and proceeded to fill that one, as well.
“Nick, I can’t have this.”
“Why?” I turned around, cup filled to the brim, clinked my cup with Josh’s, and took a large gulp. “You allergic to beer or something?”
Josh nervously looked around the room at all the people drinking from their cups, then he looked into the cold, still-foamy cup of beer in his hand. “My dad’s a recovering alcoholic, and my Grandfather was one, too, before he died when I was a kid. I don’t want that to happen to me, since chances are good that I’ll be an alcoholic, too.”
Hearing that made me stop for a moment. I’d never known anyone who had problems with drinking, as the members of my family that I kept in touch with had relatively no vices similar to alcoholism. Being in an environment like college where alcohol is not only plentiful, but drinking it is encouraged, I respected Josh a lot more now that I knew the reason for him abstaining from drinking.
“So not only are you gay, but you’re also at risk for abusing alcohol? Dude, that fucking sucks. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Nah, it’s OK.”
I took the cup from Josh’s hand. By this point, Dominic and Cedric had gone their own ways, so it was now us two at the keg line. “OK, let’s go find Morgan. We can chill for a bit, swim, and then we’ll get the two knuckleheads and leave. Cool?”
Casually taking sips from both cups, I walked into the back with Josh in tow, and witnessed the main attraction for the house: an in-ground pool/hot tub combo, both filled with men and women in bathing suits. My mouth was figuratively on the floor upon seeing this. I turned to Josh, who looked equally impressed with the pool. I assumed these guys had some serious connections, because there was no way they could afford a pool like this on their own.
I heard an excited squeal coming from behind, and I turned around to see Morgan practically jump out of the hot tub. She was wearing nothing but an incredibly sexy-looking two-piece orange bikini, had a wide smile, and was coming right for me with open arms.
“Hey, you made it!” She wrapped her arms around my waste, and brought me over to the hot tub. “I never thought you would get here.”
“Yeah, it took us a little longer than I thought, but here I am.”
She laughed. “I can see that. Why don’t you and your friend jump in this hot tub with me, my friends, and some shots?”
Josh politely waved his hands. “Sorry, but I can’t have any alcohol. I’m driving tonight.”
“Aww, lame. But that doesn’t mean you can’t come and have fun in this hot tub.” Morgan slowly rejoined her friends in the tub, making sure that I got a good look at her ass… and I did.
After a few seconds of thought, Josh took his shirt off and climbed into the pool. I followed soon after, and everyone in the tub (sans Josh) drank their beer, took their shots, and enjoyed an over-the-top college party.
Even as P.M. turned to A.M., the party was still going on strong. I hadn’t seen much of Dominic or Cedric, aside from the occasional beer run or trip to the bathroom line, while Josh had been hanging around our group, making sure none of us didn’t anything outstandingly foolish.
I somehow managed to get Morgan away from her group of friends, as we walked into the kitchen. We small talked for a little bit, but it felt like that really weren’t getting anywhere. I felt that at any moment, either Josh or one of her friends would pull as away before anything could happen. I had to get some answers.
“Hey, you remember after Spanish yesterday, when I walked you to your next class? And then you kissed me before you went inside the building?”
“Yeah,” she said, leaning on the nearby counter. “What about it?”
“Well… the hell was that for?”
“Oh, it was just…” I saw Morgan look at her empty cup, then into my eyes, and her voice trailed off. “You know…”
Before I could hear what else she was saying, Morgan’s tongue was halfway down my throat. Within seconds, we were drunkenly making out and rushed to find an empty bedroom.
…
After a night of fun and debauchery, I awoke to the sounds of a hardwood floor squeaking and light from the nearby window sneaking through the half-drawn blinds. I started to come to my senses, first by noticing that I wasn't in my dorm room. I rolled over and saw Morgan slipping into a jean-skirt and putting on an Ohio State hoodie.
I sat up in the bed and watched as the volleyball player looked for her missing sandal “Leaving so soon?”
This caused her to jump and turn around. I didn't think she was expecting me to be up so soon, but it didn't look like she was too upset about it. “Well, good morning.”
“And good morning to you, too.” She sexily crawled onto the bed and over to me until she was inches from my face. My God, was she beautiful. “So, last night was…”
“Was something else. A lot better than I expected it would be.”
She leaned in to gently kiss me on the lips. Her lips lingered on mine for a while as I lay in the bed. “So does this mean we’re a couple or something?”
She giggled and sat up in the bed. “No offense, but I’m not looking for a relationship at the moment. I got out of a year-long relationship a few weeks ago, and I needed something to get my mind off of him. It’s nothing personal, and it’s definitely not you; I’m just looking to have some fun for a change.” She gave me another long kiss on the lips, ran his slender finger down the bridge of my nose, and walked out the door. “I’ll see you in class on Monday.”
Long after the door closed shut, I was still sitting in the bed. Naked from the waist down, I tried to comprehend what just happened. I had been used for mindless revenge sex by a girl I had a small crush on. And it wasn’t like I would never see her again; she was in my Spanish class, for God’s sake. She used me up and threw me aside like I was a gum wrapper.
But on the other hand, I did want to have sex with her, or at the very least go out on a few dates with her. And what she did to me just now was what I intended to do to any other girl on campus, albeit quieter or a little more courteous. Who was I to judge her when I probably would’ve done the same thing?
I had never gotten out of bed so confused in my entire life before now. I finished getting dressed, I found the guys (Josh passed out in the passenger seat, Dominic on a couch, and Cedric half-naked on the front lawn), and drove back to campus to have a relaxing Sunday before the weekly grind started up again.