Epilogue: Andi
Itry to school myexpression as I feel the camera zoom in. In the year since Brandon and I got together, I’ve lost my poker face. Mostly because I don’t have to hide anymore. I don’t have to be invisible anymore.
Right now, I’d like to be, though.
I don’t need the entire world to see me freak out.
This past winter, he trained like nobody’s business, gaining 15 pounds of pure muscle to get him to a more competitive weight by the February combine.
Even without the contracted television cameras, Brandon certainly amassed a lot of attention this year. With Hannah LaRosa’s help, his ClikClak account has taken off. He has over two million followers now. It’s more than just temporary social media fame. From the most cards in a professional soccer season to the oldest player ever drafted in the NFL (33 years and 2 days) to the only person to ever play at the top professional level for both soccer and football, Brandon’s in the history books.
I am too, as the first female soccer referee to reach Level 2 status and be primarily stationed in the MUSSL.
All in all, it’s been a stellar year for both of us.
I’m sitting at the 50-yard line of the New England Patriots and New York Jets game with Brandon’s sister, Jess, and her boyfriend Jasper. Benj and Sam are here too.
Benj is now the president of the Brandon Nix fan club. At least that’s what the shirt Brandon gave Benj for Christmas says.
Later that night, in the darkness of my childhood bedroom, he whispered that while Benj’s shirt was hilarious, seeing me with his name on my shirt had other effects.
I enjoyed that Christmas gift tremendously.
But now isdefinitelynot the time to be thinking about that.
Hannah’s down on the sidelines, getting pictures and footage. Several of Brandon’s former teammates from the Buzzards are here as well, but they’re sitting somewhere else. I’m trying to keep as much distance from them as possible, though they’re a pretty good group of guys.
It’s the second possession of the game for the Patriots. If this drive is successful, the Patriots will score a touchdown, which should be a good thing. Except that means Brandon will make his debut as their placekicker to make the extra point. I see him on the sideline, warming up. He kicks into the net a few times as the quarterback throws the ball squarely into the end zone.
Oh shit, this is it.
I watch my man take the field. Soccer shorts may do wonders for a player’s thighs, but football pants are simply magical on the backside.
At least Brandon’s backside.
Brandon sprints out onto the field. He’s run all the math with me a thousand times. The extra point is kicked from a distance of roughly 33 yards. But then it has to be launched vertically as well. The crossbar is approximately 10 feet off the ground, but most players have a vertical jump of ...
I stopped listening when he got into the physics behind the differences in the shapes of the soccer ball versus the football. It was amazing to see how happy this made him. The light in his eyes when he talks about playing football is something I’d never have predicted.
Just like I’d never have predicted how good he’d look with short hair. It was part of his image makeover for the show, and let me just say, I like it.
A lot.
I also like that I inherited Brandon’s hair-tie collection.
The Pats get in formation. I put my hands over my eyes and then peek through my fingers. Brandon’s out there, raising his arm up and down to line up where he needs to be. The ball is snapped. Brandon takes three steps back and then three steps forward swinging and kicking and ... he misses.
No good.
The fans boo.
I sit down, my face blank. Oh Brandon, he’s got to be crushed. He runs off the field as the punter trots out to kick the ball away. The Jets receive it and begin running, only to fumble it. It’s recovered by the Patriots and returned for a touchdown.
