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The stadium was so loud that I could hardly hear anything, forced to rely on my eyes only as the quarterback called out his play. And once the ball was snapped, it was pure instinct for me to rush in; though it was Gerald who actually ended up getting the tackle that landed their running back a solid four yards behind the line of scrimmage.
“Let’s fuckin’ go!” I shouted once he popped up from the ground, giving his helmet a hard smack as Buffalo’s offense transitioned out and their field goal team transitioned in. But even with all the extra noise from the crowd, their kicker was still money from the short distance, tying up the game and leaving us with less than a minute to make something happen in regulation.
To be real, my mind was already set on getting the job done in overtime, so I wasn’t even paying all that close attention until I heard the way the crowd was responding to the kickoff return. And when I peeked up at the jumbotron, I quickly understood why, jumping onto my feet as I watched our returner just barely get tripped up by the kicker after a run of about sixty yards that gave us great field position going into our final drive.
Of course, time wasn’t on our side. But with the timeout we had left, there was still enough on the clock to get off two plays that would either be enough to win the game with a touchdown or put our kicker in position to do so with a field goal. And even if that didn’t work out, we’d still only be going into overtime, the situation leaning in our favor as I watched Snoop take the snap and then drop back to throw a short pass that somehow got tipped right into the hands of the safety for an interception.
Shit.
Since our tight end was right there, I assumed he’d be able to make the tackle to end the play where it was at. But when the safety got away from him,and then got to the outside, I almost couldn’t believe my eyes, my heart dropping to my feet as I watched what should’ve been a win quickly turn into a season-ending loss.
That shit was devastating, full stop.
Like, it legit felt like a bad dream.
But for as hurt as I was on my own, my heart really went out to Snoop who was just barely holding back his tears as he slowly made his way to the sideline.
Once he grabbed a towel to cover his head and then plopped down on the bench alone, I wasn’t surprised to hear him letting it all out. And even though I knew I was about to say some shit he probably didn’t care to hear, I still couldn’t help myself, resting my hand on his shoulder as I told him, “Hold your head up, man. Shit happens. You still balled out.”
The sniffles he responded with were plenty for me to just let him be as I went to show love to some of the guys on the other team before making my way into the locker room. But once I was there, reality set in that this was really my last time doing this shit until next season, lowkey making me emotional as I went to dap up each of my teammates while also giving them the same type of encouragement I’d given Snoop.
This shit sucked though.
No matter how positively I tried to think about it, there was no escaping that feeling as I listened to our coach give his postgame remarks and then went on to give a press conference about what had just happened. But I would’ve been lying if I didn’t admit that I felt a little better once I saw Yani waiting on me when I was finished, just the sight of her helping to ease the blow as she pulled me into a hug and asked, “You okay?”
“I mean, we lost. And now our season’s over,so…”
“Right. Stupid question. My bad.”
“Nah, I’ll be alright eventually,” I told her, tucking her under my arm so we could walk as I continued, “And on the bright side, my season being done means I can spend more time with you. So I hope you left a little room for my shit in your closet.”
Teasingly, she responded, “I mean… Ididjust get good and settled. But I can probably move some stuff around.”
“Or we could always find a bigger place,” I suggested. “Something we can both be comfortable in while I’m up there during the offseason.”
That made Yani stop dead in her tracks as she turned my way with wide eyes and asked, “During the offseason?Like… the whole thing?”
“Yeah, Yani,” I confirmed with a chuckle. “If you’ll have me, of course.”
“If I’ll have you?” she repeated. “Shit, I’ll buy you a plane ticket myself so you can fly back with me tonight.”
Again, I chuckled as I told her, “I still gotta do my exit interview and shit with the front office. But after that, I’m all yours for at least a few months.”
Even though this was all news to Yani, I could tell she was genuinely excited about it when she couldn’t stop smiling if she wanted to. And as we walked out of the stadium together, I was already feeling a little lighter about how the season had played out, grateful to have had my best friend with me through it all.
