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“Yeah, the playoffs tend to hit a lil’ different,” Anastasia agreed, letting a brief bout of silence linger between us before she perked up to say, “But, hey! Since you aren’t pregnant, we should go take a shot of somethin’ to ease your nerves.”
In the moment, it sounded like a great idea, which was why I didn’t even think twice about joining Anastasia for a trip to the suite’s liquor stash. But when the game got back underway, and things went from“not that bad”to“what the hell are y’all doing”, I realized I probably should’ve just stuck to water, the seventeen-point deficit the Skyhawks were in going into the fourth quarter mixed with the alcohol in my system putting me on the verge of a breakdown that had Anastasia scolding, “Girl, get it together! There’s still a lot of game left.”
She was right.
Therewasa lot of game left.
Fifteen minutes, to be exact.
So instead of surrendering to the bad vibes, I checked myself and started cheering louder than I had all day, the instant reward of the Skyhawks forcing a fumble that Hawk recovered fueling me to yell, “There we go!” as I watched him get a few more yards before being taken down.
Now it was Kendall’s turn to capitalize.
For as confident as I was in his abilities, and for as much as I usually enjoyed being a witness to his greatness, the current circumstances made it hard for me to watch as he took his first snap of the final period. But when that snap turned into a gain of fifteen yards after a nice ass quarterback scramble, I became more determined than ever to fight through my nerves so that I could properly root for Kendall every step of the way, being loud and proud about it when I shouted, “That’s my man!”
Of course, with how far we were from the field and how boisterous the stadium was now that the Skyhawks were showing some signs of life, I knew he couldn’t actually hear me. But the thought of him being able tofeelmy love, and support, and renewed faith was enough for me to keep it going until he finally got the ball into the end zone with a touchdown pass to the rookie.
“Let’s go!” I yelled, beyond excited to finally be able to give out celebratory high fives after being in a drought since the first quarter. And in my gut, I knew it wouldn’t be the last time we’d be slapping hands; though I can’t say I was expecting it to be a defensive play that had us jumping to our feet to celebrate after Gerald of all people got a damn interception.
I’d learned a lot about the sport over the course of the season, which was how I knew it was such a rare occurrence for someone in his position to get a pick. But that only added to the magic of the moment that had me getting emotional for good reasons as I watched Kendall go to work, finishing off what the defense had started when he threw his second touchdown pass of the game.
“That’s your man!” Anastasia shouted before I could, making me laugh as I yelled back, “And that’s your mothafuckin’ brother!” the two of us sharing in a hug as we watched the extra point kick go in. And with the seventeen-point deficit now cut to three, it felt like the only thing not going in the Skyhawks favor was the clock, the fact that there was now just a little under five minutes left in the game putting the pressure on the defense to get another stop so that the offense could have a chance to win it.
Or get another turnover and win it their damn selves.
Either way, time wasn’t on their side; especially with Tennessee doing everything in their power to burn as much clock as possible. But once they were forced to settle for a field goal that extended their lead to six, I realized the pressure would now be completely on Kendall to win the game for his team… and that he’d only have about two minutes to do it.
There was a lot that could happen in that amount of time.
I’d learned that from Snoopy.
Sure, it might not have been in this exact context, but it still felt like it applied. And for that reason, I remained faithful as I watched the kickoff that preceded the two-minute warning and then watched my quarterback boyfriend jog out onto the field after it, my hands clasped in a prayer pose against my lips as I rocked back and forth in my stance while Kendall lined up for the start of what would more than likely be the final drive of the game.
The way my heart was pounding, you would’ve thought I was the one getting ready to take the snap. But in reality, it was Kendall who remained impressively composed as he yelled out the play call, clapped his hands to receive the ball, and then dropped back for a short pass towards the middle of the field to Carmelo for a gain of about ten yards.
At this point, I was too anxious to even open my mouth. So instead, I celebrated by clapping emphatically as Kendall hurried down to the new line of scrimmage. And without huddling up his team, he called out another play, this one a longer pass to the rookie wide receiver who made a miraculous catch over Enzo and then took off running down the sidelines for a thirty-five-yard gain before he was pushed out of bounds.
Just like that, the Skyhawks were in striking distance.
Field goal range, to be more specific.
But since a three-point kick wouldn’t be enough to win nor tie the game, they had to keep the ball moving, Kendall wasting hardly any time before he took a shot at the end zone that damn near made my heart stop as I watched the ball soar through the air only to get batted down by a defender at the last second.
Fuck.
With that, the Skyhawks chose to use their final timeout to regroup, the pause in game action only heightening the tension in the stadium as the hometown fans anxiously waited to see if their team was going to be able to pull off the comeback that would advance them to the next round of the playoffs. But for me, it was so much deeper than that, thoughts of what a win could mean for my father making my chest grow painfully tight as Kendall and his team returned to the field for the final minute of the game.
I almost didn’t want to watch it. But I also couldn’t bring myself to look away, too desperate to see what would happen next. And when Kendall took the snap, I got my answer in the form of a handoff to Carmelo who ran the ball for a big gain before he was tackled just shy of the twenty-yard line.
They were so damn close. But with the clock still running, there was so little time left to work with as Kendall rushed his team to set up for the next play. And once again, the ball went to Carmelo, this time for a short pass where he seemed to be intentional about getting towards the sidelines and then out of bounds.
The clock stopping in response made sense of his actions, giving the Skyhawks a quick moment to breathe before they’d have to run another play. But when both the second and third down attempts ended up being busts after Kendall was forced to throw the ball out of bounds on back-to-back plays, I felt myself starting to get sick again, the fact that it was now fourth down meaning that converting here was make or break as far as the game went.
And not just the game, but the entire damn season, along with everything else that was riding on this moment. And considering the way my nerves were frazzled in response to the pressure of that alone, I could only imagine how Kendall felt as he lined up for one of the most important plays of his career, the entire stadium rooting for him as he signaled the call and then took the snap before dropping back for a pass… only to discover that none of his receivers were actually open.
With no time to think about it, Kendall tucked the ball and took off running, finding the smallest gap that allowed him to sprint past the first line of defense. And when he realized there was only one defender left in front of him, Kendall dropped his shoulder and used all of his might to straight-up truck Enzo, clearing the path for him to tumble into the end zone for a touchdown that tied the game.
I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. But the roar of the crowd told me what I’d seen was real, Anastasia throwing her arms around my neck as we both started jumping up and down to celebrate. And we weren’t the only ones, Kimberly, Bryn, and Mama Dogwood all screaming their lungs out as the stadium went absolutely crazy for Kendall who pointed to the sky for a little longer than usual during his touchdown celebration.
