now, I’ll call them the minute we get off here. How’s the reporters? I like the stuff that’s coming out, people are calling with questions, once the Today Show hits you’re gonna be huge.”
“ They’re fine.” I turn the corner onto my street. “I don’t know how they all got my number, though.”
“ I gave it to them. You let me know if anything’s bothering you and I’ll fix it, okay? We’re a team, we’re working together.”
“ Wait, you —?”
“ That’s it, kid, now I’m gonna go take care of that shirt company, they should take better care of their talent. We’re gonna get a commercial on during the Today Show.”
“ That soon?”
“ They’ll have it up this week during your game. They already bought the spot. That’s why they had to shoot today.”
“ Lion Christ.”
“ I gotta go, Dev, you take care and tell me if anything’s bothering you, anything at all.”
“ I don’t want you giving my number out!” I yell, but I get only silence back. I feel myself close to throwing the phone out the window, so I put it down and concentrate on navigating my parking garage. At least Ogleby isn’t giving out my home address, I reflect in the elevator on the way up.
I turn on my GameBox and throw in UFL Football 2009 while I call Lee. I tell him all about the commercial and them showing up in the middle of the day.
“ You can’t let them distract you from football.”
“ I’m not.” Even though they took me away from extra practice, even though my foot is still sore.
“ The commercial is cool, don’t get me wrong. But if you don’t keep up your football—”
“ Christ, doc, it was one day.” I shift on the couch, leaning back against the armrest.
He whuffs into the phone. “How’d Fisher react?”
“ He said ‘good for you.’”
“ That all?”
I shift on the couch. “The guys are fine. They’re just focused.”
“ Uh-huh.” He sounds amused. “Got any more commercials on the horizon?”
“ I don’t know, I’ll ask Ogleby.” I settle back into the couch and growl. “He gave my number to all those reporters.”
“ Of course he did,” Lee says. “He wants you to be famous. The more famous you are, the more endorsements you get and the more money he gets. At this point, I doubt he even cares about your football career. When’s the commercial going to air?”
“ He cares.” But I realize that Ogleby’s swift anger could just as easily have been purely for my benefit. “It’ll air during the Today Show and during the game Sunday.”
“ I’ll have to record it.”
I grin. “Where you flying in from?”
“ Freestone. I’ll be at the Gresham – Holtower game until eight or so. Eleven o’clock flight down to Chevali, at the stadium bright an early Sunday morning.”
“ Where you sittin’?”
“ Our section. Row...let me check.” I hear the click of keys. “Forty-one.”
“ I’ll be looking.”
“ I’ll be watching.”
I smile and rest my head back against the couch.
?
Game day starts cloudy, but the clouds burn off by the time I get to the stadium. My toe feels better, about a hundred percent now, and the Friday and Saturday practices have made Gerrard and Steez more confident in my execution of our new plays. I spend lunch breaks and evenings talking to reporters, but I haven’t gotten fined again, and I’m able to focus on football better. The rest of the team still acts chilly, but by Sunday, that’s overtaken with the rush of game day. This week, the extra incentive of the bye week hovers over us, the mini-vacation that will be much sweeter if we play well and win.
I love Sunday mornings. Whatever else happens during the week, Coach tells us to forget it. For a few hours, we need to be a team working together toward a common goal. This week, when we have our pre-game meeting, he gives us the same rah-rah speech he gives us every week.
This week, he adds something new. “We are a team,” he says. “Anyone comes
“ They’re fine.” I turn the corner onto my street. “I don’t know how they all got my number, though.”
“ I gave it to them. You let me know if anything’s bothering you and I’ll fix it, okay? We’re a team, we’re working together.”
“ Wait, you —?”
“ That’s it, kid, now I’m gonna go take care of that shirt company, they should take better care of their talent. We’re gonna get a commercial on during the Today Show.”
“ That soon?”
“ They’ll have it up this week during your game. They already bought the spot. That’s why they had to shoot today.”
“ Lion Christ.”
“ I gotta go, Dev, you take care and tell me if anything’s bothering you, anything at all.”
“ I don’t want you giving my number out!” I yell, but I get only silence back. I feel myself close to throwing the phone out the window, so I put it down and concentrate on navigating my parking garage. At least Ogleby isn’t giving out my home address, I reflect in the elevator on the way up.
I turn on my GameBox and throw in UFL Football 2009 while I call Lee. I tell him all about the commercial and them showing up in the middle of the day.
“ You can’t let them distract you from football.”
“ I’m not.” Even though they took me away from extra practice, even though my foot is still sore.
“ The commercial is cool, don’t get me wrong. But if you don’t keep up your football—”
“ Christ, doc, it was one day.” I shift on the couch, leaning back against the armrest.
He whuffs into the phone. “How’d Fisher react?”
“ He said ‘good for you.’”
“ That all?”
I shift on the couch. “The guys are fine. They’re just focused.”
“ Uh-huh.” He sounds amused. “Got any more commercials on the horizon?”
“ I don’t know, I’ll ask Ogleby.” I settle back into the couch and growl. “He gave my number to all those reporters.”
“ Of course he did,” Lee says. “He wants you to be famous. The more famous you are, the more endorsements you get and the more money he gets. At this point, I doubt he even cares about your football career. When’s the commercial going to air?”
“ He cares.” But I realize that Ogleby’s swift anger could just as easily have been purely for my benefit. “It’ll air during the Today Show and during the game Sunday.”
“ I’ll have to record it.”
I grin. “Where you flying in from?”
“ Freestone. I’ll be at the Gresham – Holtower game until eight or so. Eleven o’clock flight down to Chevali, at the stadium bright an early Sunday morning.”
“ Where you sittin’?”
“ Our section. Row...let me check.” I hear the click of keys. “Forty-one.”
“ I’ll be looking.”
“ I’ll be watching.”
I smile and rest my head back against the couch.
?
Game day starts cloudy, but the clouds burn off by the time I get to the stadium. My toe feels better, about a hundred percent now, and the Friday and Saturday practices have made Gerrard and Steez more confident in my execution of our new plays. I spend lunch breaks and evenings talking to reporters, but I haven’t gotten fined again, and I’m able to focus on football better. The rest of the team still acts chilly, but by Sunday, that’s overtaken with the rush of game day. This week, the extra incentive of the bye week hovers over us, the mini-vacation that will be much sweeter if we play well and win.
I love Sunday mornings. Whatever else happens during the week, Coach tells us to forget it. For a few hours, we need to be a team working together toward a common goal. This week, when we have our pre-game meeting, he gives us the same rah-rah speech he gives us every week.
This week, he adds something new. “We are a team,” he says. “Anyone comes
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