Danny Keller
Only minutes to go he’s able to escape the back, getting wide open yards from the end zone… time seems to stand still as the entire home crowd stands on their feet, the ball cuts through the air perfectly… ‘This is it’ goes through his mind, images of being celebrated by the whole town flashes before his head… that all comes crashing down when the ball somehow slips between his fingers, hitting the ground and bouncing away… the collective sigh of the crowd is all he hears… the world still seeming at a stand-still, but in a whole other light, as he whishes nothing more than more the earth to open up and swallow him…
Getting back to the line to resume play he’s cursing himself inwardly and minutes later he throws his hands up, looking into the sky as the final whistle signals the end of the game…
He walks to the end of the pitch, off for himself as the murmur of the crowd as they leaves… he enters leaves the playing field a few minutes later, catching a glimpse of his beautiful girlfriend talking to some of her girlfriends off to one side, standing up on her toes as she looks in his direction… he puts his head down and enters the dressing room…
Some time later he walks to the school parking lot, his girl waiting for him by his car… the only thing that gave some sense of relief at that moment… win or lose, she was always there for him, giving him everything…
Only minutes to go he’s able to escape the back, getting wide open yards from the end zone… time seems to stand still as the entire home crowd stands on their feet, the ball cuts through the air perfectly… ‘This is it’ goes through his mind, images of being celebrated by the whole town flashes before his head… that all comes crashing down when the ball somehow slips between his fingers, hitting the ground and bouncing away… the collective sigh of the crowd is all he hears… the world still seeming at a stand-still, but in a whole other light, as he whishes nothing more than more the earth to open up and swallow him…
Getting back to the line to resume play he’s cursing himself inwardly and minutes later he throws his hands up, looking into the sky as the final whistle signals the end of the game…
He walks to the end of the pitch, off for himself as the murmur of the crowd as they leaves… he enters leaves the playing field a few minutes later, catching a glimpse of his beautiful girlfriend talking to some of her girlfriends off to one side, standing up on her toes as she looks in his direction… he puts his head down and enters the dressing room…
Some time later he walks to the school parking lot, his girl waiting for him by his car… the only thing that gave some sense of relief at that moment… win or lose, she was always there for him, giving him everything…