The Weight Of The World On My Shoulders
The week couldn't have went by any slower. Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours and so on. Every thought of mine was about Jeremiah Young's comments and the game itself - well almost every thought. Melyssa could tell that something was wrong and we were talking about it one night at her house.
"What's wrong sweetheart? You haven't seemed like yourself lately."
"I don't know Melyssa, everything's just weird. I never really liked football enough to pursue it after high school, and now I can look in my room and see scholarship offers from every top school in the country. All my guarantees have been on point - what if we lose Saturday? Do I become the laughing stock of Everett again?"
"Again? What do you mean by that?"
I never told her about last year's incident, but I guess now would be a good time.
"Okay, so we were awful last year. Well after one of the games, me and one of the seniors from last year's team got into a fight and the Bedford Gazette saw every second of it. I thought I was invincible, I really did. Then that fight brought me down to reality. Fans started booing me, my classmates wouldn't look at me; you don't know how hated I felt."
"Awh, I'm sorry to hear that Ethan."
"Yeah. But anyways; now after meeting you and having you here with me, having all my guarantees come true, and becoming a can't miss prospect in football - I'm starting to feel that invinciblity again, like nothing can bring me down. Is that bad?"
"You have everything going for you in your life right now Ethan. You have great friends, you're great on the field, and you're an amazing boyfriend. You should feel like nothing can bring you down. And that's why you shouldn't worry about it."
"You don't understand babe, I feel the pressure coming from all directions. It's like the weight of the community...the world, is on my shoulders to perform."
"If you lose, it's not the end of the world. I'm sure the community will still look at you as the same Ethan Woy I see. Talented, smart, friendly, and good-looking; you have great qualities and even with a loss in your final high school football game, they'll still see those same qualities in you. Just go out tomorrow night and play your game. Everything will fall into place."
"Just a question, what do you plan on majoring in at college?"
"Psychology. Why?"
"Cause I know you'll make a great psychiarist some day. Thanks babe."
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*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
It was finally the day that most high school athletes dream of; the day of the State championship. Like every game day, I threw on my white number 15 jersey, some armbands and walked out the door to go to school.
I only had one class for the day before we left to go to Philadelphia, but it felt like it took forever. Texts came pouring in wishing me good luck, from both family members and college coaches. Right before I got my bag to get on the bus, I received another text.
"look for a big raise if you win tonight."
Couldn't tell if the text was from CP or if it was from Rich Rod. Either way, I bet one of them would be there tonight, along with many other scouts. I took a seat in the back of the bus, put on my headphones and drifted into a long sleep.
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We got off the bus to a boatload of Everett fans who have been tailgating all day. Steelton is farther away from Philadelphia than Everett, but it looked like there would be the same amount of fans for both sides.
"Oh, wow!"
Walking onto Lincoln Financial Field was like a dream come true. I never thought I'd be here until now, and just standing on that field knowing that in four hours I would be playing in front of 30,000 fans for a State championship. I got chills just thinking about it.
The hours ticked by slowly as I started getting my stuff ready. We went out for some stretching and last minute adjustments before coming back into the locker room for our last pre-game speech.
"Look around you right now fellas. We've done it. We've made the State championship. Now look at your teammates. Each one of them played a special role in our run this year. We're ready boys. This is the last game for most of your careers, so that gives you no excuse to not give it all every play. This team is good, yes. But if we play to the best of our potential...and I believe we haven't done that yet - we'll win this game. They have talent? Of course they do, but so do we. I consider Brad one of the best quarterbacks in the state. I think Ethan is the best receiver in the country. Cory could be the hardest hitting safety I've ever coached. Clinton has some of the best ballhawking skills I've ever seen. The thing is this; how do you want to be remembered? Do you want to be the team that went all the way and won it all? Or the team that came up one game short? Now let's go guys! Ethan, break them down."
"First of all guys, I'm proud of every single one of you. I'm proud of all the coaches, our fans, and the history we've established at Everett. No one at the beginning of the year thought we'd be here today, except for this team. Hell, the community didn't even believe in us! But now they do, and I'm glad we have their support. Right now we have the weight of that entire community on our shoulders, wanting us to succeed. And we will! I have faith in every single one of you to do your jobs tonight. We need everyone's best effort tonight, none of this 'I'll only play when I want to' shit. Steel-High is good, yes. We are better though, I guarantee it. We have more heart than them, more desire, and more will to win! Let's go out there, hit them in the mouth, and bring home that State title that the little town of Everett deserves! Now, for the last time, who are we?"
"EVERETT!"
"I said, who the fuck are we?"
"EVERETT!"
"Win on three! One, two, three..."
"WIN!"
We walked out of the locker room all fired up. All the offensive starters were announced and then they got to my name.
"And starting at receiver, senior, number 15...Ethan Woy!"
Goosebumps ran through my body as I ran out to a packed crowd of royal blue and red. Nodding my head, I said to myself...
"It's showtime."