Читать книгу Act of One - Victoria Inc. Barna - Страница 6

It was a cold, dark and wet September day in New Jersey. Bruce and the Madison High School football team were in the locker room preparing for a big game with Montclair High, archrival and reigning State champions. Wet, warm steam was floating from some of the showers throughout the locker room. It looked like a castle keep before a battle. Quarters were cramped and you could hear nervous laughter from some of the players. A lot of bumping into each other was going on and some towel snapping too.

The locker room ritual seemed to be an adolescent sacred rite of passage for these high school football players. It had a tribal feel about it where young warriors can go to bond and feel a unity, almost spiritual in nature. It was the way to get ready for battle. Each player entered the locker room feeling “happy go lucky” and they left transformed, like a beast that’s battle-ready!

Everyone was amped with adrenalin but they were quiet and solemn as they suited up, putting on their game faces. They knew it was time to focus. At that moment nothing was more important than this game!

With their game faces on, completely transformed, each player left the locker room and ran out to get on the bus. They stood in the rain and waited their turns to board. Their moods were serious. They were mentally ready and tough and they were thinking about nothing but winning the game. No one dared to laugh or crack a joke. Emotions were high and the air was thick with tension. You could cut the tension with a knife! In the background one of the players said, “Hurry up and get on.”

Another player grumbled, “Why do we have to travel in this awful weather? Why couldn’t we play here?”

The game strategy was reviewed in the locker room by the Coach and, although some grumbling was going on, you could feel an intensity and excitement radiating from each player. Winning this game was crucial as far as they were concerned. “Winning is important and winning against the reigning New Jersey State champions, Montclair High School, is even better,” Bruce thought to himself.

As his teammates talked quietly among themselves on the ride to Montclair High he stared out the window. All he could see were gray skies and rain. Focused and intense as the rain hit the windows of the bus he wondered, “Why can’t we catch a break?”

The noise and conversations of his teammates began to penetrate his thoughts. He smelled their fear. Although the players around him talked quietly among themselves, he overheard some talk about losing to the State champions. “I can’t believe it. This isn’t the attitude to take into this game!” he thought to himself. “It sounds as though we’ve already lost the game!”

Finally he couldn’t stand it so he sarcastically asked, “Hey, why are we even going? Why even bother? You sound as if we have already lost. What are you guys, a bunch of losers? We can play these guys. Don’t let Coach hear you talking like this.”

As they pulled into the wet and muddy parking lot, Bruce and his teammates checked things out looking through the windows of the bus. The first thing they saw was an intimidating stadium. “Wow, we play on an open grass field with bleachers,” he heard one of the players say. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

Bruce saw that the stadium lights were already on. It was getting dark and a cold, rainy mist was swirling through the beams of the lights. The field had an otherworldly feeling. “How are we going to play football in this?” he wondered.

As they began to leave the bus and head for the field they could see the Montclair team showing their strength and size. Montclair players lined up shoulder to shoulder, goal line to goal line. Bruce and his teammates couldn’t believe it. It seemed surreal, magical and eerie at the same time. “What’s next? Is there a dragon ready to land in the middle of the field?” Bruce mused.

Although a predictable tactic, Montclair High’s greeting still made too much of an impression. Madison’s team was outnumbered. Only twenty-four players were on the traveling team and they faced what seemed to be at least one hundred Montclair players. Bruce heaved in a deep breath and exclaimed to himself, “We can’t let this psych us out!”

Sizing up the Montclair team when warm-ups began on the field the Coach pulled Bruce aside and blurted out, “I need you to play both ways today, defense and offense. This is going to be a tough one. I need you out there.”

Bruce knew what he had to do and nodded knowingly. “I’m there for you, Coach.”

The team entered the huddle and before the kickoff Bruce took charge. He turned his head and glanced at the Montclair sideline and said, “Hey guys, they put their pads on the same as we do. I don’t care how many players they have over there. We didn’t come here to lose. Let’s get this done!”

Cheering and screaming they left the huddle and the Madison High players rallied and focused on winning the game. Everyone was ready to begin one of the toughest “Jersey style” games they had ever played. The players were tough and hard-hitting and a lot of trash-talking flashed through the air. Madison High was determined and they played like fierce warriors. Bruce played his heart out doing exactly what the Coach asked of him—playing both ways—scoring an essential touchdown and gaining badly needed yardage at critical times.

The State champs were surprised at how fierce and tough Madison High’s team played. By half-time the score was tied, 14 to 14. No one thought about the rain and cold anymore. The only thing that was important was winning the game.

The second half began and the game became more physical. As it progressed into the fourth quarter Montclair took a three-point lead. They had the ball on Madison’s eighteen-yard line. It was first and ten. Emotions were high. The players were so focused and intense that you could feel the tension on both sides of the field.

Montclair’s team was tough. They played like warrior beasts dedicated to protecting their all-star quarterback. He dropped back to pass and was surprised to see Bruce fighting through the last of the defensive line with great effort, skill and perseverance. Bruce realized he had a clear shot at the quarterback. His arm came down with a clean shot and smashed the quarterback’s face guard. They both went down! Blitzed!

The sack resulted in a ten-yard loss! Montclair’s quarterback was dazed and slow in getting up. Bruce realized that he was injured on the play. In shock he began to feel a lot of pain. He looked down and realized that his arm was bleeding heavily. Bruce yelled, “I think my arm is broken!” As he watched his arm a lump the size of an egg began to grow larger. Madison called its last time-out.

Seeing Bruce down and hurt his good buddy, Charlie, a large black kid, ran over: “Hey, man, are you okay?”

“I think it’s broken, man!” groaned Bruce in a lot of pain.

Still on the field a wet, cold and muddy Bruce stayed down on his knees holding his arm. Everyone could tell he was badly hurt. The question everyone was asking was, “Will he continue to play?”

The team trainers finally got to Bruce out on the field. They looked at Bruce’s injured arm and one of the trainers said, “It’s not broken. It’s just a bad bruise.”

In pain and exhausted Bruce was soaked to the skin, cold, covered in mud and seriously injured. He looked at the Coach for guidance. “I need a break and I want to come out,” he thought to himself. “I’ve played three and a half quarters of the toughest football of my life. I’m seriously hurt and I’m done.”

Coach was someone that Bruce looked up to and admired. He thought the Coach would pull him out because of his injury. The Coach looked away, turned his back and walked away. Bruce suddenly felt all alone. He realized the Coach wasn’t going to help him. Several ideas went through his mind all at once. “What is this guy doing? He’s not taking me out. What is wrong with him? I’m hurt. Can’t I even come out for one play? Fine, I get it. It’s all up to me.”

The Coach’s response to his injury was a major turning point for Bruce. He realized, “Man, this is how life is. I can move forward or quit. Who can I depend on? My Coach just turned his back on me and walked away. Forget him. I’m not playing for him. I’m playing for the guys on the field next to me.”

Feeling let down, exhausted and in pain, he had to make a choice. Madison was down three points with less than five minutes left on the game clock. With so many thoughts racing through his head, all he could think about was, “What’s the right thing to do? Even though I’m hurt, shall I play through the pain or let the team down? I don’t even know how badly I’m hurt. My arm feels as if it’s broken. There’s no time to come out, hurt or not!”

With a pounding head and a battered body Bruce made up his mind and knew what he needed to do. He didn’t want to let the team down. So, he decided to keep playing whether he was hurt or not. “I’ll deal with my injured arm after the game is over,” he told himself.

Pushing the pain aside, he rejoined the huddle and screamed at his teammates, “We’ve got to hold them here and we’ve got to hold them now!”

Charlie yelled, “Let’s kill these guys!”

The Madison players were on a mission, a mission to win! It was Montclair’s ball, second down and twenty, on the twenty-eighth yard line. Montclair ran a fullback draw for a fourteen-yard gain. The game was on the line. It was third and six and the ball was on the fourteen-yard line.

In Madison’s defensive huddle, breathing hard, Bruce predicted, “They’re going to fake it up the middle and then pitch it wide to their All-State running back.”

Charlie agreed: “Hey, man, they are coming at you! They think you have a bum arm.”

“Yeah, I know!” responded Bruce. “Let’s do this!”

The game clock was ticking and they had no remaining time-outs. On the next play Montclair ran a sweep. This was a huge play, the play for the win, a game-changing play. Both offensive guards pulled. Then Charlie leveled one of the guards on a penetration block. The remaining offensive line focused on taking Bruce down.

Although injured he played tough as he fought through seven guys on the field and finally was one on one with Montclair’s running back. Their eyes locked and after trying to hurdle over Bruce, Bruce tackled him for a loss of yardage! Madison made a huge defensive stand but time was running out. It was Montclair’s last down and they lined up for a field goal in the rain. They missed! The unthinkable had happened!

Madison had the ball and the goal line was eighty-four yards away. They were in position to drive for the winning touchdown with three minutes left in the game. Montclair called for their last time-out. The players were impatient.

Defeat was not an option for Bruce and his team. Victory was possible! With the goal line eighty-four yards away Bruce was back in the offensive huddle. He said, “These guys never thought we would be here, NEVER! We can beat these guys. We can beat them.”

His mission was clear. Once again he rallied his team. He was their leader and he kept the players focused. Leaving the huddle Charlie screamed, “Let’s bring it! Let’s put it to ‘em!”

The score was close. Only three points separated the winner from the loser. For the next three minutes Madison made a serious drive but had no remaining time-outs! They got within nine yards of the goal line and the clock kept ticking. All of a sudden time ran out!

Victory was snatched away from Madison High on this cold, wet and dreary September day. The team couldn’t believe it. Victory was so close and yet so far away. You could hear the loud wail of the victory siren as Montclair ran off the field. They were grateful for the win. The State champions never expected such tough play from Madison High, a bunch of blue-collar, working class kids.

Injured and muddy, cold and wet, the Madison players began walking off the field slowly. Only one player remained. Bruce refused to leave and he seemed oblivious to everything and everyone around him. He was battered and muddy. He was down on one knee on the nine-yard line. Charlie saw him pounding his fist on the ground. “We had these guys beat! We had these guys beat!” yelled an angry Bruce.

Charlie could see Bruce’s face from the sideline and knew his anger was raging. Bruce finally got up and began to pace back and forth. He looked at the goal line with his hands on his hips and shook his head in total disbelief. “I can’t believe it. We should not have lost.”

Charlie ran back onto the field to get Bruce. He realized that Bruce was caught up in his own blow-by-blow replay of the game and that he was angry. He yelled at Bruce, “Come on, man, we got to go. We have got to go.”

Bruce yelled back, “One more minute. Just one more stinking minute and we would have beaten the State champions!”

Charlie knew Bruce better than most people. Not only was he a teammate, but he was one of Bruce’s best friends. So, he draped his arm over Bruce’s shoulder and slowly walked them off the field together—injured, muddy, wet, cold, feeling angry and disappointed. All of a sudden Bruce looked at his friend Charlie and said, “We didn’t quit, man, we didn’t quit.”

This awareness served Bruce well as his purpose became clearer a few months later. It helped define who Bruce was becoming: a leader with vision, courage and perseverance, someone who wouldn’t quit even when victory seemed impossible or when he wasn’t supported by the people he trusted.