Enjoying the Game

         Jerry took a seat, relieved that his cynicism was no longer justified.  A kid from the bleachers above him stood in the aisle with a box of popcorn.  Jerry looked at the kid and smiled.  The kid was whisked away by his mother. 
         “Do you have everything you need here?” said Jerry.
         “Yes, darling, I’m fine,” said Patricia, his wife.
         It was a fine fall day in late October.  Football season was well underway.  Jerry had received tickets.  Jerry settled into his seat and looked around.  The grass on the field was bright green lined with white chalk.  They sat near the fifty yard line about halfway up.  Jerry could smell freshness in the air that cleared his mind.  He took a deep breath and expelled it, feeling the leisure of the day.  Jerry had worked twenty long years for the company and had retired the previous Friday. 
         Players from both teams were running here and there on the field warming up, catching balls for the game.  The goalposts stood like yellow forks at the ends of the field.  A fork.  A skewer.  Checkmate.  Jerry was learning chess from his wife.  They had just bought an expensive wooden chess set for the living room carved of red oak.  Football is like a chess game.
         The referee on the field wind milled his arm and blew his whistle.  The extraneous personnel cleared the field.  Jerry took a mouthful of popcorn and washed it down with soda.  Today was going to be fun.  He looked over at his wife.  She was looking at him with love.  The players lined up for the kickoff.  The kicker for team that won the coin toss spearheaded the players into action.  Jerry had read up on the teams online before the game and knew that the kicking team relied on their defense and made no bones about it. 
         “Are you still going fishing with Ronald next weekend?” said Patricia.
         Jerry thought for a moment.  Relations between him and his brother had been strained over the years.  “Yes, I think I will go,” he said.  He recalled a pick-up game of football in the field by his house wherein he was flipped into the air by his brother on a tackle.  Something he had been holding onto for years melted away.  “I think it will be fun.”
         Patricia smiled and pecked him on the cheek.  Jerry took another bite of popcorn and turned his head to check out the crowd.  A sea of people.  Waves on the way. 
         The fastest man in the league caught the high, rotating punt, set himself, and took off.  It was a good runback, gaining nearly twenty yards.  He was forced out of bounds near the thirty yard line.  Officials on the sidelines reset the markers and the game began.

         “Hey Madden, you need to hit the gym!” yelled a fan from behind.
         “Screw you!” a man below replied in kind.
         The first series of plays began with a run.  The running back was clogged up in the middle and made only one yard.  The officials moved the markers.  Second down and nine.  The teams lined up at the line of scrimmage.  “Hut, hut!” yelled the quarterback.  Jerry was amazed he could hear it all the way up in the stands.  It was a pass play.  The quarterback dropped back and hit the tight end for a four yard gain.  A flag was thrown.  Jerry watched as the referee picked up the yellow handkerchief.  Roughing the passer.  Ten yards and a first down. 
         “Darling, why don’t you call Ronald?” said Patricia.
         “Now?”
         “Why not?  I’m sure he would be glad to hear from you.”
         Jerry took the cell phone from its holster on his belt loop and found Ronald’s number in the contact list.  He punched send on the phone.  After several rings, Ronald answered.
         “Hello.”
         “Ronald?”
         “Jerry, how’s it hanging’ kid?”
         “I’m doing fine.  Friday was my last day.”
         “Good. Good. We still going fishing next weekend?”
         Jerry thought of asking ‘you mean the upcoming weekend?’ but thought better of it.
         “You bet,” said Jerry, “I’m looking forward to it.”
         They talked some more then ended the call.
         The last game of the quarter was a punt.  The receiving team had kicked a field goal and was now ready to play defense.  The kicking team’s offense was adequate, but not high-powered.  The officials moved the markers.  The jumbo-tron clock reset to fifteen minutes at the far end of the field.
         “How’s his daughter doing?” said Patricia.
         “She’s started college.  She’s a freshman this year.”
         “Oh, that’s great.  What is she studying?”
         “He didn’t say.  I think she was into art before.”
         The kicking team’s quarterback was tall and lanky.  Jerry could see the veins in his arm popping out like small rivers.  He dropped back for a pass and threw a high spiral to the wide receiver thirty yards down the field.  It was a completion and the officials moved the marker to near the fifty yard line.  The next play was a run that got nowhere.  The quarterback handed the ball off to the running back who darted outside and was tackled near the sideline.  A cameraman was knocked down and was helped up by the player.  The crowd roared in delight.  First down on the fifty.  The quarterback handed the ball off again to the running back who took it eight yards.  Penalty flag down.  Illegal use of hands.  Ten yard penalty, second down.  Doesn’t make sense, does it?  The referee blew his whistle at a skirmish between some players after the play.  They made their way back to the line of scrimmage.  The quarterback dropped back and threw a perfect spiral on a crossing route.  The wide receiver caught it, dodged a clothesline, and sprinted into the end zone.  The crowd went wild.  They set up and kicked the extra point.  The officials moved the markers.
         In a strange play that will often be referred to in years to come as the ‘Onside Fiasco’, the kicking team kicked an onside kick to catch the other team off guard in mid-game.  The ball was recovered at the bottom of the pile of players who had stacked up like flapjacks.  The official made his call after the pile had dissipated.  Kicking team’s ball!  The crowd hissed in disapproval. 
         “Why does she study art?” said Patricia.
         Jerry thought a moment.  “Why does anyone study art?”
         “I guess they do those things.”
         Jerry nodded.  “Yeah, I guess they do.”
         The quarter ended with the score seven to three.  Halftime activities were underway on the field.  This show is brought to you by Bright-O.  In five delicious flavors.  Strawberry, Raspberry, Chocolate, Butterscotch and Raspberry.  I still say Raspberry!
         The dancers and stage were cleared from the field for the second half.  The players emerged from the locker rooms and took the field.  The kicking team was to receive.  It was a line drive kick caught by the second fastest man in the league.  He sprinted up the sideline, and then cut in, towards the center of the field.  He dodged several tacklers and broke free.  He spiked the ball in the end zone, which cost the team fifteen yards on the kickoff.  The extra point was good.  The score was now ten to seven. 
         The kickoff was high and far and the receiving team’s player took a knee in the end zone.  They began the drive on the twenty.  The team ran two times, gaining a total of seven yards.  It was third down and three. 
         The boy whom Jerry had seen earlier with the popcorn was led by his mother down the stairs.  Jerry watched as the boy carefully managed the oversized bleacher steps.  Jerry turned around instantly when the cold liquid hit his back.
         “Sorry, bud.  Accident, “said a man behind him holding an empty cup.
         Jerry gave the man a look.
         “I’m going to have to change shirts,” Jerry said, still feeling the cold, sticky liquid down his back.
         “Honey, where are you going to get a shirt?”
         “I’ll buy one,” Jerry said, “This place has vendors everywhere.”
         Jerry made his way to the concourse, where he saw a shirt vendor.  He took his place in the line.  The crowd roared several times.  A woman at the front of the line was arguing with the vendor.  Jerry checked his watch. 
         “I tell you it had a stain on it when I bought it,” the woman said.
         The vendor scratched his head and conferred with a colleague.  They finally gave her a new shirt.  Jerry wondered why she gave the vendor some more money.  He made his way to the front of the line and purchased a t-shirt. 
         “Give me one of those caps too,” said Jerry.
         Jerry put the cap on and headed to the rest rooms.  He chose a stall and changed into the new t-shirt.  The boy from before, with the popcorn was using the urinal.  Jerry wondered where his father was.  He looked around at the other men in the room.  When he left the bathroom, he saw the mother standing near the door.  He smiled at her in relief.
Patricia smiled as he sat down.
         “I didn’t think you liked caps,” said Patricia.
         “You only live once.”
         “What happened?” said Jerry.
         “Oh, I don’t know.  That team kicked and I think they scored a touchdown.”  Patricia pointed.
         Sure enough, the score was now fourteen to ten.
         On the final kickoff, a strange thing happened.  The football lost air in mid-flight and settled helplessly to the ground.  The crowd went silent for a moment.  The players stood as if in shock.  A player picked up the ball and ran into the end zone for a touchdown.  The official raised his arms.  It was now seventeen to fourteen.  The other team was on a drive when time ran out.  The game was over.
         Patricia and Jerry made their way to the car. 
         “I think I’ll call Ronald back and tell him what happened,” said Jerry.
         “You know he’s a huge football fan.”