Fuck yeah, Blair.
When the guy closer to my age misses, it’s just Blair and the fresh-looking twenty year old. The two of them smile and laugh while they move the ball back another five yards—the true distance of an extra point. A voice booms over the stadium, the crowd getting into it, and says that each of them gets two kicks.
The guy hits the uprights on his first kick: miss.
Blair makes it and the crowd erupts—the kind of cheers you can almost feel through the turf.
On his last try, the guy sails it left—miss.
Blair lines up, even though she doesn’t have to, and kicks.
And she fucking nails it.
Five
Blair
“Youcan’tbeserious.”I have to remember to close my mouth because I’m standing in front of the head coach, special teams coach, and general manager for the Upstate Cosmos. Tyson, Joey, andtheZack Andersen stand behind me, watching this unfold.
Because there’s no way someone just asked if I was available to kick in an NFL game today. Like, in two hours? And that would mean I’d be on the Cosmos roster. With a rookie minimum paycheck.
“What are you looking for?” the head coach asks as my head swivels corner to corner.
“Cameras. Someone filming in the corner. There’s no way this is real.” I laugh and put my hands on my hips.
Dylan, the special teams coach, jumps in, “We could be saying the same thing. How in the hell are you just walking around able to kick like that?”
“Older brothers. A competitive household. Soccer in college. I own a gym. I don’t know?” The logical reasons fall out of my mouth, but it’s still a long string of ramblings and it’s hard for me to catch my breath.
“Stop it. She played D1 soccer.. Plus, she’s fucking strong,” Tyson interjects and I shoot him a look that begs him to stop talking.
Nerves creep up and flush my skin. I feel the warmth spread across my cheeks and I’m sure my hands are sweaty and disgusting.
“Here’s the deal. We’re out of options for kickers. The owners have the cash and are willing to do something that’s never been done before. Thisgame is critical and if having a shot at an extra point puts us in the best position to win later in the season, we’re willing to do it.” His eyes are glued to mine. “If you want, we’d like to make you the first woman on an NFL roster.”
My head lolls forward, mouth hanging open—I can feel the deep lines dig into my forehead, the way I look when I’m trying to figure something out. Turning behind me, I look at Tyson.
“There’s no way you’re serious. It’s very much giving ‘this is a prank and I’m the butt of the joke.’” The words are quiet but we’re in a tight space—everyone hears it.
Zack Andersen, Super Bowl champion, casually strolls forward and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Listen, I get it. No pranks here. But you know what? It could be a fucking blast.” He laughs and shakes me like we’ve met a thousand times.
What in the world is happening?
Tyson’s wearing this smirk, almost like he’s daring me to say yes. Or he wants me to. His blue eyes are unforgettably close to the Cosmos blue of his warmup gear.
“Blair, come on. Like you’re going to let the boys have all the fun?” He says the phrase that he uses when he’s trying to get me to do something. He points his words in a way that makes me feel like I can do it, and also like he alreadyknowsthat.
The first woman on an NFL roster? On a random Sunday?
I take in a deep breath, rolling my shoulders away from my ears, letting the muscles relax all the way to the tips of my fingers. Closing my eyes for just a second, I stretch my neck, and sigh out the anxious air from my lungs.
Taking a page from my therapist’s book, I try to clear my mind. Breathe through the noise until it’s a blank canvas.Can I do this? Do I want to do this?It’s not necessarily something I see, but I hear the sound of the whistle,the swell of the crowd. I feel butterflies in my belly and a smile pulling at my lips.
“I’m in. What’s next?”
TheCosmosfacilityhasquite literally anything you’d want, including a place to create my game wear for today. Clearly I have almost zero insight besides what Tyson has shared, but this is like a very modern, accommodating sports compound. Fancy as fuck.
After I practiced kicking inside—into a net with some of the special teams staff— and the quickest physical of my life, I’m now standing on the sidelines in a full Upstate Cosmos uniform.
