Page 123 of Made Better Together

Case in point—a couple of hours later, I’m driving with Rawley to our first home game since I made the squad, and despite the fact that I won’t play, won’t even suit up, I’m fucking excited.

I’m part of this now. Something I actually want to do.

When we get to the facility, I skip the locker room—practice players aren’t supposed to be in there on game days. Instead, I head out right onto the field and walk to our section of the sideline.

Mike’s there already too, surprisingly. He greets me with a smile, which I return.

“You always here so early? I’m the new guy, so that’s my excuse.”

“Ha, I’m hardwired that way. I hate being late.”

“I feel that.”

“There’s nothing like being here with the grass untouched, the stands starting to fill up. I don’t take anything for granted.”

I also feel that right now. This is surreal. I thought this dream was dead.

“What were you doing for work before this opening came?” he asks.

I explain my internship to him. “I have an open invitation to go back after the season. The practice squad pay is a godsend, though. It sucked not having any income at all. I’m hoping that will let me settle into the internship more, not having to worry about money.”

He nods his head. “Yeah, I’m in a similar boat. In the off-season, I’m taking classes to get my Master’s in Education, so I can go coach and teach somewhere.”

“That’s cool.”

“You have a girl?”

The abrupt change in topic startles me into honesty. “Yeah.” Oh shit. “I mean, it’s kind of new. But there’s someone. How about you?”

He looks amused at my bumbling answer. “It’s like that, huh? Yeah, I’m engaged. We’ve been together since college.”

“Nice.”

Thankfully, that line of questioning is broken up as more players, staff, and coaches show up. The players suiting up start their warm-ups on the field, and we get pulled in different directions.

On my side, when Jeremy appears, he chats with me before running on the field. “You’ll see me do the same sequence as in practice to get loose.”

“Okay, great.”

“During the game, shadow me on the sidelines, so you can get the gist of how I stay ready. You never know when the defense is going to run back a turnover for a touchdown, and you’re going to be called in for the extra point.”

I’d been in that very scenario several times at Princeton. Still, learning from a pro how he manages his prep throughout the game is going to be huge.

“I appreciate it, Jeremy.” Sincerity floods my voice. He could be a jerk or just ignore me. Adopting me into his fold is really solid of him.

“You bet, I’m going to head out there.”

Once the game starts, Jeremy is true to his word. He has four field goal attempts and two extra kicks, only missing one of the longer field goals. I watch his every move both on the field and off, as he models how to handle game days. Del also pops over and talks me through a couple of the scenarios that come up.

It’s interesting, I don’t spend much time chatting with my brothers or Johnson. They’re all business, which is understandable. Johnson and Rawley have reason to talk to each other, as quarterback and wide receiver, but there’s no need for them to interact with a kicker.

Only toward the end of the game do I connect with Landon. It’s now 20-7 with four minutes left, so the win is in hand.

“Nice view, isn’t it?” Landon jokes as he steps beside me.

“Can’t complain,” I kid back.

He brings his hand to the middle of my shoulders. “It’s something special to have you here, Connor. No matter how long this lasts, I’m so glad we’re getting this moment.”