Two Minute Drill (Bases Loaded Jam Series #2)

Ch. 55: The Kick (Brett/Gordon/Kendra/Scout)

Gordon

All of us were looking at Diego like he was crazy.

"What do you mean you can make the kick?" Coach Robinson asked. "It's a 64-yard field goal."

"I've made kicks longer than that." Diego remarked.

"Yeah, in practice with no defender rushing you. It's too risky. We need a Hail Mary. Gordon, can you throw the ball?"

"I can get it to the end zone," I answered. "I know Jermaine or Otis can make the catch."

"Okay, now then..."

"But coach, if we don't get the Hail Mary, everyone will blame me for the loss,

"If you miss it, you will still be blamed for the loss."

"At least I took a risk. You were the one that told us at the Alamo that the men stayed and attempted to do something heroic even if it meant losing their lives. I'm still mad at myself for the last kick and I need to atone for it. Please, let me have this chance."

A few seconds went by of silence. Yet, it was just enough for me to see that Diego was serious and that he was willing to take that chance. I always knew he was a confident kicker, but he had been struggling lately. He wanted a chance to redeem himself and he wanted to be the one to get us to the Super Bowl.

"What do you think Gordon?"

I glanced over to see Coach Robinson turn to me. He was asking me my thoughts. This was normally a situation I preferred listening to my coach. Any other quarterback would either listen to their coach or say "I want the ball in my hands." It was like the final scene from the movie The Replacements when Keanu Reeve's character told Gene Hackman's character he wanted to win to which Hackman's character said "winners always do." I wanted to be a winner and I wanted that ball in my hands.

But, I saw a tear in Diego's eye. That told me he really wanted this. I immediately thought of the situation where if Diego didn't make the kick, instead of pinning the blame on me for my mistakes, he would be the one vilified and I didn't want that to take place. Diego was always a good guy even if his past had seen him in unfortunate situations. I decided that in that moment, it was best for me to put the heat back on me. I would take the blame if it backfired, but at least I was giving him a chance.

"Let him win it for us," I told Coach Robinson.

Coach Robinson took a deep breath before he finally said, "Okay, let's go win this fucking game."

So with that, our special teams went on the field. The crowd didn't boo him, but they were surprised. The fan comments behind me were so audible to my ears.

"Oh no, Now we're screwed."

"Been a great season, but let's leave now."

"We'll never get to the Super Bowl."

"Why? We're cursed."

Cursed? I hated that. No fan should ever feel their city is cursed because the team can't win. I wanted to turn and tell that fan to shut up. But with over 70,000 people in the stands, finding that one would be like a needle in the haystack.

I look over to the Titans' sideline and figured they would be celebrating in a few moments in case the kick didn't sail through. They all were smiling or feeling loose thinking they were seconds away from the Super Bowl. I decided that now was the time to hope and pray that Diego would make the kick. I got on my knees and prayed to God hoping for the best.

Scout

My eyes were shut tight as I was saying another prayer to God. Probably my 50th prayer of the game and I wasn't too religious by that point. Yet, this one had more meaning and more significance. I wanted Diego to have a happy ending to this horrific saga he was finding himself in.