am·ne·sia » ||julian edelman||

xix. fi·nal·ly

after a long time, typically involving difficulty or delay.

• • •

Mara and Raven boarded a bus en route to Super Bowl XLIX. The bus was filled with Patriot and Seahawk fans and even a lone Bears fan. Mara wondered who he was cheering for in the game, or if he was just going to have a good time and once in a lifetime experience.

The bus arrived at The University of Phoenix Stadium and the fans exploded off of the bus. They went in all different directions. Mara stepped off of the bus and began walking left before she was pulled to her right by the wrist by Raven. The madness outside of the stadium was like a maze. The two girls were trying to fight their way through the crowd but it became hard when they were surrounded by avid football fans who were much bigger than them.

Fighting through the crowd became more challenging than either of them thought. Trying to push through heavy men proved to be a difficult task, especially Seahawk's fans, who wouldn't move for the two Patriot fans.

"Are you sure we were supposed to go this way?" Mara asked worried.

"Yes, that way is mostly Seahawks," Raven explained. Danny had told her that their seats were to the right of the main entrance. Raven guided Mara to their seats in the second row up from the field. They were right behind the Patriots bench and had a clear view of their two favorite players.

"My heart is racing so fast right now,"  Mara confessed as her butt hit the hard plastic that would be her spot for the next five hours.

"I know mine is too. They want this so badly," Raven agreed. The stadium was full and fell silent as the lights dimmed for introductions. The tunnel the Patriots would run out of burst into fake flame for intensity as each player ran out.

The man on the speaker announced Stephen Gostkowski, Ryan Allen, and Jimmy Garoppolo until he finally announced #11.

"#11 Juuuuuuulian Edelmannnnnn," he said with enthusiasm. Mara stood from her seat and cheered loudly as he ran out of the smokey tunnel. The short man was full of energy, clearly ready for the battle on the field. He punched his fist into the air as he ran all the way across the field until he found his way back to the team's bench.

The man went on to read the other 49 players and the Seahawks team names until there was no one left to enter the field

Idina Menzel sang the national anthem as Mara and everyone throughout the stadium stood. Finally, the game was underway.

Julian was back for the kickoff to start the game. The kick landed cleanly in his arm and Super Bowl 49 was underway. He dodged a few defenders until he was tackled at the 30. The Patriots offense took the field to begin work.

Mara cringed every time Julian got tackled, worried that he wouldn't get up. But he surprised her after every tackle and stood quickly, talking smack to the Seahawks. His scrappiness made Mara laugh under her breath.

The score was tied at the half thanks to a last second Seahawks touchdown. Mara couldn't concentrate on Katy Perry's performance, she was too nervous. It was weird to her that she was this worked up over a football game.

Once the second half was under way, the Patriots chances of winning dwindled. They were down 24-10 at the start of the fourth quarter. Mara's face was pale, she felt like she might throw up.