You and me got a whole lot of history (oh)
We could be the greatest team that the world has ever seen
You and me got a whole lot of history (oh)
So don't let it go, we can make some more, we can live forever
History- One Direction
I nervously breathe in once again. This is it. I look down at my new jersey once more. Stegall 4. I am as nervous as the day I officially joined the team. I fix my cleats one more time before I decide to walk own the tunnel and join the team to practice before the first game. I fix my jersey over my pads and I am finally on the field.
I hear everyone screaming for me and my heart flutters. Some people don't like the fact that I am the first female placekicker to make it to the NFL. But when I got drafted, a lot more people were welcoming me to the Texans with open arms. I notice my team in a huddle and slowly jog over there. JJ looked up for a brief moment and motioned for me to come over. He was one of the most welcoming players that welcomed me on the team.
The team made some more space for me and I stood next to JJ. He put his arm around me and turned back to the team.
"We all know Stegall, guys. As a rookie on the team and the first female placekicker, she is going to give us a pep talk."
"We've all worked so hard leading up to this moment. All the practices and preseason games. I know we're ready boys. So let's go out here and show who run's this field. Texans on 3. 1.2.3"
"TEXANS!"
We all separated and went to warm up. I saw Nick Novak walking over to me and I smiled brightly at him. We haven't had a lot of time to talk with practice, but he's a great guy.
"Hey, rookie."
"Hi, Novak."
"Are you ready?"
"As ready as I can be."
"Listen you'll do great. I've seen some of your films. You're one of the best I have seen."
"Thank you. That means a lot coming from you." He patted my back and we parted our ways.
"Hey, rookie!"
"Rookie, get us water."
"Take our water cups!"
"Don't sit on the bench. You don't have enough experience."
I rolled my eyes and saw Bill O'Brian walking towards me.
"Don't worry, they'll love you. They treat all the rookies like this. Trust me. Listen, obviously Nick is starting today, but make sure you watch him really closely for some pointers. The Patriots are good, but I know we have a chance to win. Never give up."
"I won't coach. Thank you."
The game started and I loved watching the action from the sidelines. College is so much different than the pros. After Nick kicked our PAT, JJ came and sat next to me.
"Hey, Vanessa."
"Hi, JJ. You look great out there."
"Thank you. Listen, Nick hurt his hamstring, we're going to need you to kick our next PAT and do kickoffs."
"Are you being serious? I can't. I'm not ready. I'm just a rookie. I'll get crushed out there."
"You are on this team for a reason. You are in the NFL for a reason. If we thought you couldn't do it, we wouldn't have chosen you. You are amazing. I believe in you. You'll do great." He kissed my cheek and I nodded slowly. I noticed we made a touchdown and my eyes went wide.
"Go out there. You can do it." I ran out onto the field.
I get into position and I've never been more nervous.
"You'll do great." I hear JJ's voice in my mind.
I call it and the ball is in the punter's hand and then hit by my foot, and up in the sky. It went through. It was good. I did. They team runs over to congratulate me and the smile won't come off my face. I ran over to JJ.
He lifted me and spun me around.
"I told you, you could do it."
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