Finding Drew

Pregame Speech

        I was sitting on my bed doing homework, when my door suddenly burst open. Jumping a little bit, I turned and glared at my brother. "Thanks for knocking." I mumbled. He laughed. "No problem. Are you almost ready, Brooks?" he asked. I raised my eyebrows. "Ready for what?" I asked, confused. He sighed dramatically. "Blake is playing tonight," he narrowed his eyes when he saw my confused expression. "You forgot." he said plainly. I shook my head. "No, I mean, Blake never told me about any game." I explained. Before Sam could respond, Austin peeked around the door. "What is taking you guys so long?" he asked. I couldn't help but laugh as I stood up and stretched. "Okay, okay. But give me 10 minutes." I said. They groaned, and laughing I shut the door.

Exactly 10 minutes later, I was dressed in skinny jeans, boots, and a light gray sweater, and we were on our way to the stadium. As soon as we pulled into the full parking lot, Austin turned to me and smirked. I sighed. "Now what?" I asked tiredly. He laughed and threw a big bundle at me. Unfolding it, I saw that it was one of his Detroit Lions sweatshirts, and I grinned. Austin rolled his eyes at me, making me laugh. "You should fit in, not stand out as much as you usually do." he mumbled, before getting out of the car. I frowned, but ignored him, before climbing out of the car. Austin wiggled his eyebrows, and it was my turn to roll my eyes. He laughed. "You know what I meant," he said as the three of us walked towards the entrance. I raised an eyebrow. "You know what, I don't really care. Tonights about making memories and having fun." I declared. Sam snorted, and Austin smirked at him. "You think she's buzzed?" he whispered loudly. I laughed and shook my head at the two of them. "You guys are impossible," I groaned. They high fived, and together we made our way to the long line of people. I couldn't help but sigh, knowing that we'd be in line for a long time, and Sam looked at me. "Remember when dad took us to our first football game?" he asked softly I nodded, and bit back my tears. Sam hugged me, and I gripped his waist. "You really do miss him, don't you?" he whispered against my hair. I swallowed hard before looking up at him. "I'll always be my daddy's girl," I said softly. "And he'll always be my hero."

An hour later, we were past security and the ticket place, and on our way to the locker room. I leaned against Austin's side as he wrapped his arm around me. "Where are we going?" I hissed. The boys shared a grin, and ignored me. Again. I narrowed my eyes. "Seriously! If you guys don't tell me what's going on right now, I will scream!" I threatened. At this, they cracked up and I rolled my eyes. They stopped when we approached a door, and I could hear voices inside. My eyes immediately widened, and I shook my head. "No, I am NOT going inside some sweaty locker room where a bunch of horny guys are-" I stopped when the doors were flung open, and the entire football team and reporters were grinning at me. I felt my face heat up, and Blake stood up as he made his way towards me. He hugged me tightly, and I relaxed a little against his chest. "Did you hear that?" I asked softly. He laughed, and it vibrated against my body. "Every. Single. Word." he said. I groaned as we pulled away. I looked around, wrinkling my nose at the smell of sweat. "Brooklyn," came a voice, interrupting my thoughts. I looked up, and saw Jim smiling at me. "Hey Mr. Caldwell," I said smiling. He grinned. "Are you ready?" he asked me. I looked around, confused. When I looked at Blake, his face was bright red. "I uh, I sort of forgot to tell her," he mumbled. I bit my lip. "Tell me what?" I asked, not entirely sure what was going on. He swallowed. "You told me you were nervous about the speech you're giving at graduation," he explained. "I was talking to Jim about it, asking him if he had any advice, since he'd given his senior speech, and he suggested you do a pregame speech for us. I mean, you don't have to do it, It's okay if-" I cut him off quickly.. "I'd love to do it," I said turning to Jim. He nodded, and I moved to the middle of the circle of guys. Before I started, I took a deep breath. "I uhm, I don't know a lot about football, actually, I know like, nothing about football." I admitted. I swallowed. "But I know that this is the game before the playoffs. And I know that great moments are born from great opportunities, and that's what you've got here tonight." I paused, looking around the room. "You've earned this, guys. One game. You might have played them ten times and they won nine. But not this game. Not tonight. No, tonight you run with them, you beat them. And then you shut them down because you can. Tonight, you're the greatest football team in the world." I smiled as I saw some of the teams cheeks were wet with cheers, before continuing. "You were born to be football players. Every single one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. So this is your time, okay? Their time is done. It's over. I know you're sick and tired of hearing how good Notre Dame is. Screw them! This is your time guys. So it's now or never. You didn't come this far to only come this far."