pillows. “Jesus, nobody’s perfect.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t try to be.” He brings the ball to his nose and inhales.
“I thought I was pretty good,” I grouse.
“You were good,” he says. “But you can be better. You have to be better at the next level.”
I turn my head. His blue eyes are even with mine. “The pros?”
“Sure,” he says, and places the ball carefully on the floor. “This is a good start. You going to get eleven more?”
Eleven more? “Can’t I just be proud of this one?”
“You should be,” he says, and yawns hugely. “I am.”
He says it simply, without emphasis, as though it’s the most natural thing in the world. When I don’t say anything in reply, he leans up for a soft kiss, and then turns away to back up against me. I put my arm around him and pull him tight against me, trapping his bushy and still-damp tail against my chest, wiggling my sheath between his cheeks, resting my muzzle between his ears. He goes to sleep almost immediately. I lie awake.
How can two simple words keep me staring at his wall, holding my breath for fear I’ll wake up and have dreamed them? How can this little fox make the best day of my life even better? I wish there were better words to say how I’m feeling. The best I can do is to say it feels like I’m stuck under his tail and living that moment of release over and over again, only the point of release is not inside my groin. It’s inside my chest, and I’ve never felt anything like it before.
I brush the fur on his chest, not wanting to go to sleep, not wanting this moment to end, ever. I bury my nose in his fur and close my eyes and inhale. I can feel myself drifting off, and I think, I want to feel like this again. I will feel like this again. I’ll make him proud of me.
And I know that I’m not just doing it for him, but also for me. I don’t mind doing it for him, though; he’s the one who gives me that little push that I needed, gives me something to play for. He’s my Gipper, my Rudy, my dying-kid-in-the-hospital-wing.
Eleven more game balls? No sweat.
Now, I got a secret.
Dev’s Game-Day Briefing
(Dev)
Okay, with Lee telling you what all the players are supposed to do, I can walk you through how an actual game goes. The teams flip a coin at the beginning of the game. Winner gets to pick whether they want to kick off or receive. To receive means you start on offense and have the first chance to score. But sometimes teams want to kick off, because if you start the first half on defense, you start the second half on offense. Also if you stop the other team right away on the first drive, it gives you a lot of energy going into your offense. The coaches all figure this out. I just know I liked being first on the field.
When a team gets the ball, they line up like Lee described. They get four chances to move the ball ten yards; those are “downs.” So there’s first down, second down, third down, fourth down. I don’t know why they’re called that , they just are. Anyway, on first down usually you try to run the ball. That means the QB hands it to the RB and he tries to get ten yards up the field. Actually, if he gets four or five, that’s pretty good, and then on second down you might try to run it again. If you can get three or four yards every time you run the ball, you can just run it all day long.
The thing is, though, if you don’t get your ten yards in four tries, the other team gets the ball. So most of the time you only take three tries, and if you don’t get ten yards, you punt. Punting is where the punter kicks the ball down the field and the other team gets to catch it and try to run back with it. Basically you do that so that they don’t get the ball at the spot where you didn’t get your ten yards. This is called “field position,” as in having good field position (near the other team’s goal) or bad field position (near your own).
The other thing you can do on fourth down, if
“Doesn’t mean you can’t try to be.” He brings the ball to his nose and inhales.
“I thought I was pretty good,” I grouse.
“You were good,” he says. “But you can be better. You have to be better at the next level.”
I turn my head. His blue eyes are even with mine. “The pros?”
“Sure,” he says, and places the ball carefully on the floor. “This is a good start. You going to get eleven more?”
Eleven more? “Can’t I just be proud of this one?”
“You should be,” he says, and yawns hugely. “I am.”
He says it simply, without emphasis, as though it’s the most natural thing in the world. When I don’t say anything in reply, he leans up for a soft kiss, and then turns away to back up against me. I put my arm around him and pull him tight against me, trapping his bushy and still-damp tail against my chest, wiggling my sheath between his cheeks, resting my muzzle between his ears. He goes to sleep almost immediately. I lie awake.
How can two simple words keep me staring at his wall, holding my breath for fear I’ll wake up and have dreamed them? How can this little fox make the best day of my life even better? I wish there were better words to say how I’m feeling. The best I can do is to say it feels like I’m stuck under his tail and living that moment of release over and over again, only the point of release is not inside my groin. It’s inside my chest, and I’ve never felt anything like it before.
I brush the fur on his chest, not wanting to go to sleep, not wanting this moment to end, ever. I bury my nose in his fur and close my eyes and inhale. I can feel myself drifting off, and I think, I want to feel like this again. I will feel like this again. I’ll make him proud of me.
And I know that I’m not just doing it for him, but also for me. I don’t mind doing it for him, though; he’s the one who gives me that little push that I needed, gives me something to play for. He’s my Gipper, my Rudy, my dying-kid-in-the-hospital-wing.
Eleven more game balls? No sweat.
Now, I got a secret.
Dev’s Game-Day Briefing
(Dev)
Okay, with Lee telling you what all the players are supposed to do, I can walk you through how an actual game goes. The teams flip a coin at the beginning of the game. Winner gets to pick whether they want to kick off or receive. To receive means you start on offense and have the first chance to score. But sometimes teams want to kick off, because if you start the first half on defense, you start the second half on offense. Also if you stop the other team right away on the first drive, it gives you a lot of energy going into your offense. The coaches all figure this out. I just know I liked being first on the field.
When a team gets the ball, they line up like Lee described. They get four chances to move the ball ten yards; those are “downs.” So there’s first down, second down, third down, fourth down. I don’t know why they’re called that , they just are. Anyway, on first down usually you try to run the ball. That means the QB hands it to the RB and he tries to get ten yards up the field. Actually, if he gets four or five, that’s pretty good, and then on second down you might try to run it again. If you can get three or four yards every time you run the ball, you can just run it all day long.
The thing is, though, if you don’t get your ten yards in four tries, the other team gets the ball. So most of the time you only take three tries, and if you don’t get ten yards, you punt. Punting is where the punter kicks the ball down the field and the other team gets to catch it and try to run back with it. Basically you do that so that they don’t get the ball at the spot where you didn’t get your ten yards. This is called “field position,” as in having good field position (near the other team’s goal) or bad field position (near your own).
The other thing you can do on fourth down, if
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