Let me tell you a story about how I, not Wasrabi, stood shirtless in 20 degree weather watching the heavily favored Windsor Yellow Jackets football team lose in the DIII Championship to the Springfield Cosmos.
The Yellow Jackets had had an incredible regular season and playoff run. We were undefeated, 14-0, riding the back of standout running back Trevor Varney as he galloped our team through the playoffs. The final game was played on neutral ground, and I cant remember where exactly the game was held, but I do know it was in early January. Me and the boys decided we were going to show our school spirit by painting "GO WHS" on our chests, each person with one letter; I was "H."
The game began much as previous games unfolded, with Varney gashing the Cosmos secondary for a 40yd touchdown run. This kid was unstoppable, and had already received some scholarships to small-program football schools. Now, it was extremely cold, like, you could hang a wet raincoat off our nipples. But we didn't care because the Yellow Jackets jumped out to an early lead and it appeared like we might not just win the championship, but have a perfect season to boot.
In the second quarter, things started to go badly. The Cosmos offense, led by a QB with some impressive arm strength, picked apart the Yellow Jackets secondary, and methodically marched down the field to tie the game up 7-7. From then, both teams began scoring at will. The Cosmos picked off our QB with 3 minutes to go in the second quarter, and they managed to score 3 points before the half, entering halftime ahead of the Jackets squad.
During halftime, me and the boys got hot chocolate which we preceded to splash on our bare chests for warmth. No longer holding the lead, I began worrying about being exposed to such cold air for so long. But with so much glory on the table, and sensing the Jackets needed our support, the boys and I were committed to remaining shirtless cheerleaders for the entire second half.
The second half began with the Cosmos marching down the field again and running it in from 6 yards out. Windsor responded the only way they knew how: Feed. Trevor. The. Ball! Varney put the game on his back as he always did, and going into the 4th quarter, Windsor had shrunk the lead and was down by 3 again.
The 4th quarter became a defensive chess match, with neither team scoring on their next two possessions. A Cosmos incompletion on 3rd down lead to them punting the ball with 2 minutes to go. The Windsor sideline was ecstatic--a two-minute drill was all they needed to score the touchdown they needed to win the game. I was cheering loudly through clattering teeth as Trevor Varney began doing what he did best: Running through tacklers and picking up huge chunks of yardage.
Now this part is going to sound too cinematic to be true, but I swear this is how it went down.
50 seconds to go, Yellow Jackets in the red zone. The crowd is going bananas. The Jackets QB hands the ball off to Varney on an outside zone run, but the Cosmos DE shed his blocker immediately off the snap. The DE was able to get to Varney before he turned the corner, and this is when he punched out the football! A Cosmos CB scooped the ball up at their own 20 and began to run it back. No one could catch him as we watched our championship hopes, as well as our dream of a perfect season, be snuffed out immediately. The air was sucked out of the stadium, and we all were frozen in disbelief; and also frozen from the biting cold air.
We lost. The bus ride home was quiet. Varney went to Norwich Academy to play football, but developed the yips and couldn't play at the same level he used to. He dropped out and never played football again.
Do I regret freezing myself for 2 hours only to watch us lose? Not even a little bit. This story was worth the 3 TPE. Thanks for reading.
(704 words)
The Yellow Jackets had had an incredible regular season and playoff run. We were undefeated, 14-0, riding the back of standout running back Trevor Varney as he galloped our team through the playoffs. The final game was played on neutral ground, and I cant remember where exactly the game was held, but I do know it was in early January. Me and the boys decided we were going to show our school spirit by painting "GO WHS" on our chests, each person with one letter; I was "H."
The game began much as previous games unfolded, with Varney gashing the Cosmos secondary for a 40yd touchdown run. This kid was unstoppable, and had already received some scholarships to small-program football schools. Now, it was extremely cold, like, you could hang a wet raincoat off our nipples. But we didn't care because the Yellow Jackets jumped out to an early lead and it appeared like we might not just win the championship, but have a perfect season to boot.
In the second quarter, things started to go badly. The Cosmos offense, led by a QB with some impressive arm strength, picked apart the Yellow Jackets secondary, and methodically marched down the field to tie the game up 7-7. From then, both teams began scoring at will. The Cosmos picked off our QB with 3 minutes to go in the second quarter, and they managed to score 3 points before the half, entering halftime ahead of the Jackets squad.
During halftime, me and the boys got hot chocolate which we preceded to splash on our bare chests for warmth. No longer holding the lead, I began worrying about being exposed to such cold air for so long. But with so much glory on the table, and sensing the Jackets needed our support, the boys and I were committed to remaining shirtless cheerleaders for the entire second half.
The second half began with the Cosmos marching down the field again and running it in from 6 yards out. Windsor responded the only way they knew how: Feed. Trevor. The. Ball! Varney put the game on his back as he always did, and going into the 4th quarter, Windsor had shrunk the lead and was down by 3 again.
The 4th quarter became a defensive chess match, with neither team scoring on their next two possessions. A Cosmos incompletion on 3rd down lead to them punting the ball with 2 minutes to go. The Windsor sideline was ecstatic--a two-minute drill was all they needed to score the touchdown they needed to win the game. I was cheering loudly through clattering teeth as Trevor Varney began doing what he did best: Running through tacklers and picking up huge chunks of yardage.
Now this part is going to sound too cinematic to be true, but I swear this is how it went down.
50 seconds to go, Yellow Jackets in the red zone. The crowd is going bananas. The Jackets QB hands the ball off to Varney on an outside zone run, but the Cosmos DE shed his blocker immediately off the snap. The DE was able to get to Varney before he turned the corner, and this is when he punched out the football! A Cosmos CB scooped the ball up at their own 20 and began to run it back. No one could catch him as we watched our championship hopes, as well as our dream of a perfect season, be snuffed out immediately. The air was sucked out of the stadium, and we all were frozen in disbelief; and also frozen from the biting cold air.
We lost. The bus ride home was quiet. Varney went to Norwich Academy to play football, but developed the yips and couldn't play at the same level he used to. He dropped out and never played football again.
Do I regret freezing myself for 2 hours only to watch us lose? Not even a little bit. This story was worth the 3 TPE. Thanks for reading.
(704 words)