When you have a roster as stacked as the Sarasota Sailfish do, every loss hurts and they’re almost always close. But losing in overtime to the Colorado Yeti hurts the most. The Yeti are a clear rival to the Sailfish, both having been competitive in the NSFC for the past few seasons and often battling for a playoff spot. The rivalry is also fueled by the fact that the teams both sport strong defensive play, particularly from the Linebackers, but then have traditionally taken different offensive approaches — the Sailfish favoring a balanced run and pass offense and the Yeti favoring a pass as much as possible approach. So, when the tough OT match ended in a loss, the Sailfish offense was distraught at not being able to break through the Yeti’s formidable defense and giving in to the relentless blitz pressure. And the defense was disappointed at the big passing plays that the Yeti had managed to sneak between their ranks. So after the game, the locker room was quiet with shame and humility, with players trying to work through in their minds how they could have player better. It was this melancholic and self-deprecating silence that Harrison Andrews finally broke to lift the team spirit. “I know what you’re all thinking,” he said, “I could have played better. But that’s not going to turn back the clock on this game. Yes, we have film to watch and technique to improve, but there will be a time for that tomorrow. Tonight, we go home and we take care of ourselves — we eat right, we stretch and ice our tired limbs. And so tomorrow we will be ready to practice tough and correct the mistakes we made today. Are you with me?” Roused by Andrews’ heart-felt words, teammates one by one began to emerge from their introspection. And by the time the players were leaving the locker room, the chitchat was back to full swing.
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