It was an hour and a half since time ran out on the Tiburon Landsharks' upset loss to the Liverpool Llamas, and I patiently waited for Landshark linebacker Wasrabi Gleel to meet with me to discuss the loss. He appeared from the locker-room dressed sharply in a suit by Christian Dior and wearing gold-rimmed Oliver Peoples glasses. I could tell from the look on his face he was disappointed, so as he sat down in the chair across from me I decided to skip the pleasantries and dive right in to my exclusive scoop with the young player.
PRINGLE:
"Wasrabi, what happened out there tonight?"
GLEEL:
"A simple question deserves a simple answer: We were outplayed. We didn't play our best ball tonight, and they came into our house full of fire from us getting the better of them last time. Make no mistake, that's a hell of a football team. We got some things we need to look at as a team, but overall how can we not be happy with where we are? 3-1, first round bye in the playoffs? I can't tell you enough how happy I am to be a Landshark and playing with these cats in this locker-room, and we're already moving onto the next game."
PRINGLE:
"Though your tackling numbers have dipped since the first two weeks, still you posted two sacks tonight. That's a heck of a game, despite the loss. How do you think you played?"
He remained silent for a moment and looked away in thought. After a few beats, he began again.
GLEEL:
"You know, I think I can be a lot better. I know I can be a lot better. I left some plays on the field out there, but thankfully I'm surrounded by guys like my dogs Bateman and McGlib. I mean, Bateman had 12 tackles tonight. Even though we didn't come away with the win tonight, I'm confident that we are the best LB group in the whole Prospect Bowl--no disrespect to anyone else, but we've been dominant."
PRINGLE:
"Still, two sacks? Defensive Player of the Game? That's a huge game for the man they called "Warpath" at Dartmouth.That had to feel good, right?"
GLEEL:
"Sure, sure, I'd like to dedicate one sack to my mama, and one to my cat Grizibella--the two most important women in my life. Special thanks to Coach Hingston back at Dartmouth--Big Green, baby. But anyways, everyone in the locker-room knows this is a team game, so we're gonna take a hard look at what worked and what didn't work, and use this game as a lesson moving forward."
PRINGLE:
"Let's talk about Owen Holloway for a bit, shall we?"
I could tell that I touched a nerve. He stiffened up and his face became severe.
GLEEL:
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, now before you say anything, I want you to know that that's my QB, alright? Understand? This loss ain't on one person, we don't make scapegoats. Owen has balled out for us and is a huge reason why we're the top seed in the playoffs. So you can miss me with that disrespect s--t"
PRINGLE:
"O-Of course, I was just wondering what changed this week that prevented your offensive from going out and dominating like they had previous weeks?"
GLEEL:
"I think they had our number, tonight. They knew the game we play is downhill, smash-mouth, power-running football, and they simply took that away tonight. Credit to their defense, they were all over the field. Shoutout to Crunk, he was all around the ball tonight."
PRINGLE:
"Moving ahead into the playoffs, do you think the Landsharks will be adjusting their gameplan?"
GLEEL:
"Really, that's for the coaches to decide. I'm not gonna sit here and speculate what we can do better on offense or not. I'm a defensive player and at the end of the day we allowed 33 points. That's just sub-standard for our squad and we're going to get to work right away on tightening up our game so that when the time comes that we play these Llamas again, we'll be the ones with the fire in our blood and the chaos in our eyes."
PRINGLE:
"Alright, Wasrabi, I know you have to get on the bus, but before you go, any speculation on where you think you might go in the draft?"
At first I thought he didn't hear me. He nodded his head and stood up, turning his back to me as he picked up his gym-bag and began walking away.
"Wasrabi?"
He didn't even bother to turn his head as the words he spoke echoed through the sparsely furnished room.
GLEEL:
"Only thing that matters is the next game, Pam. Stay tuned. Interview's over."
PRINGLE:
"Okay, well thank you for agreeing to meet with me!"
I called after him, but he didn't say a word as he left the room.
In the ISFL there are many, many personalities; some braggadocios, some meek and reserved, some silly, and some downright strange--it occurred to me in that moment, standing alone in the empty conference room, that I had no idea which one Wasrabi Gleel belonged to.
((858 words))
PRINGLE:
"Wasrabi, what happened out there tonight?"
GLEEL:
"A simple question deserves a simple answer: We were outplayed. We didn't play our best ball tonight, and they came into our house full of fire from us getting the better of them last time. Make no mistake, that's a hell of a football team. We got some things we need to look at as a team, but overall how can we not be happy with where we are? 3-1, first round bye in the playoffs? I can't tell you enough how happy I am to be a Landshark and playing with these cats in this locker-room, and we're already moving onto the next game."
PRINGLE:
"Though your tackling numbers have dipped since the first two weeks, still you posted two sacks tonight. That's a heck of a game, despite the loss. How do you think you played?"
He remained silent for a moment and looked away in thought. After a few beats, he began again.
GLEEL:
"You know, I think I can be a lot better. I know I can be a lot better. I left some plays on the field out there, but thankfully I'm surrounded by guys like my dogs Bateman and McGlib. I mean, Bateman had 12 tackles tonight. Even though we didn't come away with the win tonight, I'm confident that we are the best LB group in the whole Prospect Bowl--no disrespect to anyone else, but we've been dominant."
PRINGLE:
"Still, two sacks? Defensive Player of the Game? That's a huge game for the man they called "Warpath" at Dartmouth.That had to feel good, right?"
GLEEL:
"Sure, sure, I'd like to dedicate one sack to my mama, and one to my cat Grizibella--the two most important women in my life. Special thanks to Coach Hingston back at Dartmouth--Big Green, baby. But anyways, everyone in the locker-room knows this is a team game, so we're gonna take a hard look at what worked and what didn't work, and use this game as a lesson moving forward."
PRINGLE:
"Let's talk about Owen Holloway for a bit, shall we?"
I could tell that I touched a nerve. He stiffened up and his face became severe.
GLEEL:
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, now before you say anything, I want you to know that that's my QB, alright? Understand? This loss ain't on one person, we don't make scapegoats. Owen has balled out for us and is a huge reason why we're the top seed in the playoffs. So you can miss me with that disrespect s--t"
PRINGLE:
"O-Of course, I was just wondering what changed this week that prevented your offensive from going out and dominating like they had previous weeks?"
GLEEL:
"I think they had our number, tonight. They knew the game we play is downhill, smash-mouth, power-running football, and they simply took that away tonight. Credit to their defense, they were all over the field. Shoutout to Crunk, he was all around the ball tonight."
PRINGLE:
"Moving ahead into the playoffs, do you think the Landsharks will be adjusting their gameplan?"
GLEEL:
"Really, that's for the coaches to decide. I'm not gonna sit here and speculate what we can do better on offense or not. I'm a defensive player and at the end of the day we allowed 33 points. That's just sub-standard for our squad and we're going to get to work right away on tightening up our game so that when the time comes that we play these Llamas again, we'll be the ones with the fire in our blood and the chaos in our eyes."
PRINGLE:
"Alright, Wasrabi, I know you have to get on the bus, but before you go, any speculation on where you think you might go in the draft?"
At first I thought he didn't hear me. He nodded his head and stood up, turning his back to me as he picked up his gym-bag and began walking away.
"Wasrabi?"
He didn't even bother to turn his head as the words he spoke echoed through the sparsely furnished room.
GLEEL:
"Only thing that matters is the next game, Pam. Stay tuned. Interview's over."
PRINGLE:
"Okay, well thank you for agreeing to meet with me!"
I called after him, but he didn't say a word as he left the room.
In the ISFL there are many, many personalities; some braggadocios, some meek and reserved, some silly, and some downright strange--it occurred to me in that moment, standing alone in the empty conference room, that I had no idea which one Wasrabi Gleel belonged to.
((858 words))
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