It’s three in the morning in the Windy City, and outside the Chicago Butchers training facility all the lights are dark; all except one in the film room, where inside a rookie is awake, burning the midnight oil in preparation for his first playoff appearance as a professional in the International Football League.
Inside the film room, illuminated by a single lamp and the light from a projector, is linebacker Wasrabi Gleel. He blinks through heavy-lidded eyes as he watches COL QB Caliban drop back for a deep pass on the tape. Every few minutes are punctuated by a long sip taken from a porcelain mug of chai tea that has long gone cold.
A sidelong glance at an analog clock on the wall provokes a long sigh followed by an even longer yawn and stretch. There would be walkthroughs early in the afternoon, and thus the task of film study, like all good things, must surely end for the night. A couple short clicks of the mouse and the electric light from the projector disappears, leaving Wasrabi alone in the darkened room with only the lamp remaining.
With only a few dregs remaining in his mug, Wasrabi took stock and store of how this season went, and allowed himself, however brief, to notice and appreciate how special this season was.
How fortunate it is to continue his career surrounded by friendly faces he made in Minnesota. The reunion with Damian Blackfyre was something he had been looking forward to ever since Blackfyre was called up before him. The bigger surprise was when Chicago scooped up his linebacking partner Alejandro Chainbreaker. The move was made all the more sweet when Chainbreaker exploded onto the ISFL scene with a whopping 12 sacks as a rookie playing, at least in the beginning, on a limited snap count.
Another sip of the cold spiced tea, and he was ruminating over how significant it was to be playing in the playoffs this early in his career. Regardless of what happens down the stretch, the Butchers have put together a season to be proud of, and are building a foundation for continued success in the seasons to come. Gleel couldn’t have asked for a better situation to find himself in.
“It’s important to remain humble and make the most of your opportunities,” is the mantra, albeit a silly one, that Gleel has held onto ever since he was a walk on starter at Dartmouth College. Every leap he’s ever made in his game has been on the shoulders of wiser players to come before him, and in Chicago he’s lucky to have found a mentor in Juan Domine--a player he’d respected since he first saw the former London Royal play against the Minnesota Grey Ducks in his rookie year. The linebacker room in Chicago had all the potential to be one of the best in league history if they could stick together--after all, Gleel, Chainbreaker, and Domine were all awarded Linebacker of the Year at one point in their DSFL career.
He took the final pull from the cold cup of tea and set it down gingerly on the wooden desk in front of him. All this reminiscing made him smile, astonished at how things have played out. After being labeled as a prospect as being “too slow” and not possessing the “ideal intangibles” of a player in his position, Gleel has, at least for now, managed to silence those critics and help his team not only win games, but reach the postseason.
But for now, it was late and getting later, and there was no reason to be so sentimental when there was the most important game of his career ahead of him. So quietly, slowly, he shuffled over to the lone lamp burning bright in the film room and switched it off.
(639 words)
[GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE IN THE PLAYOFFS! <3]
Inside the film room, illuminated by a single lamp and the light from a projector, is linebacker Wasrabi Gleel. He blinks through heavy-lidded eyes as he watches COL QB Caliban drop back for a deep pass on the tape. Every few minutes are punctuated by a long sip taken from a porcelain mug of chai tea that has long gone cold.
A sidelong glance at an analog clock on the wall provokes a long sigh followed by an even longer yawn and stretch. There would be walkthroughs early in the afternoon, and thus the task of film study, like all good things, must surely end for the night. A couple short clicks of the mouse and the electric light from the projector disappears, leaving Wasrabi alone in the darkened room with only the lamp remaining.
With only a few dregs remaining in his mug, Wasrabi took stock and store of how this season went, and allowed himself, however brief, to notice and appreciate how special this season was.
How fortunate it is to continue his career surrounded by friendly faces he made in Minnesota. The reunion with Damian Blackfyre was something he had been looking forward to ever since Blackfyre was called up before him. The bigger surprise was when Chicago scooped up his linebacking partner Alejandro Chainbreaker. The move was made all the more sweet when Chainbreaker exploded onto the ISFL scene with a whopping 12 sacks as a rookie playing, at least in the beginning, on a limited snap count.
Another sip of the cold spiced tea, and he was ruminating over how significant it was to be playing in the playoffs this early in his career. Regardless of what happens down the stretch, the Butchers have put together a season to be proud of, and are building a foundation for continued success in the seasons to come. Gleel couldn’t have asked for a better situation to find himself in.
“It’s important to remain humble and make the most of your opportunities,” is the mantra, albeit a silly one, that Gleel has held onto ever since he was a walk on starter at Dartmouth College. Every leap he’s ever made in his game has been on the shoulders of wiser players to come before him, and in Chicago he’s lucky to have found a mentor in Juan Domine--a player he’d respected since he first saw the former London Royal play against the Minnesota Grey Ducks in his rookie year. The linebacker room in Chicago had all the potential to be one of the best in league history if they could stick together--after all, Gleel, Chainbreaker, and Domine were all awarded Linebacker of the Year at one point in their DSFL career.
He took the final pull from the cold cup of tea and set it down gingerly on the wooden desk in front of him. All this reminiscing made him smile, astonished at how things have played out. After being labeled as a prospect as being “too slow” and not possessing the “ideal intangibles” of a player in his position, Gleel has, at least for now, managed to silence those critics and help his team not only win games, but reach the postseason.
But for now, it was late and getting later, and there was no reason to be so sentimental when there was the most important game of his career ahead of him. So quietly, slowly, he shuffled over to the lone lamp burning bright in the film room and switched it off.
(639 words)
[GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE IN THE PLAYOFFS! <3]
![[Image: 016p.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/TPx2k2wr/016p.png)
