05-22-2022, 09:23 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-23-2022, 11:41 AM by allbetsonjames. Edited 1 time in total.)
It’s Monday morning, 6:37 am, the University of Tennessee practice field is empty as most players are still rolling out of bed and making their way to the dining hall. Brock Landers Jr. is on that practice field, the same one his father played on, working on drop backs of all things. Perfection is a way of life for Brock Jr. He grew up in his father’s shadow. With his father’s shadow came his mixed legacy of greatness and failures.
While everyone growing up knew Brock’s name as his father was still in the public eye when he was a child, that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. With Brock’s name came mostly negative recognition.
“There’s Landers’ ex and son. Poor kid… could’ve had it all if his father wasn’t such a piece of work”, Brock Jr. said that replays the whispers of his childhood in his head as he trains.
“Your dad’s a real garbage human being, you know that kid? The Outlaws could’ve been a dynasty had he just kept his damn life on track. Instead we got Saba Donut and mediocrity.”
With each jab he took, he became more determined than ever to live the life his father should have instead of the one he did. Brock Sr. became a star playing quarterback at the University of Tennessee, the exact same way Brock Jr. does now. However, when it came to the DSFL draft, people were worried about Brock Sr.’s long term prospects as a QB. He just wasn’t a student of the game, and everyone who knew him could tell that he just simply didn’t care enough to be a good QB at the pro level. Of course the switch to Wide Receiver worked out for Brock Sr. as he would make the DSFL pro bowl that season go first overall in the NSFL Draft to the Arizona Outlaws, make two more pro bowls there, and win an Ultimus before the wheels came off for him. Brock Jr. is out here on Monday morning so that nobody can make the same criticisms about him leading up to the draft. All the work he does is to prepare him to succeed where his father failed, and watching him play, you can tell.
Brock Sr. was a really good player at Tennessee, but never came close to the records of the all-time greats. This past season Brock Jr. shattered nearly every school passing record for both single season and career. His teammates love him, the fans love him, his high school sweetheart who he just proposed to loves him. He has everything right now, and he can thank his father’s own failures for that.
I spoke with Brock Jr.’s mother, Kelly, a former Texas cheerleader who did all she could to get him to play at the other UT while in high school. “He told me, I want to be better than him. I want to outperform his best season when I’m a freshman and build from there. I asked why he couldn’t do that as a Longhorn, and he told me he wants to erase his father’s legacy at Tennessee. I’ve never seen someone so determined.” Personally, I’ve never heard such a dark origin story for a young quarterback in my life.
Because of all this hatred festering, I had to talk to the men involved to see what the real story was behind this conflict. To do that I had to go to the source. Sunny Los Angeles, California. Brock Landers’ hometown where he lives once again. I went to the inconspicuous house in the Valley that Brock Sr. calls home. He informed me that he has pretty much been living off his ISFL pension and whatever he wins betting on ponies nowadays. I asked about the break in the relationship with his son and he told me, “There was never any relationship to break. I started drinking and gambling again when I was out in the desert and Kelly told me she was going to leave. I told her I’d clean up and we got out of the desert when I was traded to Baltimore and I kept it together for most of the season, but I relapsed and that was it. She was gone. He was 5 years old, she took him back to Norfolk, took half of my shit. Took a paycheck from me every month for the next 13 years and here I am now. Anything else you want to know about it?” There wasn’t anything else I wanted to know from Brock Sr. though, I was more interested in Brock Jr’s experience. Which is why I’m here in Knoxville right now writing this piece.
I’m going to be very candid at this point and pretty much list out the whole conversation that I had with Brock Jr. last night as a monologue.
“Good evening, Brock. That was some game you played last night… in the SEC Championship no less. Didn’t you want to stay in Atlanta for the weekend?”
“No time, sir. Finals are wrapping up this week.”
“But your teammates are still there?”
“Most of them. They’ve earned it, I’m so happy for each and every one of them to see their hard work rewarded.”
“They don’t have finals too?”
“Some do, some don’t, others just care about football. No judgement from me, I’ll leave that to their mothers.”
“Very good, so I wanted to let you know before we start this interview that I’ve spoken to both of your parents about you, and I’ll be using some of that material in the questioning, is that alright with you?”
“Absolutely”
“Great then let’s get started. Your mother told me that you made your college choice because you wanted to make the fans here forget about your father. Can you talk about that please?”
“Sure. I wanted them to forget him the way he forgot me. I grew up without a father in my life. I wasn’t the only kid growing up with divorced parents, but I was the only one with a father who never made any effort to see me. Never called on birthdays, he’s never even been to one of my games. I want people to know the name Brock Landers as a champion, as a good man, not a has been.”
“Wow, your father frames it as you were taken away from him. Like he didn’t have a choice in the matter.”
“He might not have, but I’ve found emails from my mother. In Arizona before we left, he was out drinking, doing hard drugs, and whoring around. In Baltimore he was able to stop for long enough to almost get through a season, but he chose that life over his career and his family. A long as he was living like that, would you allow someone like that around your kid? I know my mother did what was right for me. He knew what he needed to do to get us back in his life, but he was too weak to do it.”
“Anything you’d like to say to him?”
“Yeah, I know you can see me now on CBS when you’re out at the bar. Until you die, you’re gonna watch me. ISFL primetime games, playoffs, Ultimuses, Pro Bowls everything. When I retire I’ll be coaching, announcing, or working on ESPN. You will never escape what you could’ve been if you just cared.”
“Well thank you Brock. I wish you the best of luck in the DSFL next season.”
“Thank you”
And that was that. I understand. Brock Landers Jr. is a ghost of Christmas future of sorts for his own father, a glimpse into an alternate reality of what his own life could’ve been. It’s quite sad actually to see a 22 year old man driven by such dark forces, but here we are. I don’t think any of us can wait to see what he can become someday.
While everyone growing up knew Brock’s name as his father was still in the public eye when he was a child, that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. With Brock’s name came mostly negative recognition.
“There’s Landers’ ex and son. Poor kid… could’ve had it all if his father wasn’t such a piece of work”, Brock Jr. said that replays the whispers of his childhood in his head as he trains.
“Your dad’s a real garbage human being, you know that kid? The Outlaws could’ve been a dynasty had he just kept his damn life on track. Instead we got Saba Donut and mediocrity.”
With each jab he took, he became more determined than ever to live the life his father should have instead of the one he did. Brock Sr. became a star playing quarterback at the University of Tennessee, the exact same way Brock Jr. does now. However, when it came to the DSFL draft, people were worried about Brock Sr.’s long term prospects as a QB. He just wasn’t a student of the game, and everyone who knew him could tell that he just simply didn’t care enough to be a good QB at the pro level. Of course the switch to Wide Receiver worked out for Brock Sr. as he would make the DSFL pro bowl that season go first overall in the NSFL Draft to the Arizona Outlaws, make two more pro bowls there, and win an Ultimus before the wheels came off for him. Brock Jr. is out here on Monday morning so that nobody can make the same criticisms about him leading up to the draft. All the work he does is to prepare him to succeed where his father failed, and watching him play, you can tell.
Brock Sr. was a really good player at Tennessee, but never came close to the records of the all-time greats. This past season Brock Jr. shattered nearly every school passing record for both single season and career. His teammates love him, the fans love him, his high school sweetheart who he just proposed to loves him. He has everything right now, and he can thank his father’s own failures for that.
I spoke with Brock Jr.’s mother, Kelly, a former Texas cheerleader who did all she could to get him to play at the other UT while in high school. “He told me, I want to be better than him. I want to outperform his best season when I’m a freshman and build from there. I asked why he couldn’t do that as a Longhorn, and he told me he wants to erase his father’s legacy at Tennessee. I’ve never seen someone so determined.” Personally, I’ve never heard such a dark origin story for a young quarterback in my life.
Because of all this hatred festering, I had to talk to the men involved to see what the real story was behind this conflict. To do that I had to go to the source. Sunny Los Angeles, California. Brock Landers’ hometown where he lives once again. I went to the inconspicuous house in the Valley that Brock Sr. calls home. He informed me that he has pretty much been living off his ISFL pension and whatever he wins betting on ponies nowadays. I asked about the break in the relationship with his son and he told me, “There was never any relationship to break. I started drinking and gambling again when I was out in the desert and Kelly told me she was going to leave. I told her I’d clean up and we got out of the desert when I was traded to Baltimore and I kept it together for most of the season, but I relapsed and that was it. She was gone. He was 5 years old, she took him back to Norfolk, took half of my shit. Took a paycheck from me every month for the next 13 years and here I am now. Anything else you want to know about it?” There wasn’t anything else I wanted to know from Brock Sr. though, I was more interested in Brock Jr’s experience. Which is why I’m here in Knoxville right now writing this piece.
I’m going to be very candid at this point and pretty much list out the whole conversation that I had with Brock Jr. last night as a monologue.
“Good evening, Brock. That was some game you played last night… in the SEC Championship no less. Didn’t you want to stay in Atlanta for the weekend?”
“No time, sir. Finals are wrapping up this week.”
“But your teammates are still there?”
“Most of them. They’ve earned it, I’m so happy for each and every one of them to see their hard work rewarded.”
“They don’t have finals too?”
“Some do, some don’t, others just care about football. No judgement from me, I’ll leave that to their mothers.”
“Very good, so I wanted to let you know before we start this interview that I’ve spoken to both of your parents about you, and I’ll be using some of that material in the questioning, is that alright with you?”
“Absolutely”
“Great then let’s get started. Your mother told me that you made your college choice because you wanted to make the fans here forget about your father. Can you talk about that please?”
“Sure. I wanted them to forget him the way he forgot me. I grew up without a father in my life. I wasn’t the only kid growing up with divorced parents, but I was the only one with a father who never made any effort to see me. Never called on birthdays, he’s never even been to one of my games. I want people to know the name Brock Landers as a champion, as a good man, not a has been.”
“Wow, your father frames it as you were taken away from him. Like he didn’t have a choice in the matter.”
“He might not have, but I’ve found emails from my mother. In Arizona before we left, he was out drinking, doing hard drugs, and whoring around. In Baltimore he was able to stop for long enough to almost get through a season, but he chose that life over his career and his family. A long as he was living like that, would you allow someone like that around your kid? I know my mother did what was right for me. He knew what he needed to do to get us back in his life, but he was too weak to do it.”
“Anything you’d like to say to him?”
“Yeah, I know you can see me now on CBS when you’re out at the bar. Until you die, you’re gonna watch me. ISFL primetime games, playoffs, Ultimuses, Pro Bowls everything. When I retire I’ll be coaching, announcing, or working on ESPN. You will never escape what you could’ve been if you just cared.”
“Well thank you Brock. I wish you the best of luck in the DSFL next season.”
“Thank you”
And that was that. I understand. Brock Landers Jr. is a ghost of Christmas future of sorts for his own father, a glimpse into an alternate reality of what his own life could’ve been. It’s quite sad actually to see a 22 year old man driven by such dark forces, but here we are. I don’t think any of us can wait to see what he can become someday.
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