Not that it hadn’t already.
“You ready to kick some ass, Leverette?” Beauman asked, sidling up to me in the tunnel.
I gritted my teeth and forced a nod.
We took to the field with a deafening roar from the fans. I took a moment to marvel at the fact that every seat had an ass in it, even though most of the seats were open and exposed to the frickin’ blizzard. True Knights fans. I’d arranged for Shelby to be in the club level with the other wives and girlfriends. She wasn’t in a luxury box by any means, but at least she had an overhang to protect her from the snow and wind a bit. Lacey would be there with Aria, so I knew she wouldn’t be alone.
I raised a hand to wave to the crowd, silently thanking them for putting their faith in my untested hands. They’d embraced me as the leader of our team, and I knew that no matter how many playoff games I’d play during my career, I’d never be able to top the love and support from the Knights’ fans in this final push.
“Coin toss, Leverette, move your ass.”
I hustled to catch up to Beauman and made it to center field where the refs were waiting to get the game started.
The weather was more than a major factor in the game. Visibility was damn near zero and made it impossible to even make a handoff. I gave up any thoughts of a real passing game, so it was all about ball control. The only positive effect of the snowy weather was it kept my head in the game.
And what a game it was!
When the final whistle blew, I stood on the field, stunned into silence as I stared up at the scoreboard. It was like I’d been captured inside a snow globe come to life. Everything around me was frozen and icy but I was immune to it, a statue in the blowing snow. I couldn’t even see the score—and could barely hear it over the crowd!
Knights WIN! Super Bowl bound! LA, here we come!
I shook my head and started to laugh. A low rumble bubbled up until I was howling and hollering with the rest of my teammates. “We fuckin’ did it! We did it!”
When Coach Wheels finally got us all corralled into the locker room, he gave us his final speech and though we all were still humming with excitement, a wave of emotion swept through the room. More than a few guys were caught swiping a mysterious something from their eyes.
My own throat was clogged with feelings that would likely take a few days to swallow. There were so many milestones to celebrate and many more still to come. I was proud of how I’d played for my team, and I knew my future was forever changed thanks to the unexpected opportunity.
“Take the day off tomorrow,” Coach said, standing in the center of the circle of all of us players. “Don’t do anything stupid. I don’t want late night calls that one of you lost their damn mind and landed themselves in trouble.” Everyone laughed as his eyes lingered on a few of the notorious wild cats of the group.
Beauman was beside me and laughed. “Damn, I really must be losing my touch. Normally, that warning would explicitly mention my name, Coach.”
We all laughed, and I slung an arm over my friend’s shoulders. “Secret’s out, Beauman. We all know you’re just a big pussy-whipped cream puff these days.”
He flashed a wide grin. “Damn.”
Coach clapped his hands. “This is for you, guys. Every one of you left your guts out on that field today. So take the day off and spend it with your family, you’ve earned it. But Tuesday morning, I expect every single one of you here bright and early and we’re gonna double down until we’re all boarding that plane to LA. Ya hear me?”
We all nodded and then scattered, everyone eager to go off to whatever post-game activities they’d lined up. For me, there was only one thing I wanted to do, and it involved Shelby and my bed.
Chance clapped me on the shoulder. “Should we go find the ladies?”
“Damn straight.”
He led the way, and we went out into the hallway. Lacey was there and started bouncing in place as soon as she locked her eyes onto Chance. She rushed forward, and he picked her up, effortlessly spinning her around. “I’m so proud of you, babe!”
I peeked around the corner and then doubled back to where Chance and Lacey were making out—much to Aria’s chagrin. The small girl looked up at me, a grim look on her delicate face. “Can you make them stop?” she asked.
I laughed and patted her slight shoulder. “Sadly, I don’t think so. Hey, do you know where Shelby is?”