Gridiron Follies Page 3

upper hand.

  You felt alone. I tried reaching out to you many times, but you had become wary of me and the people I associated with.

  I don’t know if it was paranoia, but you changed a lot when you went to Tennessee. To make matters worse, you were not getting the type of playing time you were accustomed to. Their star running back was the man on the scene and you found it hard to stay in his shadow. As far as you were concerned, you still had some juice. It was unacceptable that the coach and his crew couldn’t see that.

  This time around, instead of voicing your discontent. You kept to yourself. Brooding most of the time, coming off as an anti-social figure. Your back was against the wall and you had no one to turn to. Unfortunately you did turn to something else, one that was bound to keep you tumbling down that hole.

  Alcohol was your new best friend, alas one that came with a destructive side.

  The situation with your new team worsened quickly. The coach was the no nonsense type and didn’t like to be challenged. After you had been vocal about your lack of playing time on more than a few occasions, he demoted you to the end of the bench.

  He wasn’t trying to see things from your point of view, he only cared about his position and how he could jeopardize that by caving into your demands.

  So started what would be a short lived tenure with the Titans. You were moody and kept to yourself.

  Your new teammates tried to bring you into the fold but you were having none of that. Life had made you wary of people; you refused to let people in your life. Instead you found refuge in the bottle. You drank heavily, sometimes showing up to work drunk. Of course this only infuriated your coach more.

  Management was called in to try and fix the problem. They told you they’d work something out as long as you toed the line and stayed sober. I think you must have felt like they were telling the truth, because after that you tried to get your act together. Alas, you’d burned the bridge so bad with your coach that he’d placed a barricade where the rubble of your previous squabble should have been. He was never going to play you again. Management kept telling you otherwise but as the season progressed, you could see the writing on the wall. You’d been sober to that point but upon the realization that your playing days, at least with that team was over; you reverted to your brooding, alcoholic ways.

  You got into fights with the coaching personnel and your teammates. The coach asked you to stop coming to practice. You’d proven the naysayers right. You were a cancer in their eyes, and the only way to deal with a cancer was to terminate it. Pressure was placed on management to do something about you. The team was doing well; there was no need for you to remain a distraction. So they did what was best for them and cut you off the team. Paying what they owed, breaking off all ties with you.

  You really believed in your abilities, thinking it was only a matter of time before you were back on the field. Unfortunately, your reputation was tarnished so bad that most organizations didn’t want anything to do with you. It was a long fall from grace. You had become the poster boy for all that was wrong with the NFL. Your woes were well documented. Your wife and baby mamas deserted you. You were portrayed as a bad father and weren’t allowed near your kids.

  It was hard being your friend. You had evolved into this volatile creature that snapped at any slight provocation. I couldn’t be seen around such, watching from afar, hoping you’d regain your past brilliance. Sadly, life was giving you no breaks at the time. Everything that could go wrong went wrong! Your accounts were dwindling sharply, most of the money going to creditors and child support. Things got so bad that the bank had to foreclose your home. You had to move back with your mom, a move that must have done a number on your ego. Luckily for you, purchasing that house for her during your playing days had turned out to be a very smart move. It was technically the only thing you had that no one could take from you.

  She was the only person that stood with you during the tough times. It’s not that I didn’t want to be seen with you, it’s just you weren’t good for business.

  I love you dearly, but once you started spiraling out of control, the people who kept me going started getting scared of you. In this business, you are only as good as your last big move. I know you can understand this, you understand the nature of the game don’t you? Life is all about ups and downs and those ups were amazing. That coaster had t o come down sometime, and I guess with how high it went, the trip down was bound to be bumpy.

  I hear you work at the local Home depot now. Trying to get back on your feet. Some say you have quit drinking, I really hope that’s the case. Maybe you can get a try out for some team. I know you love the game; you’ll find a way to get in one way or the other.

  I just hope for your sake that when your name is brought up, people remember you for your record breaking plays and not the guy who was forced out the league like some bum.

  Sincerely,

  Your friend

  Fame

  BEAST

  The man walked past the various plaques that adorned his trophy case. The Heisman trophy the jewel of his collection sat carefully on the top rung. Below it, one can make out his NFL Rookie of the year award, National championship ring, best player in the national championship game trophy, SEC player of the year figurine and other lesser known awards. Needless to say, here was a man who wasn’t a stranger to accomplishments but yet was marred by so much trouble. He was arguably the most controversial name in sports at the moment. Rahim Jenkins, 6’5, 260 pounds otherwise known as ‘The Beast’ by fans and sports pundits was a running back to be reckoned with. He had come into the league with much fanfare, known particularly for his break neck speed and razzle dazzle on the field. He broke tackles with ease and was notorious for his cheeky celebrations in the end zone. He once proclaimed to a reporter that he would go down as the greatest running back to ever play the game of football. He had the talent, but a lot of people would argue his attitude would most likely cost him that distinction.

  He was drafted number one by the Bills, a team desperately in need of some help for their running game. The hopes of the city were pinned solely on his broad shoulders, of which he lived up to his first four years in the league. They made the playoffs in his rookie season, a feat that had been devoid of the organization a decade before he got there. The second year they advanced to the conference semi-finals only to be knocked out by an overtime field goal. The Third year was no different; it was yet another conference semi-final exit. His fourth year would prove to be his best, winning the MVP, amassing the most yards in NFL history and leading his team to the finals. Though they were blown out in the Super bowl, most believed that with a few tweaks here and there, the Bills were going to be in the running for the title the upcoming year. Unfortunately, life had different plans for Rahim and the Bills.

  In his fifth year, things started to go downhill for him. There was the freak accident that caused him to miss a season, the numerous altercations both on and off the field, the scandals (various women coming out of the woodwork claiming he was the father of their children), by the end of that year, the Bills organization were frantically looking to move the guy once thought of as the future of the franchise, but without having played in a season, they had to wait to showcase him to other teams, to prove he could still play. There were still others in the organization who believed he could still be the guy to carry them to the championship, and felt the distractions would subside once he got on the field. Boy were they wrong!

  Seeing it was a make or break year, Rahim knew in other to get a hefty contract the next season, he‘d have to tone down his antics and show his worth on the field. For the first couple of games, he played like his moniker. Tearing defenses apart, showing the sports world that his demise had greatly been exaggerated. He put up the numbers and the Bills were in the playoff hunt once again.

  In his mind, the organization would be coughing up big bucks once the season was over. By this time, he’d been hemorrhaging money. Costly habits, le
gal issues, and a bevy of ‘baby mammas’ made sure that whatever he was making, was going out the door quickly. The pressure was on Rahim to make sure his source of income would not be going dry anytime soon.

  It was the second to the last game of the season; the Bills needed the win to guarantee their playoff spot. The opponents were the Colts, the best defense in the league at that point.

  The sports media were hyping it as the game of the year. Rahim ‘The Beast’ was having one of his best years, and no defense would contain him they said. They were right, the Colts couldn’t stop him. He exploded for over 200 yards in the first three quarters, and would have gone for more if not for the incident that would have such a dramatic impact on his career.

  The Bills had run a trick play, freeing him up in the middle of the field. He caught the ball deftly and was sprinting as hard as he could, end zone in sight. There was only one defender to beat; the touchdown was as good as gold. Unbeknownst to him, another defender was catching up to him from the rear. He had braced himself for the impact of the oncoming defender, but was quite surprised when another defender from the back pulled him to the ground. The ball came loose, the Colts recovered, running the ball back to the