I have been playing in turkey bowls since I was eleven, and I had never won! My first year, I caught two touchdown passes from Dad, but that was the first year that Dad’s team didn’t win! I have never played on Dad’s team since, and that one year remains the only blemish on Dad’s turkey bowl record. Minus the two years I was in Hong Kong, I am a lifetime 0-9! I was determined that this year would be different. I spent the two previous weeks in mental (cbssports.com) and physical (running) preparation.
The night before the game, my dreams were filled with lots of Reggie Wayne one-handed catches, Peyton Manning naked bootlegs, and Bob Sanders leaping interceptions. When I woke up in the morning, I knew that it was going to be a special day. :)
I got to the field around 10 a.m., and we tossed the football around and “stretched” while we waited for everyone else to show up. Once all ten of us had arrived, we used our jackets and bags to make out-of-bounds lines, end zones, and the midfield line. We separated into teams and agreed on the rules (you get four sets of downs to cross midfield, and then from midfield you get four more sets of downs to score a touchdown). We played for about an hour, and let’s just say I did my best to make Peyton, Reggie, and Bob proud. :)
We didn’t keep score for the first hour (except for me), but for the last hour we decided to switch up teams and play to five touchdowns. After an interception returned for a touchdown by the other team, we were down 2-4, and I could feel yet another turkey bowl victory slipping away. We fought back to tie the score at 4, at which time I, of course, suggested we play “win by two” with a cap at seven. No one could resist the prospect of playing a little longer, and everyone quickly agreed. Once again, we fell behind 4-6.
As our team was jogging towards the other end of the field after we had just given up a touchdown, I saw defeat in the eyes’ of my teammates. Not again. Not this year. I pulled my teammates in a huddle, and I asked them the only question I knew to ask. (It is the same question I always ask my roommates when we are watching a game on tv and my favorite team is behind.) I asked them, “Do you guys smell that?” Half of them tried to nonchalantly smell themselves while the other half pointed to one of our more portly, sweaty opponents. I shook my head. I asked again, “Do you smell that?” Nothing but blank stares. I looked each one of them in the eyes, and then said with confidence, “It smells like a comeback!” Some smiled. Some grit their teeth. They understood. We knew what had to be done.
After a touchdown pass, interception, and another touchdown pass, the score was tied at 6. My heart started to beat faster. I knew that this could be the year. I looked around, and our crowd of two Chinese people watching us play became ten. They must have been able to sense the importance of the moment. With Dwight Freeney rushing the edges, Bob Sanders playing centerfield, and shades of (the Super Bowl year) Rob Morris patrolling the middle, we forced them into a four-and-out. This was the year. We took over on downs and eventually got down to 3rd-and-goal from the 1. On the next play, I hit one of my classmates on a drag route for the winning score. Hands were shaken, high-fives were given, and “derrieres” were slapped. It was over! We had won!
So there you have it. On my tenth try, I finally won a turkey bowl. While it took years of disappointment, hard work, and sacrifice, I am proud to finally be able to say that I am a turkey bowl champion!
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