LAST TIME ON A FOUNDATION OF LIES FINALE PART 3 OF THE HORRIBLE TRUTH PART 2……
Alex: “I can’t wait to play football!”
Cody: “I know man we are going to light it up.”
Bobcat JV Coaches: “Not if we have anything to say about it Dynamic Duo!”
Dynamic Duo: “YOU FIENDS!!”
After months of struggling to thwart the evil Bobcats coach’s attempts to contain the Dynamic Duo, Cody comes up with an ingenious plan…..
Cody: “Let’s just go play for the Jr. Rams!”
Alex: “Yeah! They won’t be able to contain us there! They will have to see how great the Dynamic Duo is!”
The Dynamic Duo is once again deprived of opportunities to dominate until….
Karma: “Don’t worry Dynamic Duo…..I’m here!!!!”
*Karma does what she does best*
“Starting” QB: “NO MY ANKLE! Curse you Karma!!!!”
Alex: “Thank you Karma!!!”
Cody: “Dude, that’s kinda messed up….”
Alex: “Yeah but…..but….Dynamic Duo?….”
Cody: “……you’re right. Screw em’…. Dynamic Duo Time!”
Thanks to Karma the Duo finally got their chance to dominate. They thrashed their dastardly opponents at every turn as they approached their most villainous foe, the Jr. Thundering Herd. Our hero’s would turn their attention toward the desolate wasteland known as Elk Grove as they prepared for their final ba –
“Starting” QB: “Hold up guys don’t forget me!”
Alex: “WHAT IN THE LITERAL FU “
THE HORRIBLE TRUTH….. PART 3!!!!!
With the biggest game of the year coming up in just 5 short days, I had gone from excited to play against the best team in our conference, to frustrated because of what was about to inevitably unfold on Saturday. With Cody at the helm I thought we could beat them soundly or at least keep it close and pull it out late. With our “Starter” under center I thought we had as much of a chance at winning as SpongeBob had of getting into the Salty Spittoon. So safe to say yet again that anything that could go wrong that week, was about to go wrong with Cody being relegated to 2nd string duties yet again. I had never met this Murphy guy, in fact I had never heard of him until I got into high school, but boy what I wouldn’t give to go back in time and deck that son-a-ma gun right in his stupid Murphy’s Law making face. But that’s a fantasy and not reality. The reality of the situation was we were so totally m’kayed.
Game day was now upon us. It was a sombering moment walking onto a field in which I knew what the outcome would be. The coach’s from the Jr. Herd even knew what was about to unfold. With #10 suited up and #13 playing Robin to his…well…I guess down-syndrome Batman….? Was that the line? Anyway with Cody benched in favor of the coach’s kid it was pretty much over before it started. The previous two weeks leading up to this game I hauled in an astounding 27 passes for 3 TD’s and almost 300 yards. I had caught more passes in two games than I had through 4 total games by a landslide. We had scored more than double the amount of points when Cody was under center compared to our “Starter”. How can one logically come to that decision? How can that even be explained rationally? At 12 I knew how wrong all this was, yet I couldn’t fix it, or even comprehend how or why. It made about as much sense to me as flirting did. How is making fun of a little boy for enjoying the finer points of nose picking, and then exposing him to the entire class, only to then spray water on his pants and proclaim “HEY EVERYONE ALEX PEED HIS PANTS!” How is that supposed to make me like you? Please, someone tell me how that works? But umm, not like that ever happened or anything…. It’s just a common example of what a daily kid goes through…yeah…yeah just a normal example of a normal interaction between normal little kids……
*Cough* so yeah our coaches were playing daddy ball with their kids, and it was about to blow up in our faces no homo. The first half went about as well as expected as we scored 1 time on a busted play where Derrick Graves made an incredible run after shedding what looked like 75 tackles and trucking their gargantuan of a linebacker whose broken right arm was wrapped in soft cast in such a fashion that made it look as though it were a caveman’s club. The score would stand at 21-7 at half, and our offense was anything but high powered or explosive. I already knew what the halftime adjustment was going to be, bring #13 in on 3rd and long to throw. I was also sure the other team would be prepared for that “adjustment” as well.
Sure enough that’s what we did, and sure enough it worked only a few times. At the end of the game we were still down 21-14 with under a minute left at our own 20. With no timeouts it was huck and chuck time, and Cody was in trying to throw deep against a Cover 3 Prevent defense. In other words we were m’kayed just like I had predicted. I caught two passes for first downs to stop the clock long enough for Cody to spike the ball and give us two chances to take shots near the end zone. However both attempts were to no avail and we lost. Playoffs were no longer a certainty and we needed to beat the Jr. Warriors in Week 7 AND have Laguna lose to force a tie for 3rd (thus giving us the heads up advantage seeing as we had beat them 2 weeks earlier). Of course Laguna’s last game of the year would be against the team we had beaten in Week 2, who also just so happened to be the worst team in the conference. Oh Murphy, you cruel and sadistic SOB.
With virtually a miracle being needed to even make playoffs I focused on enjoying my last game of Pop Warner football ever. I took in the sights of the beautiful St. Mary’s field. I listened to the sound of fans who cheered for us, as well as the sounds of our hypocritical coaches telling us we had to earn every yard because no one was going to give us that first down for free; even though they were handing out starting spots to less deserving players more often than California hands out unemployment checks. Regardless, it was a wonderful experience and I made the most of my last game at this level. I caught 4 passes for 122 yards including a 6 yard hitch that I turned into a 77 yard touchdown scamper down the sideline after stiff arming the corner and then Reggie Bushing the safety, before getting tripped up and being spotted at the 1 even though the ball, and my chest, were across the goal line. My coaches tried to get me a TD by letting me run the ball, but a penalty ensued pushing us further back. So they stuck me back at WR and threw a 5 yard slant to me for my 2nd TD in as many plays, but of course we held somebody and it was negated again. We scored on the 4th play with a toss running away from my side, go figure. However in this farewell game I would not be denied.
As a reward for my 3 negated TD’s, my coaches allowed me to go play corner for the 1st time since the pre-season. On my first play from scrimmage I dissected the play pre-snap and recognized it from earlier in the game. As the slot receiver on my side motioned across the formation I shifted our safety across the field to pick him up and focused my attention on the Warriors tight end. The tight end delay blocked and released into the flat, like I suspected, and I jumped the route as the QB released the ball. 60 yards later I was in the end zone contemplating whether or not I should Prime Time it up. I decided against showboating we were up like a billion to 0 and returned to the huddle for the extra point, and to a slur of upset teammates who wished I hadn’t scored because now the backups were going to get to play. Thanks guys for your support! My only defensive play of the season had resulted in a touchdown, while the kid who had taken my starting job hadn’t even recorded an interception through 7 games. Good call coaching staff!!!
But regardless of my frustration, we had won, we celebrated, and we took photos with everybody. It was the end of an up and down year, but it was none the less an impressive season for myself. So impressive that I would be presented with an option that was about to throw a monkey wrench into deciding what school I would attend for my freshmen year.
Now, at the time I didn’t realize my head coach was in fact the Varsity Offensive Coordinator for St. Mary’s. How I didn’t realize it is a mystery seeing as he was always coaching the high school team before our practices started, but it would be hard to remember such a detail when every day before practice I would go catch passes from the great Willie Tuitama the dude threw so hard I had laces indented on my hands. Apparently my coach had taken a liking to my skill sets and had talked me up to Varsity Head Coach Tony Franks before our last game. Franks had a son on my team, but he was typically unable to make our games, however he was there for our last game. Now I had no clue he was there or even who he was until he introduced himself after the game and asked me where I would be attending high school. At this point of the season I had ruled St. Mary’s out as a potential destination because, well, I didn’t think my parents could afford to send me, among other reasons we will get to later. So I told him I’d be attending Tokay High. Then he replied,
“Well Cesena, if you decide you want to go here, there is a scholarship with your name on it.”
It was as if I was in a dream that I never wanted to wake up from. They were going to take care of my tuition, sports fees, everything, just to come play football at St. Mary’s. Done deal right?…. Wrong. For as immature and childish as I may appear while you are reading this blog, the truth is I am a fairly mature, responsible, and even a level headed young man. This also applies for the 8th grade version of myself as I responded with, “I’ll let you know coach if I change my mind.” The opportunity of a lifetime was staring me in the face and I went with I’ll let you know if I change my mind? If 17 year old Alex could reach back through time with a pillow case filled with bars of soap and beat the shit out of 12 year old Alex, he would do it in a heartbeat. But at 25 I am glad I chose Tokay over Mary’s. It put me on the path in life I’m on now and has defined the kind of man I am becoming (and while that might not mean a whole lot right now, I’d be willing to bet it will mean something in the next 5-10 years). However it would also crush the dreams of 12 year old Alex into oblivion in just a few short years.
So the question you are all asking is, “Da fuq is wrong with this kid?” Again, valid question I must say you guys always know when to ask the right questions, very impressive. The truth is that as appealing as St. Mary’s was, there was a cloud hanging over it that I wanted no part of…rich kids. I had dealt with them with through the Jr. Rams and at St. Anne’s. They would all be going to St. Mary’s because it was a “safer and a better learning environment” than other Stockton schools In reality, if Stockton is really as bad as everyone says, then how in the world is a Private school going to curb and keep that bad out Thus their parents would be involved there to, and I didn’t trust the coaches enough to believe I would get a fair shot in both football and basketball without some parent trying to intervene. I did not want to feel like I did playing with the “A” team at St. Anne’s, and I was not going to be okay with their daddy’s throwing money into the school to keep me on the bench and their kid’s on the court.
*Now not every kid that attended St. Mary’s was this way, but I had enough of an experience with the kids I was going to be around to know I’d rather go to Tokay then to have to deal with this….or even this.*
Now I had spent my entire child hood working for that moment when I would be offered the first bit of true recognition and reward for all my hard work. But now that the moment was here, it seemed like it was fool’s gold. I had followed the guidelines and rules my parents had instilled and it had taken me to a fool’s paradise. It was a road I wanted no part of and the horrible truth was now settling in… Life really wasn’t fair. I had done everything any adult had ever asked. I was a great student, brother, and friend. I worked hard and took pride in everything I ever did. I was a role model, something out of a comic book, an incorruptible figure of heroism. So why was it that the thing I had wanted most, had in fact turned out to be the very thing I despised and had been steered away from? It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t supposed to be this way. It was supposed to be nothing but feature newspaper articles, a Saint Mary’s Rams uniform, and a fancy Letterman jacket with all my accomplishments plastered on it. But like most things in my life, this would not be the case. I was going to choose happiness and comfortability over success. I was going to stick with what had gotten me this far, for that dream of being a Ram was and forever would be a dream; nothing more than a fantasy world. But I held strong as I brushed myself off and refocused my goals and objectives. I was not going to be living out my dream of playing for a powerhouse program and having a paved road to Division 1 college sports. Instead I was opting for the road less traveled; a road where even less success came out of. I was going to choose the only school during that decade who gave St. Mary’s a fight every time they stepped on the court or field…I was going to be a Tiger. But not only was I going to be a Tiger, I was going to be THE Tiger that turned down St. Mary’s only to turn around and rip their foundation of self-righteousness out from under them…..as well as play in the NFL and NBA……and dive head first into a Scrooge McDuck style vault and live to tell about it.
So now my goals were as follows:
My Goal’s:
- Bring Down Saint Mary’s
- NFL Hall of Famer
- NBA All Star
- Scrooge McDuck Style Vault
- Drummer for my eventual band The Strikeouts
- Become the 2008 Edward H. Seiferling Memorial Award recipient
Even though life was not fair, I was more determined than ever to change the narrative and to make Life my bitch. There was no way I would be kept from accomplishing what I had worked so hard for……there was no way I couldn’t achieve what I was working for…. My parents had told me I could do it….
“I can be anything I want in life, as long as I work hard…..I can be anything I want in life, as long as I work hard… I can be anything I want in life, I guess I just need to keep working hard….”
Until next time Internet…..
-Alex
The Irrelevant Journey 