November 11, 2002

My Quarterback Debut

Well, I’ve been joining the guys for football every Sunday morning for the past month or so (no I’m not being a heathen…we go to church on Saturday nights), but this time was a little different. When we crouched over in our sweaty little huddle, Zach says, “Andy, you wanna throw it this time?”

I took a deep breath, looked at my three teammates, and thought a moment. This is the first time I had been asked to quarterback. I must be one of the guys now, one of the trusted few, called for a noble purpose. I felt like Chad Hutchinson, the rookie QB for the Cowboys. This could be my time to prove myself…or this could be my time to be just another average out-of-shape, has been, 20 something wannabe. No pressure though.

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I began calling the play: “Okay, we’re going option to the right. I’ll fake the toss to you, Jeremy, act like I’m running to draw the defense off of you and onto me, then I’ll find you in the flats. If the defense doesn’t fall for the fake then I’ll look for Zach who should be running a deep route.”

I took the snap from the shotgun, swung to the right, faked the toss, or so I thought. The toss faked no one really. So I pulled back, spotted Zach deep, streaking toward the end-zone. He had a couple steps on his defender, so the pass had to be right on. This was the moment I had been waiting for. I rared back and unleashed the pigskin with the force of a mighty rushing computer geek. All my hopes and dreams rested on this pass as it soared through the Fort Worth atmosphere toward its target. Time seemed to stand still, and as the ball came near Zach’s outstretched arms… Holy Wow, look at the time, I need to be getting to bed.

Does Zach make the catch and make me a hero? Or does the ball sail over the fence and onto Woodway Dr? Tune in this time tomorrow or the next day for the exciting conclusion of this story.