Football?
By: Sniper125
Everybody has some special talent that few other people can do. Some have skills that lead them to fame and glory while others are more suited to the small jobs that makes the world function properly.
My passion is somewhat different... my life is surrounded by football. Not the European stuff the world seems to like more but American football, where true courage and raw power is forced together a match that also requires speed and tactics.
My family never saw the sport in the same light as me as I was the first one to play football in high school since my great grandfather helped his squad win the first state championship my school had ever earned. His ring would always sit in a little glass box perched above his television.
He would always offer to give me it as a gift but I always denied and promised to him that I would earn my own first. This would bring a chuckle as he placed the shining jewelry in it's box and sat it on it's little shelf...
Don't go off thinking my grandpa is dead though. On the contrary his health hasn't changed since hitting 70 a few years back. When I played in junior high he would always sit in a lawn chair and cheer every time I scored or had gotten a good tackle in the backfield.
Times were different now however. Now I was playing for more than just a silly city championship that meant almost nothing at the next level.
This was high school, where only the best were given the opportunity to become great; where only hard work and determination could bring results on the field.
Well, that's how it is for varsity anyways. Being a Junior I had already had two years experience at the high school level.
Though not getting playing time at the top level, our Freshman and Sophomore teams tore up the competition each of the two years I was a member of them. I even earned a spot on the JV squad halfway through my Freshman season!
Our JV squad went 16-4 those two years and only one loss occurred while I played for them.
However, all of that meant nothing now... Now my dream of a state championship was finally within my grasp. Our team went 7-2 and made it to the 2nd round of the playlets but lost 13-7 to our crosstown rivals.
But enough about the past, because now there's only a week left until the opener!
Locker Room A...
"Yo Jordan! Are you comin' home or what?" I closed my locker and turned towards the voice by the entrance of the locker room.
"Just hold on Maurice, I still have to talk to Coach Weir about our gameplan." My friend shrugged and leaned on the doorframe as I knocked on the office door.
I looked at the window nearby and saw coach sitting in an office chair and signaling for me to enter. He was an old man with balding hair and a serious but calm expression.
"You wanted to see me coach?" I asked and stood up straighter than I already was.
"Yes Jordan, I just wanted you to look at this video with me." A remote appeared from under his desk and a television screen instantly turned on.
About a minute passed before the screen again faded to black nothingness.
"What did you just see?" The coach stared at me intensely.
"Right-Over 28 Stretch, I took the ball around the right tackle and cut back when the corner closed down on the edge. It went for 25 yards and a touchdown." A satisfied grin grew on Coach's face.
"Very well done! If you can remember this play I'm sure we'll do just fine come Friday."
"Thank you sir, I can't wait to make my debut as a Varsity player!" His grin grew even wider.
"Don't worry boy, the time will come soon enough. But when it does I want to see you in top condition!"
"You can count on me coach!" I said goodbye and met my friend Maurice outside the school.
"It's about damn time you got out! I was starting to think you were watching old highlight films again!" He slung his shoulder around my neck as we headed towards home...
Sometime Later...
I shed my backpack off onto the bed and plopped down into my old recliner. My mom told me to come up for dinner soon so I reluctantly stood back up again in order to quickly change out of my workout clothes.
Once I was somewhat presentable I headed upstairs to where my mom had set a dinner of fresh cooked chicken and steamed carrots. I took my seat at one end of the table while my parents took their seats as well.
"Well son, I bet you're excited about Friday huh?" My father grinned at me amusingly.
"Now now dear, leave that kind of talk for after dinner." My mother smiled as well and folded her hands as they started to give thanks for their meal.
I opted out of the prayer as my belief was that people didn't need to thank God for what they earned through hard work.
Come to think of it, I never prayed. Even when our team was down late in the game and the team would pray during a timeout, I'd just stand and look at the scoreboard.
"What are you doing asking God for help? If he wanted to aid we'd be kicking their asses back to where they came!" I remember yelling at the entire team in order to get them riled up for the rest of the game.
My mother opened her eyes and sighed at my amused that showed my thoughts on it. They both just shrugged it of as we ate our meal...
8;34 PM...
I waved from downstairs as my parents closed the garage door while on their way to a get together with an old friend of their's. I yawned and laid down on top of my bed and flicked on the television.
My eyelids grew heavy as the night went on but my mind simply refused to let me completely fall asleep by filling my head with images of success and glory. It seemed my exhaustion was about to give when I heard a strange humming noise come from my televsion.
The stranger thing was that it wasn't coming FROM my TV but seemed to focus on a spot right in front of it. I sat up so I could examine the device but was halted by a small flicker that grew in size until before me was a ball of white light.
"What the hell?" I stumbled backwards and tripped on my chair which sent me tumbling to the ground.
I peaked over my chair at a small ball of light floating in the middle of my room.
The ball hovered just above the ground and gently bounced up and down when I poked it with a ruler I found on my desk.
While I shook out those creepy thoughts I watched in awe as the ball of light quietly expanded quickly into the size a a small table. In as little time as it had showed up; the ball quickly disappeared into nothingness.
However, as it did so a bright orange creature plopped onto the floor. Words could not describe how shocked I was.
I remained silent as the strange thing stood up and revealed that it was actually... a pony? My brain felt like it was having a major "derp" moment.
Before I could even speak another shock shook my brain...
"Gosh darn it Twilight, Ya' really did it this time! Last time I ever let her cast a teleportation spell on me..." My jaw went slack as it spoke.
"What the hell is going on here?" I spoke in an attempted calm voice. The pony turned around quickly with wide eyes.
"What in tarnation?" The little horse backed away quickly but kept a defensive look in her eyes.
I paused to regain my composure before approaching the startled mare. She backed up again and did some type of growl.
"I don't know who or what ya' are but ya' better be careful about yer next move." Her eyes didn't seem all to friendly.
"Now calm down, I don't know what's going on but we're not getting anywhere like this." Was I really talking to an animal?
She seemed to calm down slightly and stood up straight so she could take a deep breath.
"Alright, I'm calm... But where am I? I don't recall ever seein' ya kind in Equestria." She began to examine my room as she spoke.
"Well I've never heard of Equestria, but this world is called Earth." It felt nice that we were able to halt the hostilities for a little while.
'Why am I so calm about this? It's a talking pony for christ's sake!' I wondered as she seemed to be looking for something.
Her ears perked up immediately as I watched her toss a cowboy hat onto her blond mane. A satisfied grin showed on her face.
"So why are you here? All I saw was a bright light and the next thing I know you show up." She smiled and scratched the back of her head.
"Yeah, sorry about that. My friend Twilight was tryin' to teleport me back to my farm but her assistant dropped somethin' and broke her concentration. Next thing I know I'm here! I'm sure she'll find me and I'll be out of yer hair soon enough." I nodded and sat in my chair as she chose to sit on the ground.
"So tell me about your world, as far as I know ponies around here don't talk."
"I don't know what there is to describe, everypony lives in houses that are somewhat like this one. Everypony has a special talent or dream which is represented by the symbol on our flank. We call 'em Cutie Marks." I glanced at her cutie mark which was a small group of apples with a curious look.
"My mark shows my love for my apple farm back in Ponyville." She tipped her hat up and grinned with pride.
"Apple farm? I never thought animals could run something so complex as a farm." She scoffed at me.
"Of course we can! How else do ya' think our homes were built? Sure we had some help from unicorns and pegasi but we run everything!" I decided to ignore the fact that she mentioned unicorns and pegasi as my bead was about explode from all of this information.
Was I growing crazy? Maybe I actually have been working too much and I was just hallucinating. Regardless of wither or not she was real I just needed to keep my cool till either she left or I came up with what to do with her.
"So tell me about yer world, the fact that ponies here can't talk is strange enough as it is." Considering it couldn't hurt I explained to her some of the basics of this world.
Despite my efforts I always brought the topic back to football which made her give me a quizzical look.
"What's this here football y'all be talkin' about?" My eyes lit up as I went into further detail on the game than I did on anything else I said.
After about half an hour of explaining her eyes sparkled with interest.
"This game sounds pretty amazing uh..."
"Jordan, Jordan Neely."
"Right, I guess we never introduced ourselves. My name's Applejack." She extended her hoof for a shake which I accepted.
"Anyways, it doesn't seem like I'll be back home any time soon, so do you think you could show me this game you play?" She asked straight forward.
"Well, I can't show you the real thing tonight but here's something that might help." I searched around for a DVD of my favorite football team.
After a minute of rummaging lifted up a bright blue box that read: "The 2008 New York Giants: Super Bowl Champions".
I quickly popped in the DVD and skipped ahead to the big stage. We watched part of the pre game before skipping again to kickoff...
2 hours later...
The DVD ended with showers of confetti and streamers as the Giants cheered for their win. I switched the player off and looked to Applejack.
She seemed to have fallen asleep in my other recliner almost immediately after the buzzer sounded. A content smile stuck on her face.
Despite how much I didn't want to disturb her I had to move her in case my parents came in suddenly.
Thus, I gently picked her up and placed her gently behind a large chest that I mostly used to store electronics. Before I did I made a makeshift bed out of my comforter and a spare sheet.
'She may seem tomboyish but damn she's adorable when asleep...' I thought to myself while preparing for bed.
'Now that I think about it... What am I going to do with her?'