Move Along

December 4, 2015

The night before the SEC title game, Zach made a call to Ginger. She was staying back in Gainesville with the baby, as they felt he was too young to be traveling out of state.

"Hi, Ginger."

"Hi, Zach. How's everything going?"

"It's going well," said Zach. "The game's on at 4:00 tomorrow on CBS. Be sure to watch."

"Of course I will," said Ginger. "And Davey, too."

"How is Davey doing?" asked Zach.

"He's doing great," Ginger told him. She put her phone up to Davey's face and said, "It's Daddy!"

"Hi, Davey!" said Zach. "Daddy loves you and misses you! I'll be back in a couple of days, though."

"Alabama's going to be pretty tough," said Ginger. "They're ranked number 2 in the nation."

"I know," said Zach. "But I feel if anyone in the SEC can compete with them, it's us."

Ginger told him, "I have to go now. Love you."

"Love you too," said Zach, as he hung up.

***
All of Zach's fears about Alabama proved valid, as they beat the Gators 29-15 in a game that wasn't even that close. Although the loss was a disappointment, the Gators had still exceeded expectations just by making it to the SEC championship. All they had to do was wait for their bowl invite.

The next day, they learned that the Gators would be going to play Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. Zach was glad about that, as the game was in Orlando, which meant Ginger and Davey would be able to come. And it was a decent, if not top-tier, bid to get.

Davey's first Christmas was coming up, and Zach and Ginger were determined to enjoy the holiday. They had gotten an ornament with Davey's name on it to put on their tree. They were glad, though, that Davey wasn't really mobile yet. He could roll over, but not much else. And he was just starting to sit up on his own, unsupported. And Ginger told Zach that it wouldn't be too long before Davey started teething, as he would be six months old in early January.

Christmas 2015

"Merry Christmas, Zach!" Ginger called.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Let's go get Davey up."

Zach and Ginger went into Davey's room and called to their son, "Merry Christmas, Davey!"

Davey grinned at his parents. Although he was only five months old and didn't understand what was going on, he liked seeing his parents happy.

"You were great in the play last night," Zach told him. Davey had been baby Jesus in the church Christmas play, and had been very calm.

After breakfast and opening the presents, Zach got out the Bible storybook they had gotten for Davey and started reading the Christmas story to him. His own parents had done this for him and Dave every year, and he was going to pass this tradition on to his own son.

***
On New Year's Day 2016, the Gators season came to a disappointing end with a 41-7 loss in the Citrus Bowl. Despite this, the Gators still had exceeded expectations and had something to build on for 2016.

During the offseason, Davey continued to grow. Toward the end of February, he started crawling. Zach and Ginger knew this meant they needed to step up on the baby-proofing.

Also, during the offseason, Zach had a decision to make. Although 2015 had technically been his senior year, he had redshirted as a freshman and thus was eligible to come back for one more season.

"What do you think?" Ginger asked.

"I'm going to stay," said Zach. "I made a commitment for four years, and that's what I'm going to give them. Plus, I know I'm likely not NFL material and I want to play as long as I'm able. And the way last year ended left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't want my last game as a Gator to be a blowout loss in a bowl game if I can help it."

Ginger agreed with Zach's decision and was glad they would get one more year.

Zach graduated in May and with his schoolwork finished, he would be able to enjoy his final year as a Gator more.

In July, Davey celebrated his first birthday. Zach and Ginger had a huge party for him. He had smashed his fist into his cake and made a big mess, but seemed to enjoy himself. Davey was now starting to walk, although he still fell down frequently, and was babbling constantly. Life with a one-year-old was sure a lot more hectic than life with an infant. Zach had said that Davey had officially graduated from baby to toddler.

The Gators entered the 2016 season ranked number 25, and would be opening the season against UMass. And Ginger and Davey would be there. Now that Davey was a little older, he would be attending all of their home games and not just day games.

Before the game started, Zach looked up and saw his whole family in the stands: his dad, Nanny, Ginger, her parents and Davey. Davey had even brought his stuffed alligator. He had gotten it for his first birthday and brought it everywhere. "Albee-gor" had quickly become part of the family. This name was Davey's attempt at saying either "alligator" or "Albert Gator", the name of Florida's mascot.

With a solid, if unspectacular, win over UMass, the Gators next faced Kentucky. Florida hadn't lost to Kentucky in 30 years, and Zach was very glad that they kept that streak going. He had vowed he would never be playing on the team that broke that streak, and he had made good on that promise.

A shutout win over North Texas was followed by a shocking loss to Tennessee, which hadn't happened since 2004. The Gators, however, would beat Vanderbilt the next week, and they had a showdown against LSU coming up on October 8.

The LSU game, however, would soon be reduced to almost being an afterthought. In early October, Hurricane Matthew was threatening the Florida coast as a powerful Category 5 storm, meaning the game would have to be postponed.

"Pigs, pigs, pigs!" yelled an enraged Zach one day. "They are such pigs!"

"Oink, oink!" said Davey. He had gotten an animal picture book for his birthday and every time he heard an animal name, he would make the sound for the animal.

"Who, or what, are pigs?" asked Ginger.

"LSU!"

"Are you sure you're not talking about Arkansas?"

"No, LSU," said Zach. He then explained, "We're trying to reschedule this game, and LSU's insisting we move it to Baton Rouge if it's rescheduled. We, of course, aren't wanting to go for that, and they're saying we're just afraid to play outside of Gainesville, even though that's where it was scheduled."

"That's ridiculous," said Ginger. "But something will get worked out."

"I hope so," said Zach. "If we don't get this game played, there's a chance we won't be eligible to return to the championship game."

In the end, the game was scheduled for November 19th in Baton Rouge, and the hurricane scraped the east coast of Florida, but the center stayed offshore.

***
After the unexpected bye week, the Gators put a 40-14 beatdown on Missouri. They then beat Georgia after another week off, and got up to number 10 in the nation.

A shocking 31-10 loss to Arkansas dropped the Gators to number 22. Florida would rebound with a win over South Carolina, and then came the rescheduled LSU game.

Zach and the Gators were still mad about how LSU had handled the hurricane, and he hoped that they would show them that they weren't afraid. This came true as the Gators won 16-10 thanks to a goal line stand.

Despite a loss to Florida State, the Gators found themselves in the SEC title game against Alabama for the second straight year. The year may have been different, but the result would be the same, as it turned out. Alabama handed Florida an even worse loss.

Despite the embarrassing 54-16 loss, the Gators got another decent bowl bid, and would be going to Tampa to play Iowa in the Outback Bowl.

***
"This is it," said Zach, as he woke up the morning of the game. It was January 2, 2017. Since New Year's Day was a Sunday, the bowl games were being played on Monday.

He went down to the room where Ginger and Davey were staying in to tell them good morning. Zach was staying in a hotel room with his roommate on the road, while Ginger and Davey were in a different room on the floor below.

"Morning, Zach," said Ginger.

"Da-da!" said Davey, running over to Zach, who picked him up.

"Hey, Davey!"

"Is it really sinking in yet?" asked Ginger.

"Not really."

"We still need to get ready," said Ginger. "Then we'll all go down together and eat." They would all be having breakfast together and then the team would head over to the stadium.

"That's okay," said Zach. "I need a minute." He immediately put on a song that he felt had really helped him through his troubles.

"Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking
When you fall, everyone stands
Another day, and you've had your fill of sinking
With the life held in your
Hands are shaking cold
These hands are meant to hold

Speak to me.
When all you've got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Move along
Move along

So a day when you've lost yourself completely
Could be a night when your life ends
Such a heart that will lead you to deceiving
All the pain held in your
Hands are shaking cold
Your hands are mine to hold

Speak to me
When all you've got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)

When everything is wrong, we move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)
When everything is wrong, we move along
Along, along, along, along

When all you've got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along like I know you do
When all you've got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
When all you've got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do (Know you do)
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through

Right back what is wrong
We move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)
Right back what is wrong
We move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)
Right back what is wrong
We move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)
Right back what is wrong
We move along"

Shortly after Zach had gotten the call about Dave, he had broke down crying. And then that song had come on the radio. It was a song he had heard many times, but that day, for the first time, he had really listened to the words. The words had broken through his tears and had helped him move forward after that loss. He had felt that that was God, allowing that song to come on at that moment, telling him not to give up. And he had taken that to heart and pushed forward.

Just then, Ginger said, "We're ready."

"All right," said Zach, picking up his son.

"This is it," Ginger told him.

"I know," said Zach. "My last game as a Gator."

"It doesn't seem real," said Ginger.

"I know," said Zach. "I just want to savor the day, no matter what the outcome of this game is."

"And I'm so proud of you, too, no matter what the outcome," added Ginger as they walked down to get breakfast.

Author's Note: Lyrics to "Move Along" belong to the All American Rejects