Wind Sprints
Season 1 – Episode #3
Disclaimer: Peter Berg and Elizabeth Heldens get the credits. I own nothing, although I really wish I did. All italics are their words or flashbacks.
A/N: After watching Episode #2 (Eyes Wide Open), I remember thinking how very special this show really was going to be. And "Wind Sprints" was definitely where my Eric Taylor obsession began. The vision of Kyle Chandler soaking wet is not something I will likely forget.
Eric knew what everyone was expecting. He heard it on the radio a thousand times over the past week. It's all about the ground game. All Saracen needed to do was pass it to Smash every time. Smash was the best running back in the state, if not the country. Eric must have heard every alumni and booster this past week – Get the ball to Smash.
Tami watched her husband all week, taking advice from every which way, wondering if he would fold under the pressure. She knew him better than to do that. It wasn't his style. He always went against the grain, pissing people off along the way. Eric's confidence in his abilities never wavered. He got that from his father. Before Tami, no one believed in him and his abilities like his father.
"He just wants the best for me." He once explained to Tami when she questioned his motives. "He believes I can go all the way."
"What if you don't, Eric? Will he be able to digest the enormity of that?" She asked, knowing it was a sensitive subject. She knew how hard Eric worked to impress his father. "What if you don't want to play anymore? Would you even be able to have that conversation with him?"
"I want to go all the way too, Tami." He thought, at this point in their relationship, she knew this. Eric was having a very successful collegiate football career. The possibility of him going pro was very likely. After over two years of being together, he couldn't imagine his life without her. "I hope that wherever all the way takes me, you will come too." It was the first real conversation they had about planning their future together.
From the stands, she watched him doing the unexpected, taking the road less traveled. He was making calls that were successful, but his players were not executing them through. She noticed him slowly starting to lose it. The way he was pacing up and down the sidelines, the constant pulling off of his headsets roughly as he yelled were clear cut signs that his boys were not supporting him.
He couldn't help it. Those boys were going to hear his disappointment from his gut. They were going to know exactly what he thought about their performance. When it came to discipline and motivation, the words always flowed. He dug as deep as he could and found the words to get his point across.
Sometimes after the games, in the privacy of their home, Tami would question him about the halftime or post-game talks. She sometimes wondered what his strategy was during that crucial time, the psychologist in her always working. The conversation usually ended in laughter, Tami making fun of the ridiculous words that spewed from his mouth and Eric admitting that truth.
It always took Eric a full day to come out of the haze of a loss. He stayed in, watching the game tape going over where he should have made different calls. After a win, he would go around town, washing his car, filling his gas tank, knowing pats on the back and hand shaking were a sure thing. But after a loss, he knew this town would not handle it well.
Everyone started to tell him how to do his job. It started on Saturday night when he and Julie went to the Alamo Freeze to pick up dinner. Some random stranger started asking Julie if they packed their bags yet. He was infuriated. How dare this jerk talk to Julie like that?
Smash decided Monday would be his day. Eric had no problem with his players coming into his office and discussing things – personal or football related. He made it quite clear to his boys that his door was always open. There was one thing he had no tolerance for and that was what happened on his field. No player should ever disrespect him on that field. Helmet stays on, minds stay focused and you put all you got into each and every practice. Those were his rules and typically, his boys followed them.
Eric had a hard time hiding the look of shock and disgust he wore on his face as Smash ran his mouth. How dare he tell Eric how to run his practice? How dare he speak for the entire team when he wasn't asked to do so? How dare he insult Saracen when he was the only player who did exactly what he was told to do? Smash better shut up before Coach makes him run until his legs fall off. This was his field!
The pancake dinner is where Buddy cornered him. "Matt Saracen is not going to take us to State. I just think it's about time we move on this Katrina kid."
Why did Buddy always push him? Doesn't Buddy know by now that he doesn't like to be pushed? "Let me just say one thing about that. I hope this is on the up and up because I really have enough headaches going on as it is." Buddy asking him to look at this kid's game tapes was like Buddy saying he didn't trust him.
Next up was Mac. Without discussing it with him, Mac already knew more about this kid from New Orleans than he should have. Mac was in full agreement with Buddy. Apparently they have been discussing this kid in great detail over a barbeque he wasn't invited to. It felt like a tug of war – the town of Dillon against Eric in a very unfair fight.
Eric hated that no one trusted him. He hated that people truly believed he couldn't do this job. He needed to be given a chance. He wasn't stupid. He knew everyone thought he was underqualified, and Jason Street was the only reason he was there. Without Jason, did he belong? Eric never gave up easily and knew, with some time, he would win the hearts of Dillon.
The worst, in Eric's eyes, happened at practice the next day. "Come on son, what's your problem? Keep diggin' your legs. Keep them movin'." That was how it started. He wanted more from Riggins. He knew he had more in him than he was showing on the field. "Come on son, let's go." He watched Tim go through the line again, getting pushed back and forth. "Keep your head up. Keep diggin'." Why was this kid having trouble today? "Get over here! Come here!" He called to him. "I don't see you preparing for this game son. You go hard or your go home." He paused, but all Eric heard was the heavy breaths Tim was taking. "Come on now. When you're out here, you give 110%.like everybody else. You give 110% all the time. Not just when you feel like it. Now come on son, let's do it again."
He realized he pushed too hard. As Tim raised his hands to the strap on his helmet, Eric knew what he was doing. "Don't do it son. Don't do that." Taking your helmet off while on his field was a huge sign of disrespect to him. The coaches knew it, his players knew it, Tim knew it. "Don't do what I think you're about to do." Eric said, giving him another chance to continue to play. "Don't do that. You don't want to do that." He didn't sound like he was pleading, but deep inside he was nervous. He could afford yet another thing to go wrong this season.
He just wanted to go home. He wanted to just concentrate on football. Buddy stopped him before he was about to get into his car, Mac in tow. Buddy made sure Eric knew he saw Tim walk off the field. He pinching the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on says, "What can I do for ya, Buddy?"
"I just wanted to see if you wanted to go with us over to talk to that kid. That Ray Tatum kid."
He couldn't back down. He had to stick to what he knows. Go with his gut. His father always taught him that. "Matt Saracen may be a wild card, but you know one thing I like about Matt Saracen? I don't have to be worried about recruitment violations."
Buddy tried to spin his words, but Eric was smarter than that. He made sense though. Buddy wouldn't be as successful as he was if he didn't know how to sell people.
As he finally walked through the front door of his home tonight, he thought about what he did. He knew it was wrong. He knew he could get caught. It went against everything he believed in, but Buddy seemed to know how to talk almost everyone into almost anything.
"Hey!" Tami said lifting her head up from the newspaper she was reading.
"Hi kids." He said as he made his way down the hallway.
"Hi Daddy." Julie called from the couch, watching something on television, simultaneously doing her homework.
"Have you had dinner?" Tami asked, recognizing he was getting home later than normal.
"No, I didn't." He slung his briefcase on the counter, playing with his hat. "I'm sure I can find something here."
"There's chicken in there." She quickly changed the subject. "Hey, you didn't tell me y'all were getting a new quarterback from New Orleans?"
How did she hear about this? For goodness sake, he just got back from that kid's motel room. How did she know any of this? Maybe this town was smaller than he thought. "Where'd ya hear that?"
"Well, Matt Saracen came in today. He's feeling real stressed out about it."
Eric put his hands on his hips, taking his defensive stance. "Really? Matt Saracen is under a lot of pressure, huh?" Does she have any clue how much pressure he was under. He turned away, focusing on getting himself some dinner, not sure if he wants to have this fight. He didn't want to fight with her too.
"Yeah." She challenged, knowing he was pissed.
"Maybe I should go over to Matt Saracen's house and make him some Ovaltine, read him a bed time story."
"I think you may want to try a little compassion with him." She said back forcefully, not recognizing who this shell of a man was right now.
Julie got up and excused herself from the conversation. She hated were her parents were too affectionate in front of her, but she hated when they fought even more. "Bye Daddy." She sung on the way out. She mouthed to her mother "have fun", knowing her father was in a foul mood.
"You don't need to be sarcastic." Tami challenged, once Julie was down the hall.
"You know what I think?" He said leaning over the counter, making sure she was listening. He took a brief look down the hallway to make sure Julie didn't hear how upset he really was. He gritted his teeth as he spoke. "I think everyone in this whole damn town is telling me how to do my job. And the one thing I think those kids don't need? They don't need compassion. That's what I think."
She knew he was on a roll. She hasn't seen him this furious in a long time. She just nodded her head and let him continue. She knew he needed to get it out. "You know what else I think? What they need to do, is they need to win. And something else? You and I? We need to win. She nodded her head, knowing at this moment in time there was no talking to him. There was no reasoning with him. "We need to win." He repeated.
He didn't think that one play would have completely changed the course of his life. He knew he was hurt, he knew something bad had happened, but he never in the million years thought his dreams were shattered. The life he and Tami dreamed about was destroyed in seconds.
He was told he would never have the mobility in his right arm that he once had. The NFL draft was months away. He already had agents competing over him, wanting to make the NFL deals for him. He took Tami to all his meetings. They would always start with Tami, knowing she held the keys to his heart, his future.
"Beach or mountains? Dessert or coast? What will it be pretty lady?" Eric would smile, knowing Tami loved the attention. He loved that his hard work through the years was going to provide a great life for both of them. He was only home two days before the realization set in. He was done. Both agencies sent letters pulling their offers to represent him. Some personnel from certain franchises reached out saying they spoke to his doctors and knew he was never going to make a full recovery.
He couldn't handle any of this. He couldn't handle the rejection. He couldn't handle his father's disappointment. He couldn't handle that he was, not only ever going to play for the NFL, but will likely not finish out his very successful collegiate career. Most of all, he couldn't handle Tami. He knew his life wasn't the only one ruined. When she tried comforting him over the next few weeks, he lost it.
"Don't you get it, Tami? I am done. I will never amount to the expectations I set for myself, for us." He raised his voice so she would get his message through that thick head of hers. He needed to be alone. He needed to figure out who he was, since now he was no longer going to be the professional athlete with the big house, the fancy cars and the wealthy lifestyle.
"I don't get why you're upset with me." She said frustrated. "I don't get why you're pushing me away."
He raised his voice again. "I can't do this with you, like this."
"Do what?" She was afraid of what he was going to say next. "Eric, be careful what you say next."
For so long, she built him up. She was so proud of what they were to become. "I can't live with disappointing you too."
She wanted to tell him things he should already know. She wasn't with him because he was going to be a football star. She wasn't with him because of his stats and awards. How did he not know that by now? "You're never a disappointment to me, Eric. I love you for the honest, caring, dignified man that you are."
"I don't know who I am anymore." He was so angry; he had no idea what he said exactly to spur the biggest fight they ever had up until this point. "I don't know how to be with you like this."
"What are you saying?" She felt the tears, threatening to spill over.
"I need some time." He said, his heart wrenching, knowing he had to push her away, knowing she probably would just settle into any life he assembled together at this point.
"Some time?" She questioned. "How much time?
"I need forever, Tami." He voice cracked as he said it. "I need to be alone and figure out my next move and I can't do that with you hanging on to me."
"Hanging on to you? Is that what you think I have been doing for the past few years? Just hanging on?" When he didn't say anything, she continued. "Fuck you, Eric. You were so much more to me than apparently I was to you." She said, about to walk out of his life. "I hope you find what you're looking for."
It was the first and last time they ever broke up. It was three torturous months that they were apart. The second Eric saw Tami with someone else on campus, he knew he made a big mistake. It took another month, but eventually Tami gave in to him. It seemed like ever since then, she had the upper hand in their relationship.
"Honey, there's Smash?" Tami said, pointing at the television.
Eric made his way out of the kitchen, wanting to hear what Smash was about to say to the media. "There's a lot of talk around Dillon that Taylor is not the right guy for the job?" The reporter said, putting the microphone in Smash's face.
Defend me, Eric thought. He knew this kid wasn't thrilled with Eric right now, but he knew this kid was smart. He hoped this kid trusted him. Then Smash spoke. "See, man, I can't even mess with you. You're already trying to get me in trouble."
Tami noticed the stress lines deepening on Eric's face. The reporter continued. "I want to know where you stand. You must have an opinion?"
Come on, Smash, Eric thought to himself. "Oh, I have an opinion."
The reporter pushed again. "I would too. You have a lot to lose if the coach mismanages this team."
Tami's eyes widened at the nerve of that reporter, but Eric just focused in, the fury building. "Off the record, I just think Coach should be winning football games."
How dare he! Eric couldn't believe it. He officially lost all control and he was going to gain it back. Tonight!
He didn't even hear Tami. "Let it go" She said sternly. She could see how upset he was. He pursed his lips, his eyes searching the floor of what to do next. He turned off the television and walked over to where the cordless phone was. "He's a stupid kid, hon. Let it go." She wasn't getting her message through to him. He started dialing the phone, focused. Mad. "Eric?" She questioned. "What are you doing?"
He paced and smirked at her, giving her a look saying 'I always win'. "Just let it go. Come on."
She then listened to his one sided conversation. "Mac? Yeah. Yes, I did just see it. I want you to get the team together and I want you to meet me at the field house in half an hour." He was still pacing as Tami looked at him in disbelief. "Yes, Mac. I know what time it is. Mac! Field house in half an hour. Thank you." He started gathering his things, hanging up the phone and nodding to Tami as he walked toward the front door.
"Bye." She called to him, knowing there was no sense in trying to stop him. He rarely got like this and she knew it was best to just let him go. He would come back to her. He always did.
"You guys have a nice night now." He said, slamming the door.
He let his boys have it. Who the hell did they think they were? There was no room for disrespect. In his eyes, the media was the enemy and Smash was entertaining them. Smash was always running his mouth, but never against him and never against his team.
He didn't care that it was almost 11:00pm. He didn't care that it was raining out. He didn't care that these boys could break their ankles running through water and uneven ground. These boys were going to know who was in charge. His boys were going to respect him.
He didn't walk back into the house until 2:45am. After returning the bus to the field house, he took a shower in the locker room. He was soaked and knew he'd wake Tami if he tried to do it at home. He silently thanked Tami when she brought a change of clothes to store in his office.
He stepped lightly into his bedroom, stripping himself of his pants and shirt. Wearing just his checkered boxers and white t-shirt, he slowly pulled back the covers, sliding his body in next to hers. He slid his right arm over her torso, reaching for her hand.
"It's three o'clock in the morning. Where have you been?" She was awake, wondering for the past hour how he was punishing those kids.
"Practice."
She rolled over to face him, stroking his cheek and looking deeply into his eyes. "I get why you did what you did tonight." She moved her hands, from his face to his back, rubbing it soothingly. "I understand the need for them to see you differently. But at some point, when is it all too much?"
"I don't know."
"You have to let it go sometimes."
"I can't. I just can't." He tried to formulate the words that were plaguing his mind. "Nobody trusts me to do my job. No one is this damn town believes me."
"I believe in you."
"I know that."
"You need to try and calm down. You need to believe in yourself too."
He smiled, his chest rising a little bit as he felt a familiar stirring in his pants. "You know, you could assist in the calming down part." He made eye contact, smiling a little more.
His smile was contagious. He was always so stern, so to see him reveal himself like that was such a turn on for her. Plus, his smile always reached his eyes and God, she loved his eyes.
She rolled over on top of him, pushing him on his back, his head surrounded by the pillows. She captured his lips with hers, feeling his hardness below. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, placing a hand on her head, pulling her closer to him. He needed her right now. He needed to release all the stress he buried deep within. She pulled back, making eye contact, his eyes questioning. "Exactly, what kind of assistance are you looking for?" She rubbed her groin against his, adding to the mounting pressure, feeling so unbelievably good.
He needed to feel the control. He hated that he lost a bit of that this week. He rolled her onto her back, hovering above her. He kissed her deeply, again, his hands starting to roam her body, his lips moving to her breasts. She played with his hair as he did so, loving how his lips felt on her chest.
He then pulled her tank top down, revealing her nipple, lapping it with his tongue. His hands continued to roam, grabbing her ass. He always had a hard time controlling himself with her. "I don't need much." He got that out through the heavy breathing.
Tami laughed. She threw her head back and laughed. It was three o'clock in the morning and she was laughing a true genuine laugh. "You never did."
"You trying to tell me somethin'?"
She started to move herself into a sitting position, pushing Eric back a bit, guiding him to lie down. She straddled him, slowly moving herself back and forth, back and forth. The friction between his boxers and her pajama shorts was enough to draw a loud groan from him.
"Yes." She pulled his t-shirt off, with his assistance, not caring what she was going to do to him next. She kissed his bare chest, his stomach, pulling the elastic to kiss his hips. She slowly started to pull his boxers off, speaking softly and seductively. "I love having this much control over you." She moved her mouth to his manhood, doing it exactly the way she perfected it for him over the years.
"You can control me any time you want."
Please review if you can, just so I know that someone is actually reading these and/or looking for updates. I hate wondering if it is worth it to continue.