No Father's Son
-
redsox907
Topic author - Posts: 5611
- Joined: 01 Jun 2025, 12:40
-
redsox907
Topic author - Posts: 5611
- Joined: 01 Jun 2025, 12:40
No Father's Son
Chapter Forty-Two: Glory Lasts Forever
“One chance. One opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment. Are you going to capture it, or just let it slip?”
Someone snorted a laugh from behind me, breaking my concentration mid-speech.
“Do you mind?” I fired back over my shoulder to Jessica, who had snuck up behind me while I practiced my pregame speech for the National Championship and shattered my concentration.
“You aren’t really going to quote Eminem verbatim before the biggest game of your career, are you?” There was still a hint of amusement in her voice, clearly still pleased with herself for successfully startling me despite the stillness of the hotel room. I couldn’t stay mad at her for long, after all, she came bearing gifts of cheesecake.
“I don’t know,” I laughed in reply, turning around to take my plate from her outstretched hands and motioning for her to sit in the plushy chair staged by the desk in the bedroom as I took the seat adjacent to hers.
“You know what’s crazy,” I said around a mouthful of cheesecake, “And I didn’t even realize it, Tara Lydia did. When I was preparing to leave for Oregon State, we sat together and watched the Hurricanes beat the Hoosiers, in the same stadium I’m about to play in. I told Tara Lydia one day I’d be on that stage celebrating a National Championship. I just didn’t realize, it might literally be that stage,” I finished with a laugh.
“Is that why you’re currently alone in your hotel room, overthinking a speech you’ve given a thousand times before?” Jessica teased through her own bite. I nodded solemnly while taking another bite of my own, before fully acknowledging.
“I usually just wing it, but it feels too important of a moment to just say ‘fuck it,’ ya know?”
“So, don’t just say fuck it. Talk about sacrifice, after all, you know as well as any of them how much sacrifice it took to get to this moment,” the comment was meant to sound helpful, but the undertones were clearly personal, which became even more evident with her next statement.
“And I’m not just talking about the work during the season. The leap of faith to come to Oklahoma, or to stay in Norman for some of ‘em, is just as important as all the work done after.”
“I get it now,” she continued, with a softness in her voice that was there the last time we’d had the conversation regarding the chaotic whirlwind of events that landed us in Norman months apart.
“You believed this was where you would have the most impact and no one can argue you were wrong—win or lose tomorrow.”
“I just wish-“
I cut her off with a quick kiss, leaning across the desk to ensure there was enough force behind it to make my intentions known.
“I wish I had handed it better too, hun,” I whispered against her lips as I edged my chair closer to hers. We stayed like that for a beat, lips pressed together, breathing in each other’s exhaled breath together, before I pulled back just enough to hold her eyes for a moment.
“All we can do now is make the best of it. We’re here, together, and that’s what matters the most.”
Jessica didn’t answer, just gave a small knowing nod, then leaned in for another passionate kiss, telling me more than words themselves could have.
“But right now, it’s pretty quiet in this hotel suite,” I huffed, pulling away once again with more effort than previously. “Where are the kids?”
A small smile started as understanding set in, slowly spreading from ear to ear before she answered. “They’re both out with my parents right now, I told ‘em you’d need some quiet time to get ready for the morning.”
“I think the best way for me to get ready, is for you to wish me luck one more time.”
“Before the kids get back,” I quickly added, hoisting Jessica off the chair and tossing her onto the bed gently.
“Aye-aye, Flyboy,” she breathed against my lips as we met on the bed.
The serenity of the hotel suite felt like a millennium later standing in the visitors locker room at Hard Rock Stadium the next night, waiting for the usual hush to settle over the locker room before I started my pregame speech signaling it was almost time to take the field one last time this season.
“I went back and forth about how to send us into the final game of the season,” I bellowed over the team, earning the attention of the few stragglers still lost in their own conversations or pregame rituals.
“I was going to talk about seizing the opportunity, about how getting here is only part of the ride. But, I think this group knows all about seizing an opportunity. So instead, we’re going to talk about doubt.”
“Many of you had the opportunity to leave—whether for more money, playing time, or simply a less criticized coach—yet instead of giving into doubt, you believed. You took a leap of faith on me, a man many of you hadn’t even met more than once, and this program. Some of you even chose to follow me here in the portal. From the moment you agreed to be a part of the 2029 Oklahoma Sooners, you signed up for a crusade against doubt.”
“All season we’ve listened to the national media, sometimes even our own local reporters, question us. Our preparation, our commitment, discipline, and love of the game. With each win, we cut a small chunk out of the doubt others had piled onto us.”
“Yet for all the work we’ve done this season, doubt remains. They doubt we can win without Oscar at 100%. Doubt that we can overcome the home field advantage for the Hurricanes. Hell, they even doubt that I can coach in a big game, as if we haven’t run the gauntlet this season and come out with only a minor scrape.”
“If we’re keeping it a buck, even I had doubt. Let’s not forget, I spent the first three months in Norman living out of a suitcase in a hotel room, with my family hundreds of miles away in College Park. You think I didn’t have doubts on those lonely nights, wondering if I’d made the right decision? But, I used those as fuel to prove myself right, first and foremost.”
“One more win and we can officially cast any doubt that remains out, because in the light of glory, there can be no doubt.”
“Glory lasts forever. If we go out there, execute like we have all season, and perform to the standard we hold ourselves to, we’re going to be on that stage as National Champions when the final whistle blows. Once this group of men is crowned a National Champion, nothing can take that away.”
“Because glory lasts forever.”
“So on this final conquest that stands before us, I ask that you don’t take that field for me. Or even the University of Oklahoma. I ask that you take it for you, to be one of many who finish casting away the doubt that clouded the start of the 2029 season.”
“Because, here in Norman, Oklahoma? We play like a champion.”
“EVERY! DAMN! DAY!”
“Boomer Sooner on three!”
“ONE, TWO…”
My own shout of three was swallowed by the cascades of threes from the team combined with the sudden symphonic hammering of helmets and cleats.
That symphony quickly overtook the tunnel before being swallowed by another, much louder, ensemble of cheering fans and deafening announcements.
The time for talk was over. It was time to seize glory, one final time.
“One chance. One opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment. Are you going to capture it, or just let it slip?”
Someone snorted a laugh from behind me, breaking my concentration mid-speech.
“Do you mind?” I fired back over my shoulder to Jessica, who had snuck up behind me while I practiced my pregame speech for the National Championship and shattered my concentration.
“You aren’t really going to quote Eminem verbatim before the biggest game of your career, are you?” There was still a hint of amusement in her voice, clearly still pleased with herself for successfully startling me despite the stillness of the hotel room. I couldn’t stay mad at her for long, after all, she came bearing gifts of cheesecake.
“I don’t know,” I laughed in reply, turning around to take my plate from her outstretched hands and motioning for her to sit in the plushy chair staged by the desk in the bedroom as I took the seat adjacent to hers.
“You know what’s crazy,” I said around a mouthful of cheesecake, “And I didn’t even realize it, Tara Lydia did. When I was preparing to leave for Oregon State, we sat together and watched the Hurricanes beat the Hoosiers, in the same stadium I’m about to play in. I told Tara Lydia one day I’d be on that stage celebrating a National Championship. I just didn’t realize, it might literally be that stage,” I finished with a laugh.
“Is that why you’re currently alone in your hotel room, overthinking a speech you’ve given a thousand times before?” Jessica teased through her own bite. I nodded solemnly while taking another bite of my own, before fully acknowledging.
“I usually just wing it, but it feels too important of a moment to just say ‘fuck it,’ ya know?”
“So, don’t just say fuck it. Talk about sacrifice, after all, you know as well as any of them how much sacrifice it took to get to this moment,” the comment was meant to sound helpful, but the undertones were clearly personal, which became even more evident with her next statement.
“And I’m not just talking about the work during the season. The leap of faith to come to Oklahoma, or to stay in Norman for some of ‘em, is just as important as all the work done after.”
“I get it now,” she continued, with a softness in her voice that was there the last time we’d had the conversation regarding the chaotic whirlwind of events that landed us in Norman months apart.
“You believed this was where you would have the most impact and no one can argue you were wrong—win or lose tomorrow.”
“I just wish-“
I cut her off with a quick kiss, leaning across the desk to ensure there was enough force behind it to make my intentions known.
“I wish I had handed it better too, hun,” I whispered against her lips as I edged my chair closer to hers. We stayed like that for a beat, lips pressed together, breathing in each other’s exhaled breath together, before I pulled back just enough to hold her eyes for a moment.
“All we can do now is make the best of it. We’re here, together, and that’s what matters the most.”
Jessica didn’t answer, just gave a small knowing nod, then leaned in for another passionate kiss, telling me more than words themselves could have.
“But right now, it’s pretty quiet in this hotel suite,” I huffed, pulling away once again with more effort than previously. “Where are the kids?”
A small smile started as understanding set in, slowly spreading from ear to ear before she answered. “They’re both out with my parents right now, I told ‘em you’d need some quiet time to get ready for the morning.”
“I think the best way for me to get ready, is for you to wish me luck one more time.”
“Before the kids get back,” I quickly added, hoisting Jessica off the chair and tossing her onto the bed gently.
“Aye-aye, Flyboy,” she breathed against my lips as we met on the bed.
The serenity of the hotel suite felt like a millennium later standing in the visitors locker room at Hard Rock Stadium the next night, waiting for the usual hush to settle over the locker room before I started my pregame speech signaling it was almost time to take the field one last time this season.
“I went back and forth about how to send us into the final game of the season,” I bellowed over the team, earning the attention of the few stragglers still lost in their own conversations or pregame rituals.
“I was going to talk about seizing the opportunity, about how getting here is only part of the ride. But, I think this group knows all about seizing an opportunity. So instead, we’re going to talk about doubt.”
“Many of you had the opportunity to leave—whether for more money, playing time, or simply a less criticized coach—yet instead of giving into doubt, you believed. You took a leap of faith on me, a man many of you hadn’t even met more than once, and this program. Some of you even chose to follow me here in the portal. From the moment you agreed to be a part of the 2029 Oklahoma Sooners, you signed up for a crusade against doubt.”
“All season we’ve listened to the national media, sometimes even our own local reporters, question us. Our preparation, our commitment, discipline, and love of the game. With each win, we cut a small chunk out of the doubt others had piled onto us.”
“Yet for all the work we’ve done this season, doubt remains. They doubt we can win without Oscar at 100%. Doubt that we can overcome the home field advantage for the Hurricanes. Hell, they even doubt that I can coach in a big game, as if we haven’t run the gauntlet this season and come out with only a minor scrape.”
“If we’re keeping it a buck, even I had doubt. Let’s not forget, I spent the first three months in Norman living out of a suitcase in a hotel room, with my family hundreds of miles away in College Park. You think I didn’t have doubts on those lonely nights, wondering if I’d made the right decision? But, I used those as fuel to prove myself right, first and foremost.”
“One more win and we can officially cast any doubt that remains out, because in the light of glory, there can be no doubt.”
“Glory lasts forever. If we go out there, execute like we have all season, and perform to the standard we hold ourselves to, we’re going to be on that stage as National Champions when the final whistle blows. Once this group of men is crowned a National Champion, nothing can take that away.”
“Because glory lasts forever.”
“So on this final conquest that stands before us, I ask that you don’t take that field for me. Or even the University of Oklahoma. I ask that you take it for you, to be one of many who finish casting away the doubt that clouded the start of the 2029 season.”
“Because, here in Norman, Oklahoma? We play like a champion.”
“EVERY! DAMN! DAY!”
“Boomer Sooner on three!”
“ONE, TWO…”
My own shout of three was swallowed by the cascades of threes from the team combined with the sudden symphonic hammering of helmets and cleats.
That symphony quickly overtook the tunnel before being swallowed by another, much louder, ensemble of cheering fans and deafening announcements.
The time for talk was over. It was time to seize glory, one final time.
-
djp73
- Posts: 12855
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 13:42
-
Caesar
- Chise GOAT
- Posts: 16250
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 10:47
No Father's Son
Should've just gone with the Eminem.
-
Soapy
- Posts: 15709
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 18:42
No Father's Son
can't lose to these lame ahh motherfuckers, mario
-
redsox907
Topic author - Posts: 5611
- Joined: 01 Jun 2025, 12:40
No Father's Son
if the chise goat can do it
-
redsox907
Topic author - Posts: 5611
- Joined: 01 Jun 2025, 12:40
No Father's Son
then the people can do it
-
redsox907
Topic author - Posts: 5611
- Joined: 01 Jun 2025, 12:40
No Father's Son
cant put the natty at the bottom
-
redsox907
Topic author - Posts: 5611
- Joined: 01 Jun 2025, 12:40
