Koesler grimaced. “Patrick, that’s about all I can take of your references to how far above ground level we are. It started with your asking the usher if he issued parachutes and it has come down to nosebleeds. I’m takin’ it all too much to heart.”
“Well, next time invest some money. I mean, I’m paying for my ticket and I don’t mind paying a little bit more to get a decent seat. After all, Robert, we only go ’round once. Why not live now and then with a little better seat for a football game?”
“Hey, any time you want to be ticketbroker, be my guest. These were about the only seats available. The really good seats are inherited from one generation to the next. Or they are the final item in a divorce settlement.”
“Speaking of divorces, what did I read in the paper about the owners of this team getting a divorce?”
Koesler nodded. “If you can believe the gossip columns, that seems to be true. Funny, I had gotten the impression that the Galloways might reconcile. At least I gathered that from Jay Galloway. Apparently, Mrs. G. was having nothing to do with it; if you want to believe the rumors, it’s Splitsville.”
“Yeah, the columnist in the
“Let those who like to read that stuff read it. As for me, reading about a nasty divorce is about as much fun as watching an autopsy up close and in living color.” Koesler had to nearly shout the last words, for the timeout was over, and the two teams were gathering forces to do battle again. The spectator noise rose again.
“Well, what do you think, Lou? The Cougars have the ball on their own 20, first and ten, two minutes to go, and down by five. A field goal isn’t going to make it. They’ve got to go for a touchdown. Think they can do it?”
“Dunno. The next two minutes will tell the tale. The Cougars break their huddle. They line up in a spread formation. It figures Bobby Cobb is going to have every eligible receiver going out for a pass. New York has its nickel defense in-an extra defensive back. There’s the snap. Cobb fades. It’s a draw! It’s a draw play! He sent the fullback right up the middle. He’s got ten. . twenty. . twenty-five yards before they can stop him. It’s a first down and the Cougars take a timeout. It’ll be first and ten at the Cougars’ 45-yard line. How about that, Eddie?”
“Right you are, Lou. The Cougars really fooled New York with that draw. And it was an audible. Bobby Cobb called that one at the line of scrimmage. He saw New York falling back for the deep pass and he set ’em up. We’ll be right back after these messages.”
McNiff thought twice about picking up his conversation with Koesler with all the pandemonium in the stadium. But he decided to give it another try. “You know, I don’t want to drive this ticket thing into the ground, but you do know the owner.”
“Galloway?” Koesler shouted back. “Just barely, and now, not on the best of terms.”
“Won’t there be any more meetings of the God Squad?” McNiff still harbored hopes of being included.
Koesler laughed. “Boy, I don’t think so. That’s dead as a doornail. I don’t know that they’ll even be speaking to each other. Did you see in the paper where Dave Whitman is going back to Minneapolis and Multifoods? Says they made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. And maybe that’s so. But I think he would have gone anywhere to get away from Jay Galloway.”
“Pretty soon it’s going to be Galloway against the world. “
“That’s the way it started,” Koesler rejoined.
“I even saw in the paper where there’s some dissension on the team. . some bad blood between Cobb and the trainer.”
Koesler nodded. “They had some angry words at the last meeting. Some people are reluctant to believe it, but I think there are times when the spoken word is more permanent than words carved in stone.”
The timeout was over. The Cougars were returning to the line of scrimmage. Koesler and McNiff along with all the other spectators rose to their feet to give the Cougars all the encouragement their almost hoarse voices could muster.
“Here they come again, Lou. Their work’s cut out for them, with only 1:45 to go.”
“And they’re in the shotgun formation, Eddie. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them stay in that formation for the rest of the game. This is close to desperation time. Cobb takes the ball and fades. He can’t find anyone open. He’s scrambling and being chased. He’s waving his receivers into different patterns. Uh-oh, the left linebacker almost got him. He’s using up precious seconds. Okay, he’s got his man. Hoffer came back from a deep post pattern and he’s got the ball and is tackled on the spot. It’s a fifteen-yard gain. The clock is still running! Why don’t the Cougars call a timeout? Okay, finally they do. But letting the clock run like that may just have been a fatal mistake!”
“I’m afraid you’re right, Lou. The Cougars now have the ball on New York’s 40-yard line. They’ve used up their last timeout and there are just twelve seconds left on the clock. In all probability, the next play will be the last one of this game. And you can bet New York’s going to have everybody way back covering what has to be one of those old ‘Hail Mary’ passes.
“You know, Lou, this game has largely belonged to Hoffer and, of course, Cobb. The question on everybody’s mind this week has been, How badly are the Cougars going to miss the Hun? And I think young Hoffer has answered that question this afternoon.
“Although all Cobb’s passes to Hoffer have been of the short variety, this is what you expect from a tight end. Tight ends are not deep threats. But for what he is, Hoffer looks like he’s gonna fill the Hun’s shoes and more. Even if the Cougars lose this afternoon-and right now it sure looks like they will-this Cougar team has found itself a premier attraction. The crowd has taken Hoffer to their hearts. He’s gonna have a really great career.”
“Oh, I’m glad I’m not in the land of cotton. .” Bobby Cobb sang his parody of the Confederate anthem, “Dixie.” Again, it was one of his ways of keeping his team loose. And at this moment, he needed to remain as self- possessed as any of his teammates.
There were only a few seconds left in the timeout. And then, the final play of this game. Cobb beckoned Hoffer to bend close. “Well, Hoff, old man, we been foolin’ with this short game all afternoon. These dudes from the Big Apple know by this time that you can catch a short pass with the best of ’em. What they don’t know is that you got the afterburners of a rocket. I think it’s about time to show ’em what you got.”
Hoffer grinned from ear to ear. “Like, man, I thought you’d never ask.”
“I’m gonna call an eighty-nine out of the shotgun. That’ll get all the backs and wide receivers deep into the end zone, hopefully with most all the defensive backs. You delay a couple seconds, then give me a post pattern. If this works, I’ll hit you on about the 5-yard line. You gotta get it in from there. If it don’t work, that’s all she wrote.”
“Okay, Lou, the Cougars are coming up to the line. This is it.”
“Right. The noise is deafening. Cobb is waving his arms, asking for quiet so his team can hear the signals. He’s getting some cooperation. There’s the snap. It’s only a three-man rush. The Cougars’ defensive line seems well able to contain that rush. As anticipated, every receiver is cutting deep, but the retreating defensive backs are with them step for step.
“Wait a minute. I didn’t even see this: Hoffer has broken downfield after a delay. There’s a linebacker with him, but he’ll never keep up. Holy Christmas, I’ve never seen a tight end with that kind of speed.
“Cobb fires the ball. It’s a clothesliner. It may be too hot to handle. Hoffer goes up at the five. Holy-I didn’t think anybody could get up that high! Hoffer’s got it on his fingertips. He gathers it in. And he’s hit. One, two, three defensive backs all over him. But he hasn’t stopped. Those legs are still pumping. He’s carrying three defensive players all over him! Now he’s hit by the fourth back and he’s toppling. He falls. He’s down. Wait. . wait a minute! The referee has both hands raised. Hoffer broke the plane of the goal line! He scored! He scored! He scored! I don’t believe it! Four men on him and he scored! And the Cougars win it! It’s a miracle! It’s over; it’s all over! The game’s over and the Cougars win it!”
It’s like a miracle, thought Koesler, as all around him went berserk. As far as he was concerned, it seemed to bring everything full circle. It all started last Sunday and it was all over this Sunday. It thoroughly satisfied the priest’s deep-felt need for symmetry in life.
God’s in Her heaven; all’s right with the world.
