Two Minute Drill (Bases Loaded Jam Series #2)

Ch. 2: Signing Day (Gordon)

The state championship trophy sits on a table, which overlooks the high school basketball gym, where thousands of students sit down. Today is a big day for three of us on the football team. This is the day where we get to decide which college we would be playing for to further our football careers.

To my left is Gary Poole, our star defensive back who led the state with eight interceptions including three pick-sixes, with one happening in the state title game. He was still feeling pissed off over the fact that he was rated number five in the nation. For someone that led the nation interceptions, being number five was disrespectful. He should've been number one. But he was dealing with offers from either Auburn, Michigan State, and Tennessee. All three schools had a hat that was sitting in front of him on the table.

To my right is Charles Fulton, the right tackle who made a key block for me in my game-winning run. As the number two ranked player in the nation in his position, Fulton was getting offers left and right from all schools that were interested in him. But, when it came time to decide, his top three choices were Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Texas. All these teams were in need of a right tackle and he was the perfect choice for them. The question remained who would he choose.

That left me in the middle with my three choices. I had a red hat that featured a yellow man with a helmet on, another red hat with OU, and a blue hat with an alligator sitting in front of me. My top three choices were Florida, Oklahoma, and USC. I visited all three schools and liked everyone of them. There were some cons with each of them.

Playing for Oklahoma meant I would play for a team that every season was in hopes of a national championship. But, it would also mean I would have to take a backseat to the star running back the Sooners would have for the upcoming season. I didn't mind being a team player. But I wanted to throw the ball more. Playing for Florida meant I would be in the Southeastern Conference, the best conference in the football. I would certainly be a top notch recruit, but I would have to battle to earn my spot as the quarterback. Playing for USC meant playing for perhaps the biggest football factory ever and being among the bests. But, it also meant having to deal with off-field distractions being a big part of life.

By distractions, I'm talking people inviting you to parties either on campus or in downtown Los Angeles. I had heard stories about recruits being invited to places in Los Angeles to spend time with big time names or celebrities. While I didn't go to one of these gatherings when I visited USC, I figure choosing to go to USC would lead to me being invited to these and possibly taking me away from my studies in both the classroom and on the football field.

The principal at our school speaks and tells everyone how proud he is of what we had achieved for our careers here and how we would be proud representatives of this high school. He then turns to our head coach, who gives his thoughts on our time here. The coach says that the three of us our just examples of what it truly means to be proud representatives of this school. We worked hard and had fun doing things while using our intelligence to make the best grades in school.

Soon, it's our turn to speak. Gary picks up the white hat with the blue and orange AU on it. He's going to Auburn University and the crowd cheers. Charles plays a game of eeny, meeny, miny, moe just for fun before he makes his actual selection of Oklahoma. Again, there's a loud cheer from the crowd. Soon, it's my turn. At that moment, I had a good feeling of the choice I was going to make. This choice would get me a chance to step up in the football ranks and potentially make the NFL. It had always been my dream.

While my childhood could be described as having a silver spoon in my mouth, my parents believed in hard work and dedication. My dad worked in the oil business and benefited the profits as an oil tycoon. If you're familiar with the TV show Dallas, my dad would be described as J.R Ewing, but good. My mother taught math at my high school. I never had her classes, but she always tried to make sure I was on top of my grades and such.