Stuck on You | All American

Chapter 1

I can taste victory in the air, even with my teammates nowhere near me, even with the huge players on the opposing team charging at me, wanting to prove that how much I don't belong on the field with them. But I block all that out, focus on the end-zone and getting this win for my team. Time felt like it had stopped for everybody else but me, like I could skip to the end-zone if I really wanted to.

I could see the goal line, I push myself harder and faster until I carry the football into the end-zone. Another win goes to Crenshaw. The thunderous cheers from the stands. Hundreds, the stands are filled with men, woman, and children waving their hands and holding up homemade signs. I live for the cheers that surround me, I bask in the celebration; every play, every tackle, every moment led to this very win tonight.

"That's what I'm talking about, Sam!" Spencer exclaims right before our teammates rushes over, hauling me up in the air.

The adrenaline is running high but I know that once it ends, I'm going to crash out. The crowd has it easy, good entertainment, eating, and drinking while I get to be smack around by a bunch of musty and sweaty guys. I just couldn't just be a normal girl and sit in the stands, cheering for Spencer and Chris. Nope, that fate was not for me instead I became the girl who dragged my school to court just so I can tryout for the football team.

I fought hard against the school for them to recruit me on the team, and I had people who support me backing me up — even signed a petition and now look at me, the very first female to join the boys football team not only in the city but in the state. The decision gave me a lot of respect around the neighborhood for not giving up and actually being a part of the team, but I cannot say the same for school though. But when there's love there's always hate lurking nearby.

There's about a handful of girls who actually respect me for breaking barriers for us female by making it known that there's no such thing as a men sport. But the other females thought I was doing this for attention and this is when the drama started. I started getting into a lot more fights, I try to avoid fighting as much as I can but it's kind of hard when the girls around here are always on attack mode every time they see me. And I had my best friends, Coop and Chris, and my twin brother, Spencer ready for anything.

Eventually the teammates learn to accept me, well, accept the fact that I was not going anywhere. When I got on the team the boys kept running plays that they knew would injure me, I once had ten of them jump on me and then while I laid on the ground in pain one of them had the nerve to ask me, "if I had a little dirt in my skirt," they were assholes back then. But I had it under control, I came back stronger and went after the ten people who decided to jump on top of me. And that was the last time they ever tried to pull that stunt on me.

I was getting heat from my team thinking I'll cost them the game, and I was getting heat from the opposing team. Truly felt like me vs my team and the opposing team in the beginning. They would constantly ask if I'm on the wrong side of the field, implying that I should be on the sidelines with the cheerleaders. Though I stopped getting heat from my team, the taunting never stopped from any team as went up against. It'll never stop and I just have to live with it.

And I hate that, I establish my role into this field but yet still have to work ten times hard because I'm a female, a black one at that. I take pride in my craft because I didn't wake up knowing how to play football, you gotta have real skill gotta work for that. If it's really your passion, would you give the world for that? Unlike a lot of these players whether wack or lit, at least I can say I actually put my blood, sweat, and tears in perfecting my craft. Gonna be every team number one pick in the draft!

Being in this field at such a young age I had to face a lot of sexism, and it did start to get to me overtime but giving up wasn't and isn't an option — not for me at least.