End Zone (SEU #3)

[ 04 ] IMPORTANT MATTERS

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[ 04 ] IMPORTANT MATTERS

MATTEO

My nose tickled as the makeup artists tapped something on my face. I was a bit confused on what they were doing and why the artists were patting my face down with this powder. I didn't bother asking what it was but it looked similar to something I remember my mother and Tosha using whenever they went out. I knew it was makeup but did I really need makeup for a sports drink Ad commercial?

I sat on a crew's set chair, shirtless with only football pants on with pads.

My manager Todd Wilson and team were on a mission to expand my brand past being the notorious university football player born into a wealthy lineage. Instead, after completing university, I wanted my image to change. Proposing to Tosha was a huge step into my change, after signing to a team of course but there were many things that changed who I was as a person. Getting married to Tosha was one of the best things I'd done and while proposing to her and watching her walk down the aisle, the only thing I could think of was how spot-on Nana's dream was years prior.

Bottling my emotions for so long changed during those moments. I was overwhelmed by the transparency of truth that all things that occurred in the past, whether good or bad, were definitely necessary in Tosha and I's love story. I decided that I wanted to make a change early on once we were both successful in our careers. The most prominent statement to changing the direction of my life for the better was proving to Tosha that I was serious about her and my commitment to her. Our engagement and marriage ceremony were intimate but I always allowed everyone I came into contact with that I was indeed a husband now and I loved having Tosha not only as my friend but also as my wife.

Our wedding day was difficult and although my family and friends were supportive, the absence of Tosha's father weighed heavy on her and it was noticeable. I did all that I could to honor her mother and incorporate her side of the family but deep down inside, I knew it would have made her smile just a bit wider if her father was in attendance.

After university and marriage, getting signed to a professional football team was my dream but I hadn't realized that things would change. I spent less time with my wife, family and friends. And the fans and girls lusting after me had reached a level I'd become outstandingly uncomfortable with. The blogs carried stories of their own and at the start of my career, each story seemed worse the last. Rumors piled up against me and once my marriage to Tosha went public, I was uneasy about how she was navigating the fame that came with being the wife of a professional football player.

Tosha kept a low profile for the most part, even while accompanying me to events. I did my best to keep her in the position she wanted to remain. I didn't wish to hide my wife but I knew she'd gone through enough while we were finishing university and dating and although people were aware that she and I had been together for a while, their curiousness and constant prying into our relationship weren't anything Tosha nor myself wanted as we stepped into marriage.

Life after university was a learning curve but some of those changes were unexpected. One of those changes was with my long-term friend and past teammate, Tremaine Wright. He'd signed a deal with a team overseas while Emilio Rodriguez, a former teammate, gave up football altogether. A few other teammates never went pro but started families or stepped into different careers.

My schedule in my career and with all the different new beginnings in many of my teammates and friends' lives, it was hard to sustain those relationships. Instead, I formed a brotherhood with my current teammates and I will say, that although my name was well known in Ridgeport, adjustments were still made. In the eyes of many of the veterans or other guys who were in the game for a few years, I was still a rookie. Although I hated the mere thought of starting over, I was always a team player, and a few pranks and teasing during training camp weren't enough to push me out of the field.