"I don't know. I'm going to bed. We have a busy day tomorrow," Julian yawned. Tom turned off the lamp at his bedside and rolled over to sleep. Julian tore off his shirt and crawled under the ugly blankets of his bed.
Julian woke up to the sound of the hotel rooms shower. The water splashing against the plastic tub made a noise that sounded through the whole hotel room. He rubbed his eyes, making them adjust to the sunlight that was peaking into the windows. He stood from the bed and steadied himself before preceding to his bag. He dug around in the bag until he found the white quarter-zip jacket he was supposed to wear. It had his number and Patriots symbol on the front of it.
Media Day. The day where all of the players got into small booths and were asked questions by reporters, fellow players, and fans. Every team that made it to the Super Bowl had experienced Media Day. It was a day for everyone to get an inside look into how the players were preparing for the big game. Most of the questions ended up being fun ones like who their favorite member of One Direction was.
Tom came into view, all ready to go for Media Day. "Belichick wants us to meet in the lobby," Tom said. "Are you almost ready?"
"Yeah, I'm ready," Julian answered. He buckled his watch on his dominant wrist and exited the hotel room with Tom. The duo took an empty elevator down to the lobby. "Where is everyone?" Julian asked.
"I don't know. Maybe we're early," Tom said. He checked his watch. Belichick hadn't given them a time to meet in the lobby but he worried seeing that none of their teammates were with them.
"Or late," Julian said in a negative manner. The elevator finally got them to their destination and they quickly scuffled to the filled lobby.
"Gentlemen, nice of you to join us," Belichick said in his cranky voice. Julian stuffed his hands deep in his pockets and looked at the patterned floor. It was shaped like diamonds and sparkled like them too.
"We win on Sunday, your ring will be covered in tons of little diamonds like this," Tom whispered when he realized Julian marveling at the floor.
"Now, as I was saying, the media will try to get anything they can out of you. Don't let them know our game plan. That is for them to see on the field on Sunday and not a second earlier. They may ask you fun questions, roll with it, that's how we get more people to root for us on Sunday is for them to see your charming personality," Belichick concluded his speech. The team buses pulled up behind him as he finished talking. "Load up men."
The team could have walked to the facility where they held Media Day but due to safety precautions they were ordered to take a bus. The facility was four blocks from their hotel and it seemed like a waste to take these two large buses. Tom pointed out Julian's window as they passed the stadium. Tom had been there for a Super Bowl once already, Julian had never been there.
Julian gulped. The stadium was empty now but in four short days it would be filled with screaming fans. It would be filled with hopes and dreams. It would be filled with one victorious team. And also one losing team. And also one forgetful wife.
The team buses pulled up to the back entrance of the facility. The front parking lot was filled with cars who drove Media members here to interview the players.
The players shuffled quickly off the team bus, trying not to anger their always cranky coach. The building was dark compared to the sunny Arizona skies. The players were escorted down a hallway until they arrived at a large door. It was orange and had the NFL's symbol plastered on it. Two men, who wore identical black uniforms, opened the doors letting the 53 men and their coaches into the arena type setting. There were 53 booths, arranged by player number, set up in nearly even rows.
Julian and Tom found their booths next to each other. "You ready?" Tom asked. He was a natural at Media Day by now, he had been through it 6 times. Julian nodded. The clock struck 3 o'clock and the reporters were released into the room and it immediately turned into a jungle. Tom's booth instantly had the largest crowd surrounding him. To Julian's surprise he had the second largest crowd and reporters instantly began asking him questions.
The crowd was filled with people from Boston, Seattle, Phoenix, California, and New York. But hidden in the middle of the crowd was a petite blonde woman from Louisville, Kentucky.
Julian found her baby blue eyes as soon as she appeared. A sheepish smile appeared on her face. She held her notepad up to Julian signaling she was working. A bead of sweat formed on Julian's forehead. He hadn't expected to see her. He shifted his gaze to the other reporters before he became too flustered.
A tall brunette woman standing towards the front rose her hand first, waiting for Julian to call on her. He took a deep breath and pointed at the woman. "Hi Julian, you've been to the Super Bowl once before and suffered a loss to the Giants. Does this time feel any different?" She asked into her microphone.
"This time feels different for me personally. Last time I wasn't on the filed often, we had guys like Randy Moss and Wes Welker out there. This time I am on the field and catching passes from my QB. This time it feels like I am really contributing to the team," Julian answered. He hoped his answer was good enough, his mind wasn't able to think clearly.
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Reporters continued asking him questions. Any predictions for the game? Are you sad you will miss Katy Perry performing the halftime show? How has your relationship with Tom Brady helped influence your game? What is a secret that nobody knows about Bill Belichick? How many hoodies does Belichick actually own?
The questions kept coming and so did the answers. For a while it was easy for Julian to forget about everything Mara even though she was standing there. Until his last question. A short woman standing towards the back of his now shrinking crowd, rose her hand. Julian nodded at her. "How is your wife?" Julian's eyes widened. He froze. How is your wife? What does that have to do with football? Why was he being asked this. He opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out so he did the only thing he could think of.
He tore off his microphone and threw it on the table. He stood from his booth. Tom looked his way and wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. Julian shook his head at him as he got down from the booth.
His head was spinning and he needed to get out of there. He began searching for the nearest exit and ran towards it once he finally found it, leaving all of the reporters behind him.
