Guts vs Glory (16 page)

The next five weeks felt like they
could not have gotten any better.  I continued to become stronger and no one
got past me on the line.  I could tell by our scrimmages that I was easily the
most athletic lineman on the scout team’s offensive line.  The defender that I
blocked against was also reaping the rewards because he already had the most
defensive linemen tackles in our conference.  He told me that after going
against me in practice, the guys on the other teams were a cake walk.  The team
was doing great because, after six games, they hadn’t lost yet.  Mike was even
doing great and remained the top candidate for the Gilreath Award.  In those
first five games, we were able to beat four non-conference teams, as well as
one team in our conference.  Because we hadn’t lost in the conference, we were
tied for first place.  Our team was also ranked in the top-10 of all major
college football teams.  Finally, and most importantly, in those five weeks, I
spent a lot of time with Christine.  Some of that time was actually spent
studying as she and I became close friends and really good students.

Midway through the sixth week of
practice, those five weeks somehow got better.  After a particularly intense
lifting session, one of the linemen asked me if I wanted to go to the bar with
him.  I knew it was trouble because neither one of us were old enough to drink
and probably wouldn’t even be allowed in a bar.  Even if we were old enough,
players weren’t allowed to party during the week.  I backed out by telling him
I had a big date with my girlfriend (which I actually did).

In the morning I was called into
the football office by the team’s offensive line coach.  Apparently, I made the
right choice the night before in not going out.  The coach asked me about my
teammate’s offer to go to the bar and he wanted to know exactly what happened. 
I told him simply that the guy asked me to go to the bar with him and I told
him no.  The coach reinforced that drinking while on the team was forbidden by
the school.  Drinking underage, however, was forbidden by the law and would
have to be dealt with.  The team took a serious zero-tolerance approach to
minors drinking and, after being caught, they planned on kicking the player off
the team.  With him off the team, a spot was open on the offensive line.  The
coach told me that I wouldn’t be rewarded for making the right decision because
my decision to not drink was an expectation.  However, I would be rewarded for
my hard work during the season.

The coach told me that I was the
best offensive lineman on the scout team.  The guy who ended up getting kicked
off the team was the team’s backup center.  They wanted me to fill the role,
but knew I didn’t have any experience as a center.  The coach would understand
if I didn’t want to accept the offer because I didn’t feel comfortable at that
position.  However, I knew I would be foolish for turning down any offer, even
if it was a position that I was unfamiliar with.  Once I accepted the position,
he explained his plan for me.  It began with me taking the scholarship from the
player that I replaced; I would be able to spend the rest of my time at college
tuition-free.

After telling Mike about the great
news, I called my parents to tell them what was going on.  First I made the
news official that I had a girlfriend.  They knew I was dating someone, but I
never gave them much information until that conversation.  I then told them
about my opportunity on the team.  I told them to be sure and watch the game on
TV and look for me; but instead of watching from home, they wanted to come and
see the game in person.  Lastly, I told them that they wouldn’t have to worry
about my college expenses anymore.  My parents were by no means wealthy, so
paying for two years of my schooling would be a struggle for them.  As much as
they would have made good on their promise of paying for the last two years,
they were stunned that I was now one of the 85 students receiving free
education compliments of the USM football team.

The rest of the week I spent
practicing as a center.  The job of a center was pretty easy; I simply snapped
the ball when instructed, and then blocked the defender in front of me.  The
actual snapping part was the challenge.  In practice, rather than working out
in our small groups during the first two days of practice, I spent the long
days working strictly on my snaps.  During the two scrimmage days, the coach
gave me a little extra time on the field to try my new position against real
defenders.  At the end of the week, rather than going back to the dorm for a
three day weekend, I was able to meet with the team on Saturday.  I had finally
made it to game day!

My first game playing for the team
was a nationally televised game.  The game would be a night game and would be
broadcasted across the country.  That meant that someone in Oregon would be
able to turn on their TV and watch our game.  Even though our game was
scheduled to kick off at 8PM, our team met in the dorm lobby at 3PM.  From
there, we walked as a team to the University Center.  There, we ate a big meal
as a team.  Afterwards, we discussed the game plan and how to successfully
defeat our opponent.  The atmosphere was exciting yet serious.  Just like with
any pre-game day, the team was on a mission and it was time to work.

From the University Center, we
walked in unison to the stadium two hours prior to kickoff.  The hard part was maintaining
my ‘game face’.  As we walked to the stadium, we were led by a police escort
and surrounded by fans and television cameras.  On the way to the stadium, we
walked past a bronze statue of a dragon placed in the middle of campus.  Our
school’s marching band was there and played the fight song as we came into
sight.  As we walked past the dragon, each team member had to slap the dragon
for luck; a tradition that had lasted over 50 years.

When we finally made it to our
locker room, our game day uniforms were waiting for us.  I was stunned when I
saw my last name on the back of a black and red jersey hanging from a locker
that had my name across it.  Once the shock wore off, I put my uniform on. 
Mike’s locker was next to mine and, as we realized the next chapter of our
dream was about to be fulfilled, we couldn’t stop grinning.

Once dressed, the team walked onto
the indoor field for a few practice drills and then went back into the locker
room for a pre-game speech.  With only 10 minutes to go before kickoff, we made
our way back to the field.  That time, we stopped at the entrance of the
tunnel.  The stadium went dark.  I could make out something large being dragged
in front of the tunnel.  I knew this was the giant head of a black dragon with
bright red eyes.  I remembered watching the dragon emit a ball of fire in
Wyoming the previous year, and it gave me chills.  Now, the chills had returned,
only this time I was the one running onto the field through the dragon’s smoky
mouth.

I spent the rest of the game on the
sidelines as the backup center.  Just like in junior college, backup offensive
linemen were not often used.  The starters stayed in the entire game and only
sat if they were injured.  If they were too tired to play an entire game, they
wouldn’t be able to play an entire season.  Even as I watched the game from the
sidelines, I knew it was much better than watching another game from home.

We finished the day with six wins
for the season; Mike finished with 4 touchdowns and nearly 300 yards.  Even
though he still had the target on his back, other teams still hadn’t found a
way to slow him down.  Without me on the scout team, the defender who practiced
against me was still able to remain ahead of the other defensive linemen in the
conference with the most tackles.  I was suddenly a big part of a team that was
halfway through their season, and hopefully a true candidate to play in the
Major College Football Championship Game.

The second half of the season was
similar to the first half.  While winning the rest of our six remaining games, Mike
continued to be a statistical phenomenon, while our defense continued to
dominate.  I kept practicing my snaps as a center and watched the games from
the sidelines waiting patiently for my chance to play.  During my down time, Christine
and I continued to study and remained top students.  As a couple, we pushed
ourselves to maintain good grades and even turned it into a competition.  As
our romantic relationship blossomed into something wonderful, my friendship
with Mike also remained strong.  Just like with school and football, I was able
to find a balance between my best friend and my girlfriend.

At the end of the season, we were
ranked as the second best team in the country.  We remained undefeated, and were
projected to make it into the national championship game.  A few days later, it
was officially announced that the Major College Football Committee would match
us up against Alaska State University in the Major College Football
Championship Game.  No one saw it coming, but the Killer Whales went the entire
season undefeated as well, and were actually ranked higher than us.  It was
believed that they had a higher rank because they faced stronger opponents in
the Pacific Northwest Conference than we did in the Midwestern Conference. 

Our team had five weeks to get
ready for the game.  We already knew who our opponent was, so we were able to
spend the entire five weeks preparing for one team.   We were working on the
plays we were going to run, while training for the plays that we expected them
to run.  We spent some time on strength and conditioning but most of our time
was spent on the strategic part of the game rather than the physical part.  A
few weeks into practice, we took a break.  We all had to stop and watch a
trophy presentation.

A few days before the presentation,
Mike was told that, as a candidate, he could bring one guest with him to the
Nathan Gilreath Honor Award ceremony.  Without hesitation, Mike told them he
was bringing me.  The day before the ceremony, they flew us to Dallas, Texas. 
We’ve seen big cities while traveling to games throughout the conference, but
none of those cities were as big as the one we were at; it was the size of
nearly 50 Whitakers.  We were put up in a luxury room in a fancy hotel, given
full access to room service, and treated to gourmet meals.

The following day, while I was
exploring Dallas, Mike was being interviewed by all the major sports programs. 
Later that evening, we were all escorted to the Heartford Theatre.  The theatre
held nearly 2,000 people.  Of those 2,000, only five of them were candidates. 
Other than the candidates and their guests, the rest of the audience paid big
money to be at the ceremony.  Two of those attendees were his parents.   The
tickets were costly, and the drive out was time consuming, but it was all worth
it to personally witness as Michael Upton was chosen by the Major College
Football Committee as the best college football player of the season.

The target on his back went from
big to huge.  He was no longer a Gilreath
candidate
; he was a Gilreath
winner
. 
Rather than being
one of
the best major college football players, he was
voted as
the
best major college football player.  But even with the
bigger target, the game plan didn’t change.

A few days after the New Year’s Day
games were played, the Major College Football Championship Game was the only
game left to play in the college football season.  Only two teams remained: the
University of Southern Michigan, and Alaska State University.  Once the game
was over, one team would be declared the best team in college football.  With
five weeks of practice behind us, we were ready to be that team.

The USM team was flown out to
Little Rock, Arkansas a few days before game day.  During those days, we were
given time to explore the city and take part in media interviews.  The media
asked many different questions to many different players, but the common theme
of their questions was what we were doing both individually, and as a team, to
win the game.  Prior to the interviews, we were instructed not to give away any
strategy.  With that in mind, the vague and generic answers provided by our
players and coaches became, at some times, comical.

Soon, it was game day and fun time
was replaced by game time.  We had some serious games during that season, but
this game meant the most.  Luckily, the coach had been aware of this type of
atmosphere, so he had been preparing us all season by treating every game like
a title game.  That way, when the real title game finally arrived, we were
ready for it.  We knew our experience in the national spotlight would be a
psychological advantage for us as Alaska had never been to a game like that one
before.

The pre-game ritual remained intact
as we made our way onto the field through the dragon’s mouth.  The one thing we
weren’t expecting was all the cameras.  There were cameras everywhere. There
was even a camera hovering over the field operated by a remote control.  This
game would be watched by nearly every person in all 50 states, and even those
living in the American Territories.  It was commonly known that pairing the two
best teams in college football would lead to the best game of the season.  They
were right.

Alaska was the strongest team we
had faced all season.  As much as they prepared to defend against Mike, he was
still too fast for them and helped us out for most of the game.  It wasn’t a
blowout, though, as their offense continued to match our touchdowns with
touchdowns of their own.  Towards the end of the game, we were trailing for the
first time in the season.

With time running down, we were
able to move the ball five yards shy of the end zone.  We only had three
attempts at scoring.  We were down by five, so we had to score a touchdown to
win the game.  After two failed attempts with Mike trying to run the ball up
the middle, we had to try something new.  They were used to him now and figured
out how to stop him from crossing the scrimmage line.  Our coach used his last
time out.

In the huddle, he called over the
entire team.  He looked right at me and asked me if I remembered playing in
high stress football games in high school.  I did.  The coach then asked Mike
the same thing.  The coach told us that as he was watching tapes of our high
school games while trying to recruit Mike, he noticed that East Whitaker
performed their best during high stress situations by trying something that
most teams wouldn’t even think about doing.  In those situations, our high
school coach needed trustworthy players that he could depend on to fill key
roles.  Because Mike and I were able to prove ourselves in those situations,
our coach felt that he could trust the two of us in this intense situation.

The coach’s plan put Mike at wide
receiver and placed me as a running back.  He brought up our state championship
victory and how we won that game by using Mike as a wide receiver.  The coach
also brought up the game where I scored the game winning touchdown against West
Whitaker to give our team an undefeated season.  Once we went back onto the
field, the coach would be able to call a play based on how their defense would
react to our new offensive lineup.

As we ran out to our new formation,
their defense panicked.  Just like in the state finals, Alaska sent numerous
guys over to cover Mike.  Apparently, they also watched our high school
championship game and knew what he could do as a receiver.  With him
triple-teamed, I would be the coach’s best option.  Once the ball was snapped,
I secured it tightly in my belly.  The last time I tried running the ball, I
wasn’t sure if I had scored or not.  That night, there was no denying it.  Once
I crossed the line of scrimmage, I continued running until I jumped the six
foot barrier at the opposite end of the end zone and landed in the Dragon’s
student section.

Once the team was done celebrating
on the field, it was time for the country to celebrate with us.  A large stage
was brought out to the middle of the arena where our coach was presented with
the Major College Football National Championship Trophy.  Next, one of our
players was called up to the stage.  That player would receive the Player of the
Game Award.  The award went to the player that made the biggest difference to
the team, not during the regular season, but only during this title game.  The
award went to Mike.  Not only was he now the best major college football
player, having won the Gilreath Honor Award, but he was also now on the best
major college football team and recognized as the MVP of the game.

The next day, I was presented with
an award of my own.  It was an award that didn’t get publicized much and, thus,
was one that I had never heard of.  At the conclusion of each major college
football season, an award was given to the best major college football player who
began the season as a walk-on.  Prior to scoring the national championship
game-winning touchdown, I began my career as a walk-on, and became a
scholarship-athlete midway through the season.  My success may not have been
recognized by the media, but at least one committee realized the impressive
turn-around I had, as I was presented with the Paul Pedersen Award.