Usually when I post something on my blog, it has something to do with gambling, or sports, or even taxes. You never know what I will find interesting to write about. Today I'm taking a little trip back in time to 2014 and, in honor of the NFL Draft this week, I'm going to share a football related story I wrote almost 2 years ago. My youngest son is a writer too, as are many of his friends. They were working on a blog of short stories and the spell checker, which has a mind of its own, changed the title of their blog from Short Stories to Shirt Stories. And so was born the idea of a collection of short stories all having something to do with shirts. I was invited to contribute, and this is one of the early stories I gave them, now part of a collection of my fiction called "Shirt Tales."
Jeremy wasn't superstitious - at least he didn't admit he was. He didn't believe in four leaf clovers. He didn't believe in lucky rabbits' feet. He didn't believe in any of the talismans that sports fans often carried to guarantee a winning season. But ironically he did believe that wearing his favorite blue jersey to a Colts' game brought his team unexplainably good luck.
The bright blue jersey with the "18" on the front and "Manning" on the back was a birthday present from his girlfriend Cassie their senior year at IU. That same year the Indianapolis Colts made it to the Super Bowl for the second time. Jeremy's friends insisted that wearing the shirt to the stadium and sports bars had nothing to do with the team's wins that season. They pointed out that the Colts actually lost the last two games. Jeremy countered that Peyton was pulled by the coaches to protect him from injury, and the team would have won had their quarterback played.
Jeremy knew the power of the lucky jersey. He felt the Colts could have defeated the Saints and won the championship that year if only he and his lucky shirt had made it to the game. But Super Bowl Sunday was the day Cassie had chosen for their wedding to commemorate her parents' marriage on February 7 twenty five years earlier, so Jeremy was wearing a tux instead of his lucky jersey that day as his team went down in defeat.
Jeremy thought he knew why the lucky shirt was not so lucky for his Colts the following two seasons. Most fans thought Peyton Manning's injury and surgery had something to do with the team's mediocre record, but Jeremy feared he might be to blame. Although he didn't have much time for football after being accepted at Harvard Law, he and Cassie usually socialized with their classmates at the sports bars in Boston on game day. He didn't feel right wearing the Colts' jersey to watch New England games, and he thought he might be a little too old for sportswear anyway, so the lucky shirt hung in his closet. Evidently the magic didn't work unless he wore the shirt, and the Patriots and much of the rest of the NFL handily defeated Indianapolis each week. Perhaps if he had displayed his pride in his home team and worn its jersey, the Colts' season might have ended differently.
Today Jeremy was back in Indiana and wearing his favorite jersey again. He and Cassie, now expecting their first child, were on their way home from their day trip to Nashville, Indiana. Cassie had wanted to enjoy the changing autumn leaves and to spend the day browsing the antique shops and craft stores in Brown County. Jeremy was reluctant to go, but she promised they would leave in time to make it back to Indianapolis for the start of the Sunday night football game.
It was going to be a very, very special matchup. Former quarterback Peyton Manning was also back in Indiana playing against his old team for the first time since signing with the Denver Broncos. Jeremy was anxious to see if his lucky blue jersey would still be lucky for the Colts - or whether the shirt numbered 18 would bring good fortune to the Bronco quarterback now wearing the same numeral and name on his orange and white uniform.
About halfway home from Nashville, Jeremy's tire suddenly blew. Gingerly he steered off the road, upset that the flat might make them late. He opened the trunk looking for the spare that wasn't there. "I'll have to call the auto club to fix the flat," he grumbled, angry at himself. "I hope they'll get here in time for us to make the game."
"Better call the hospital too," Cassie advised. He looked at her and realized with a rush of excitement that their baby was on her way.
After what seemed like an eternity, an ambulance could finally be heard racing down the road toward the couple. About the same time, the first cries of a newborn infant could be heard from the back seat of the car. As he took the red and yelling baby in his arms, Jeremy thought he had never seen a child more perfect or more beautiful.
"She must be cold," he said taking off the blue jersey and swaddling the baby in its warmth.
"Don't. You'll ruin your lucky shirt," Cassie protested.
"It doesn't matter," he said. He smiled at his wife and at his new daughter, cherishing the magical moment and the precious bond forming between them. "It doesn't matter at all."
And it didn't.
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