I have injured my knee at the midweek training session. I go up to catch a ball and I twist my knee as I land, I caught the ball. I hobble back behind the line of scrimmage where I sit down for a short while. I get up and try to jog for about 10 yards, my knee seems alright. I get back into the huddle and get a play, I am in the slot running a seam up the middle. I try to push off and am able to put no power down through my left knee, it feels weak and unstable. I go and sit down again for another while. It is a nice evening, the grass is dry. Small mercies. I stay for the game of touch football after training - a mistake looking back, I jog through it at half-speed. It is ten o'clock when we are finished, I am looking after the house so I have curtains to draw and dogs to feed. I head home.
I wake up on Thursday morning and I can barely flex my knee. I navigate the stairs carefully and attend to my duties. I use an old pool cue as a crutch, I soon get bored and revert to limping instead.
Friday and Saturday show slight improvements, walking on the flat is easier but stairs still present a problem. I cannot play. I have some cider on Saturday evening to cushion the blow.
I get to the ground at about half-past eleven. I head to the physio room, I stay there for about ninety minutes. Players arrive after me and I let them be seen before me. Back problems and knee problems all get assessed and massaged. Some wrists, some knees and many pairs of ankles all get taped. Eventually the stream of players dries up and I am seen. My knee is then twisted in several directions, some of which hurt. There is still quite alot of fluid in my knee. The physio's opinion is that I have bruised the bit in the middle of the knee and that it should short itself out in a week or two - I should keep icing it and refrain from heavy impact activities until it is sorted. I head upstairs at the ground to the covered seating area, the warmup is still taking place. There are no other players in the stand, I go to McDonalds for some lunch.
The restaurant is a short drive from the ground, I use the drive-thru and order a large Big-Mac meal with a chocolate milkshake. The boy working the order window doesn't give me a straw, it is a minor set-back. I pull into the carpark and eat. I head back to the ground, we are five minutes from kickoff. I go back to the stand and the match is soon underway.
It is overcast, a nice day for passing the football. We move the ball easily, scoring frequently. The defense shutout the other team, they have a long pass called back for holding. At half time it is thirty-two or thirty-three to nothing. A cheer leader appears in the stands clutching an iPod speaker system, she is looking for the PA-systems wireless microphone. She is given the microphone and presses play on the docked iPod, she presses the microphone to one of the speakers. Down on the pitch the remaining cheer leaders move to the forty-five yard line and begin a display. It is short and lacking co-ordination, it can only improve. The players come out from the dressing room and do a short set of stretches.
The second half begins. We score twice and the opposition produce their only score, it is a long completed pass on the far side of the field - it is an exact replica of the play called back earlier in the day. With the match sealed up, the second and third stringers get some playing time. The receiver who was previously below me in the depth chart gets mugged on a hook route but no flag is thrown. The match ends forty-six to seven, we move to seven wins undefeated. The head coach gets the water butt tipped over his head, he doesn't seem to mind. I check that I have my important possessions - my keys, wallet and phone. I leave the ground and head for home, disappointed that I have missed my second game of the season, the disappointment heightened due to the fact that I could have seen some playing time in this game.
