My knee is still mangled, the excess fluid doesn't seem to have diminished at all. Flexing the joint seems to be easier but I still cannot achieve the full range of motion. I have noticed that when my knee is partially flexed and I try to flex my foot I get pain on the outside of the knee, there is no pain if I support the knee and attempt the same action. I have caught my left leg several times whilst working and I have felt a sharp pain. I have purchased an ice-pack and have been icing my knee three times a day, I am unsure if it is having any effect. I will be missing my third game of the season, we are facing the worst team in the division and I would have expected some game time.
Not playing leaves me free to drink on the Saturday night, it is probably not the best thing to help my recovery. Neil Young's "Rust in Peace" film is on the television, it is a good concert. He has strange creatures much like the Jawas from Star Wars, he refers to them as "Road Eyes" at one point. Giant speakers stacks made of cloth crowd the stage, dwarfing the musicians. During "Like a Hurricane" an organ descends from the rafters, it has a bird-like surround attached to it. At one point a giant microphone is brought onto the stage and the "Road Eyes" fumble with it for several moments, you hear Young complain about the microphone striking his head. I am confused by the whole experience at the end of the film.
I wake up late on the Sunday morning and potter around. I am not going to see the physio this week, I predict all she will say is give it more time. I intend to leave the house to purchase some swimming trunks en-route to the game but my car refuses to start, the battery is dead once again. With the assistance of my father we attempt to jump start the car using several batteries that have been on charge in the garage, none produce a start. My father pulls the family car nose-to-nose with mine and connects the jump leads - negative to negative and positive to positive, I turn the key and my engine starts, it idles nearly silently. I depart and head for the sports store. My car is running low on fuel, I think I have enough to get there and back.
I look in the store for the men's swimming shorts but cannot locate them at first, it takes me two passes of the aisle to find them, it is quite a big section so I am not sure how I missed them. I get some knee length shorts to preserve my modesty, I am now in large size pants, thirty-two to thirty-four inches. Inactivity and eating too much shit. I walk around the rest of the store and buy a leather cricket ball also, maybe I should play cricket - it is easier on the body. I walk back to my car and climb aboard. Thankfully it starts first time. I set the radio to the long wave bandwidth and find the cricket coverage, Australia need five-hundred-and-twenty-something in the fourth innings to win - they are already five wickets down, it doesn't look good for them. It is pouring down with rain and there is alot of spray on the motorway, my side windows and wing mirrors get drenched and become nearly useless. I drive conservatively and stick to the speed limit, as I near the ground the weather clears up.
It is past three o'clock when I arrive and there is little activity on the pitch, the match was due to kickoff at two-thirty, something is up. There aren't many players on the pitch, I fail to find anyone to talk to and head up to the stand. I see a cornerback up there and sit next to him, he tells me that there is some drama involving the ambulance being the wrong type and the opposition is close to demanding a forfeit win. It would be a terrible way to lose an unbeaten record. More players emerge from the dressing room and they begin warming up, it looks like an agreement has been reached. Eventually an ambulance turns up and it is greeted with cheers from the supporters and players alike, we will get a game today after all.
The match itself is a mauling, the opposition have travelled with a poor squad and they never look like scoring. To their credit they keep trying for the full game. We put up sixty-one points, the highest score in our teams history. The receiver who used to be below me in the depth-chart catches a bubble screen and drops a ten-yard in route, it smashes off his chest as he slides on his knees to try and catch it - it is reminiscent of the technique I used last season, now I try and stay on my feet. The receiver above me in the depth-chart has two catches, one on a motion to out and another on a v-out route, sadly he doesn't get into the endzone on the v-out. The other receivers are gaining ground on me and I feel slightly dejected, I will just have to work harder when I eventually return. The match is over and we are now eight-and-nought, playoff football was secured last week and we are now just trying to capture home-field advantage. I check my belongings are all in my possession and leave, the team are still celebrating on the pitch. I do not feel part of the team due to sitting out the match, it is not the right way to feel but it is how I do feel. I walk past the pitch and get into my car, thankfully it starts and I head for home. Play has stopped for the day in the cricket and Australia have piled on two-hundred runs for the loss of no wickets.
