Consent of the Governed Ch. 05

"Which you should be doing a lot more often, Crowbar." the Sheriff fired back, making my Angels and the Chief laugh some more. A lot more.

As we all stood up, Teresa hugged Cindy, then Cindy bent over to hug Tanya, then the Chief, me, and the Sheriff hugged her. By that time tears were running out of Cindy's ice-blue eyes...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Saturday, October 31st. All Hallows Eve.

It was the undefeated #4 Wildcats visiting the undefeated #5 Bulldogs. Fans had been coming in for a couple of days. Someone in County Government had finally figured it out, and RVs were parking on the grounds of The Fairgrounds, for a nominal fee, of course.

Due to the early hour of the game, many fans got hotel rooms for the night before, and some for two nights. And the early time meant that a lot of people would drive back out relatively early, meaning fewer DUIs. And that made the Iron Wolf, Teresa Croyle, happy... happier, anyway.

I had been busy trying to help Clark Webster find Tamara with the newfound knowledge that the Swamp Frogs's rogue SEAL team had been active in this case, and may have kidnapped her. And that knowledge had brought EAD Owen Lange to our County. Your Iron Crowbar is not an Agency of the Weak-Minded; I knew he wanted to go to the game, also, and would.

Most of the banter around Headquarters involved Teresa Croyle and Ole Miss Grad Teddy Parker becoming LSU fans for a week, and Joanne Warner representing the Alabama Crimson Tide in the (Police) House. Cindy was busy packing up her office and taking care of details, and with her hormones raging due to her pregnancy (at least that was the excuse), I just stayed out of her way and tried to not create stress for her.

After a good breakfast at home, at 9:30am I loaded up Ross and Ian and the Sheriff in my Police SUV, and we drove through the Police barricades right to the Stadium. I parked in the restricted area for authorized only vehicles, i.e. LEO and Medical vehicle. It is good to be the Police Commander. It is even better to have the County Sheriff riding shotgun.

Ian was wearing a Bulldogs jersey with '93' on it. At least Ross was wearing a red shirt, but it had a Canadian Flag on the front as opposed to anything to do with the Wildcats. I was in my 'casual' uniform with red polo/golf shirt with embroidered TCPD logo, and khaki pants. And yes, I was armed. The Sheriff was wearing khaki pants and a brown shirt with the TCSD logo... it was the equivalent to my 'casual' uniform. And yes, he was armed.

The best part of the day was getting to spend some quality time with my sons Ross and Ian. Usually Jim was part of the triumvirate of boys, but today it was just Molly's boys. They had not known either of their grandfathers, so they considered the Sheriff to be Grandpa Grizz, too. And he had no problems with that.

Ross and Ian were not at all alike in their personalities. Ross was straight-laced, methodical, organized, and did things one mission at a time. He wasn't great at the give-and-take of negotiation; everything was 'black and white' (no puns intended) to him. He didn't make friends easily, but had strong bonds with those he chose to be his friends. His room was always spotless, everything in its place. He'd make a great Navy SEAL one day, should he be so inclined. (He wouldn't be, but I digress...)

By way of contrast, Ian was far more creative, more free in spirit, but more careless in some things. He had a good, friendly personality, but no relationships that were very deep. He was a good negotiator. He had to be 'prompted' to clean up, and sometimes his thinking seemed to be far-ranging but also all over the place. Over time he'd harness the best of those traits... over time.

And both had the young minds in the mold of an Iron Crowbar... in their own ways.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Just as the Bulldogs Band came onto the field for pre-game rituals, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Derrick 'Train No. 93' Waters behind me. He did not permit me to just shake his hand, he gave me a bear hug. The Sheriff was also treated to a hug. I introduced Ross and Ian to him, and Derrick said he liked Ian's jersey. And so much so that he autographed it. Ian was ecstatic. Ross got his Canada shirt autographed, too, but Ian knew that he now had a jersey that rivaled Carole's No. 10 Wildcat jersey that was autographed by Jamaal Washington.

"Where's Jamaal now?" asked Derrick. "Last I heard, the Cowboys traded up to draft him."

"He's with 'em." I said. "He's the backup behind their star running back, and he goes in as a receiver sometimes."

Derrick went to his seat a few rows down and seats over as the partisan Bulldog Faithful greeted their team with loud roars. They were led onto the field by their outstanding bulldog mascot, Chief IV. The visiting Wildcats were greeted with chants of "DOG FOOD! DOG FOOD! DOG FOOD!" Ian was adding to those chants as much as his young lungs had the capacity to add.

Toe met leather and we were AWN! The Bulldogs had the ball first, and the tenor of the day was quickly set when Wildcats Greg Scott and Davis Smith shut down the unexceptional Bulldogs offense. Bulldogs QB Shane Watson, whose blondish hair was longer than any of my Angels's, overthrew his receiver on third down, obviously too worked up in the early moments. The Bulldogs went three-and-out and punted the ball.

The Wildcats had Freshman running backs Zamir 'Zeus' Black and D'Andre 'Chubby' Cedarwood. Both had tremendous potential, and both got some yards behind All-American left tackle Wilfred Scott. But the passing game really missed Jamaal Washington, and the Wildcats ultimately struggled against the impressive 'Junkyard Dogs' defense.

"These defenses are better than Tasha at basketball." Ross said in the second quarter, referring to his sister. "Nobody can score."

"They don't run any fun plays." Ian said at another time. "They must've asked Ross to design their plays."

"On defense, maybe." Ross said, not rising to his little brother's bait. And indeed, he was watching the way the defensive players reacted to the offenses on both sides. After a while, I noticed that Ian was looking around the stadium, observing everything... including the cheerleaders. That was a good thing, I thought to myself.

The score was 0-0 at halftime. We all went to the restroom, which wasn't busy on this club level. I bought the boys some hotdogs and Coca-Colas, and myself a Powerade to keep hydrated. The Sheriff had water... and something extra in the flask he'd snuck into the game. Fortunately, he did not indulge too much, and stayed sober.

"If you like defenses, this is great." growled Griswold. "But its dry as tinder on offense. No wonder they made it the early game."

"I'm not complaining." I said. "We can get on home and watch the rest of the games and eat a lot... and it won't cost five dollars per hotdog." The Sheriff chuckled.

The second half was continuation of the first. I put in my earplugs and listened to Wildcat Radio.

"And Bulldogs quarterback Shane Watson throws a pass AND IT IS INTERCEPTED! Gregg Scott came up with it!" the announcer said. "He takes it back to the Bulldog 45 yard line. This may be the break we need."

After a first down, the Wildcat drive quickly stalled. The announcer said into my earpiece: "And Kevin 'Fear The Frames' Rodriguez will come on to try a field goal of 52 yards. The Bulldogs crowd the middle of the line AND IT IS BLOCKED! It lands short of the goal line, and is dead right there..."

The Bulldogs could not move. Their quarterback Shane Watson was a strong talent, but showed his Freshman inexperience on this day. Charles 'Cadillac' Armstrong was a promising young running back, but Davis Smith had his number and was keeping Armstrong in check. The Bulldogs punted.

The radio announcer said "And Wildcats quarterback Mason Murphy comes up to the line. He's under pressure and he runs forward for six yards... He takes the snap AND HE IS SACKED! Cedarwood tried to pick up the block, but there were just too many Bulldogs in the Wildcats backfield!" Any potential threat ended.

The fourth quarter began, still a 0-0 tie. "This is the first time the Bulldogs and Wildcats have gone scoreless through three quarters since their 1934 game ended in a 0-0 tie." the announcer said. "The defenses are playing well. Terrific, hard-nosed, hard-hitting football. Neither offense can get anything going..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"One minute to go." the announcer was saying. "The Bulldogs are starting to move. They've reached the 50. Watson hands the ball off to 'Cadillac' Armstrong, and he runs through the tired Wildcats defensive line for eight yards... Watson back to throw, and he throws underneath to the tight end, and he runs for twelve more yards. There's only 34 seconds to go, and he Bulldogs are on the Wildcats 30 yard line, the deepest penetration by either team today."

"They need about ten more yards to get into field goal range. Watson passes to Armstrong out of the backfield, he catches it and turns, and he is hit by Davis Smith and stopped right there on the 26 yard line... And the clock is running down, ten, nine, eight, and Watson takes the snap and throws it into the ground."

"Eight seconds to go, and the Bulldogs placekicker Walton Blair comes out to try a field goal. It will be forty-five yards, well within his range. And he kicks it AND IT IS BLOCKED! Gregg Scott scoops it up and is tackled at the Bulldogs 45 yard line! There are two seconds left!"

The Wildcat Nation in attendance was going bonkers in the southeastern corner of the stadium. My back prevented me from getting up as fast as I wanted, but I did get up and begin cheering. Ross had leaped up and was cheering. Ian, not so much; he was scowling.

"And the Wildcats have called time." said the announcer. "The play was reviewed and it is confirmed there are two seconds left. The clock had stopped, then started running again, maybe a little Bulldogs home cooking, there. So get the picture: two seconds left, and the Wildcats are sending out Kevin 'Fear the Frames' Rodriguez to try a long field goal. It is going to be sixty-two yards, west-to-east, with the wind at his back."

The Bulldog crowd of 92,000 were roaring against Rodriguez as the teams lined up. I could barely hear the announcer in my earpiece as he said "The snap and hold are good, and Rodriguez gets it up. It's reaching... reaching..."

To be continued.