Big game. Chicago is at home. It is snowing. The home club is bigger than the visitors and faster. The hard hitting. The crashing at the sidelines for a tackle. Short yardage. Make a run around end. Driven backwards or fall forward. The line to gain. Coaches frantic how to move the ball. Full back lead the ball carrier. Defender fill the gap and stop forward movement. As the clock countdown. No footing in the sludge and snow as the temperature drop. The passes are overthrown. Or to the wrong uniform.  

Again with the snow flurries. Dirty uniforms. He’d caught everything thrown in his direction but cannot break away from the tackle. The shouting of the crowd. The bands. The rival back and forth between the two towns. So is chatter in the media. Always snowing and cold. Between the lines and the best minds cannot crack the goal. The season culminate in Chicago. Throw the records out but the bottom line.

It get darker long as this go on. The heralded arm of their slingers. He run up and out and stretch out for the ball to end it as he dreamed it. They call it “the game.” My Jersey in a trophy case. Among the greatest that did it. It was me just past my fingertips. Slow motion, once again. Shake hands frozen at the end. Wrapped in bandages. The better one this game.  

In a room full of reporters and questions pointed at the man behind the microphone. Without a cap but the rest of the uniform. The white baseball jersey with blue writing saying “Sharks.” He is excited to talk about the game just finished against the Eagles. It is the third of the three game series. The final score: Sharks 10 and Eagles:0. The sharks scored in every inning except in the first inning. Their biggest inning four runs in the fourth inning. Twenty one hits in six innings. The eagles no runs three hits and one error.

Royce had four hits out of five at bats. Tristan 3 hits out of five at bats. Clark three out of four at bats. Hertzler four out of four. Royce, Jett and Hayes a homerun a piece. It means we’re sixteen wins and sixteen more games to go. Ranked number one of eight. If we’re in that position at the end of the season it’s straight to the championship round.

“I’m impressed with the way we’re playing going into the All-Star Break. The next sixteen games are going to be even harder as everyone will be making a push for the playoffs.”

“Last year you lost in the playoffs as manager of these very same Eagles and were fired even though you won a championship the season before. Does that weigh on your mind and did it have anything to do with the output of today’s game?”  

"Every day I go out to win every game. I don’t bide tied games or like to lose. Coming here and the way things have played out so far I’m sure I’m going to have all the time to win or lose.” The man is 47 years old. Years of baseball knowledge more managing than playing. He exude a confidence and a wisdom with a height. An intimacy with the microphone. It is the fielding and pitching that keep them in the game and a fine minor league. Expect that they will win for a very long time.  

“Man it makes me so happy just knowing my career isn’t going down the drain.” Former Montrose Club star Smith on his time with the Farragut City. More beneficial than his time in Montrose. In the National Soccer/Football League. If Montrose had given him the money he wanted to be the highest paid Striker in the league. Truly after his departure the Montrose Club fell apart with no one near his talent to match. There have been a number of notable departures from Montrose acquired by draft or trade. And the thousand yard stare as losses have piled up since then. Constant change in front office administration. And constant turnover of the roster. Since the end of ----‘s time as Manager of the Montrose Club is a mess. Up and down through the seventies. However he was the last Manager to get them to the League Championship in 1980. Even then it was a near disaster. Plenty of talent and ego. It’s hard to watch one of your star players walk or traded when it took genius to get him there out of University. And soon after the National Team. It is hard enough to keep stars in country. Watching them dominate when they go to other Caribbean clubs. The last few years the University at Yves has been the best place to find strikers. Like Floyd who won a league championship with Belle Plaine. Before moving onto Sao Paulo. His departure many say caused an early departure for Montrose City in the Caribbean Championships in ’91 and then he was gone. Smith said it was bittersweet leaving Montrose but seeing the level of talent on the Farragut Club he couldn’t help himself but be excited. He sees a league championship and a chance to go deep into the Caribbean tournament, if not win it. Montrose has been known for greats at all positions and there are a few who wouldn’t share Smiths sentiment including the recent deceased Butler who was a great in his own time. And a moment of silence before the latest unlikely victory over Providence City whose Manager got his back up over his clubs performance on the pitch in Prime time. The first win of the season after a number of lost matches.