Selling Out Second Draft

Clark Palmer [email protected]

about 7,000 words

Selling Out by Clark Palmer

Joe had one last chance to punch the ball into the end zone to avoid his ninth straight loss to Jack Roberts’ flag football team.

But when he looked downfield the remaining

15 yards, he realized that the end zone might as well have been 100 yards away with a 10-foot concrete wall in front of it.

Joe saw Jack’s head superimposed on the wall, a

typically mocking smile on his face. “Alright.”

Joe clapped his hands.

“Huddle up,” he

said emphatically. Slowly but surely his teammates arrayed themselves in a loose semicircle around him.

Joe dropped to one knee on

the patchwork yellowish-green grass of the multipurpose field at Frank Schmidt Community Park. “Wish I had a Jacuzzi at home,” said Jake, the center/nose tackle and owner of the worst knees on the

Palmer / Selling Out / 2 eight-player team.

Like many of the men on his dad’s side

of his family, his knees were shot because he weighed more than 300 pounds. “I hear that.

I need a dip in a Jacuzzi and a beer,”

said Fred, Joe’s best friend and the fastest player on the team.

That was pretty sad because Fred probably wouldn’t

be the fastest man on any team, in any sport. “C’mon guys,” Joe said.

“It’s not over yet.”

Calvin chuckled. Joe sighed.

“I know.”

He paused.

“But maybe we can

outsmart Jack on one play.” “Lemme throw it.

Lateral back to me,” Fred said.

“There’s no way he’ll be ready for it.” “Yeah, he’ll never expect you to throw the ball into the woods,” Jake said. “I’ll call the plays, alright? I got us all the way down here,” Joe said.

There was absolutely no way Joe

would allow someone else to throw the pass that could win the game. Fred smirked.

“You called all the plays the last

eight times we played Jack.” Joe gave Fred a serious look. did you have in all those games?” “Oh, so we’re goin’ there?”

“How many touchdowns

Palmer / Selling Out / 3 Tom spoke up, “Jesus guys.” “Sorry Fred, Jake’s right.

You’re a terrible

thrower,” Calvin said. Fred sighed and looked away while Joe remained silent. Calvin turned to Joe.

“And this isn’t just your

team.” “Alright, can somebody just tell me what we’re doin’?” Jake asked. Joe looked at a few of his teammates.

He spoke

slowly, “I was just thinking...if we could get Jack to blitz...there’d be a much better chance of somebody getting open around the end zone.” After a few tense moments, Fred broke the silence in the huddle.

“That’s a good point.”

Fred gave Joe a

friendly pat on the back. Joe quickly laid out his plan.

When he was done he

took a deep breath and quickly released it. this, guys.

“We can do

I know you’re all worn out...but...”

The

weird looks he received from some of his teammates ended his attempt at a stirring motivational speech. “Forget it,” Joe sighed as he spoke. that prick, huh?” “Well said,” Fred replied.

“Let’s just beat

Palmer / Selling Out / 4 “On two on two. finished speaking.

Ready...break.”

Joe clapped as he

The huddle broke and the team started

lining up, Fred to the left of the three-man offensive line, Tom, Steve, and Calvin to the right. As both teams lined up, their fans stood and voiced their support, either by yelling positive or negative sentiments or doing more organized cheering in groups. There weren’t very many people in the 12-row aluminum bleachers to the right of the field sitting silently. Joe got into position to take the shotgun snap and searched the defense for Jack.

When he found him, they

made eye contact for a few moments.

Jack smiled deviously.

Every time they played each other, Joe wished he’d told Jack to go to hell when he asked to join Joe’s flag football league.

Joe started the league as a fun

alternative to watching professional sports, which he had steadily lost interest in since his teens when the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB lifted their bans on performanceenhancing drugs.

Unfortunately, everything seemed to

change when Jack came along.

To add insult to injury, Joe

couldn’t beat him. But Joe knew if he didn’t let Jack join he probably would’ve started his own league and stolen some of Joe’s teams just to spite him.

Palmer / Selling Out / 5 He rotated his throwing arm around a few times and moved his head back and forth to crack his neck.

It was

partly an act but his middle-aged muscles desperately wanted the physical exertion to be over with. “You feelin’ old McCloskey?

Maybe somebody else

should throw this last pass, save your kid the embarrassment.” Joe chuckled.

“You’re a real piece of work.”

“Well, my parents are proud,” Jack said.

“I don’t

know how yours could ever look at you.” It took Joe an extra second to respond after that comment.

But he kept the sarcasm going.

“Am I getting to

you?” “Don’t flatter yourself,” Jack said. Joe imagined that Jack was on the edge of a cliff. The edge was the line between Jack doing what he planned to do and acting on impulse.

Joe knew that a light shove was

all it would take to send Jack tumbling over. “Alright, blitz Jack.

Shut this loser up,” one of the

defensive linemen said. Joe smiled.

“You guys’re pretty irritable for a team

that’s beaten us eight times in a row.” “It’ll be nine in a few seconds,” Jack said as he approached the defensive line.

Palmer / Selling Out / 6 “What’re you worried or something?” Joe felt like he was playing poker and he’d just slid all of his chips to the center of the table. worked he’d look like a genius.

If the move

If it didn’t Joe wouldn’t

be able to talk about it for a few days.

He’d get an

empty, sick feeling in his stomach every time he thought about it. “Set! Huuut! Set!”

Joe rubbed his hands together.

“Hut! Hut!” It was all instinct from that point forward. snapped the ball.

Joe bobbled it for a second.

Jake When he

got a good grip on it he looked to his left. Luke was all over Fred, who had already cut to the left to complete the out Joe told him to run.

Joe stared

at Luke then looked right. Tom was struggling to keep Jack at bay.

Fortunately

Jack had decided to blitz from Tom’s side. Meanwhile Steve had stumbled into the person covering him.

They lay in a heap just a few feet in front of the

line of scrimmage.

Steve clutched his ankle, his face

scrunched up and his eyes squinting. Joe reared back and started to throw.

He brought the

ball forward but stopped his throwing motion when the ball got past his head.

Unfortunately, when Joe tried to tuck

Palmer / Selling Out / 7 the ball back in to his body he dropped it.

It rolled down

his left leg and tumbled end over end away from him. Joe stumbled forward, somehow keeping his balance, and quickly bent down and scooped up the ball. running all by himself toward the end zone.

He saw Fred That was the

advantage to being just 15 yards away–-Fred didn’t take forever to get there. Joe lobbed the ball toward the back of the end zone, putting what he hoped was just enough zip on the pass to get it to Fred before Luke or anyone else on the defense could interfere with it.

A split second after Joe released

the ball Jack ripped a flag off his belt.

But Joe was too

focused on Fred to notice. Fred whipped his head around to find the ball and started backpedalling into the end zone when he realized he didn’t have to run as fast as he could to get to it.

But

Fred tripped over his own feet and started falling backwards. Joe put his hands over his head and gritted his teeth, thinking the ball would sail over Fred’s falling body.

But

Fred stuck his hands up and snagged the ball out of the air.

He hugged it to his body as he fell to the ground. When Fred put his arms up to catch the ball Joe held

his breath and started raising his arms to celebrate.

Palmer / Selling Out / 8 When Fred hit the ground he looked left and right to make sure he was in the end zone.

Then he held the ball up

to prove to everyone that he had possession of it. “Touchdown! Joe’s team wins!” the scoreboard operator called into his microphone, his voice projecting from the speaker in the rusted out scoreboard on the opposite side of the field from the crowd, which after the touchdown seemed to be completely in Joe’s corner. Calvin belly flopped onto Fred in the end zone. Joe raised his fists.

“Yeaaaahhh! Woooooo!”

A teammate slapped him on the back a few times. “Great throw man.” Joe smiled at him and raised his hand to do a highfive.

“We did it baby!”

After they high-fived Joe noticed

Jack in his peripheral vision. He turned around and looked down at Jack, who was lying on his stomach tightly clenching one of Joe’s flags. Jack stared at the end zone, his face expressionless. “The look on your face is priceless,” Joe said. Jack frowned. in a row.”

“Let’s see if you can do it two times

Jack dropped Joe’s flag and walked away.

Joe searched for Fred and found his best friend running full speed at him.

Joe jogged at him and they

hopped into the air and bumped chests.

When Joe came back

Palmer / Selling Out / 9 down he landed awkwardly, lost his balance, and fell to the ground.

Fred quickly helped him up.

“We did it baby.”

Joe grabbed Fred by the shoulders

and shook him a couple times as he spoke. “You did it man.

Great play,” Fred replied.

One of the reasons Joe loved his league was that it allowed him and his teammates to forget about the struggles in their daily lives for at least a few hours.

Fred was

going through a messy divorce that was taking a heavy emotional toll on him. Joe’s teammates huddled around him to congratulate him, except for Steve who was still lying on the ground nursing his ankle.

Joe exchanged high-fives and pats on

the back with everybody.

They decided to meet at Happy

Hour, their favorite bar, to celebrate over drinks after work the next day.

Then they dispersed.

“Dad!” Joe looked in the direction of the voice. jogging toward him.

Zach was

Joe waited until Zach was only a few

feet away then he leaned down, lifted the nine-year-old over his right shoulder, and spun around a few times.

Zach

giggled. Joe put him back down and messed up his hair. neat huh buddy?”

“Pretty

Palmer / Selling Out / 10 “That was awesome.

Great throw,” Zach said.

Memories of all the nights and afternoons he’d spent watching sports with his father flashed before Joe’s eyes-all the cheering, yelling at the computer, and jokes they made.

Joe deeply resented the fact that he couldn’t create

those kinds of memories with his son.

He hoped that having

his son watch him play a sport and being able to celebrate together would be close enough. But Joe was glad that Zach was getting to see what sports were supposed to be about: imperfect people finding ways to overcome their physical limitations and do whatever they could to win. Meanwhile, professional sports were played by biologically- and mechanically-enhanced athletes and were mind-numbingly predictable.

Joe stopped watching in the

mid-2030s and could only imagine how bad each of the four major sports had gotten in the intervening 10-15 years, given the astronomical drop in the prices of joint replacements and other performance-enhancing treatments for athletes. Joe groaned.

“I’m glad that was the last play.”

He started rubbing his throwing shoulder and rotating the arm around.

Joe stopped immediately when he saw his wife

Kristin approaching.

Palmer / Selling Out / 11 He turned to her, his face quickly brightening.

“Hi

honey.” “You’re icing that down tonight,” Kristin pointed at him as she spoke. “I know.”

Joe nodded as he spoke, a hint of annoyance

in his voice. Kristin said, “I’ve heard that before.”

She didn’t

speak with the most playful sarcasm. Joe looked away and rubbed the back of his neck right below his hairline. “That was a nice play huh?” “It was.

I’m glad Fred got the touchdown.”

There

wasn’t as much annoyance in that statement as everything she had said up until that point. Joe exhaled.

“Yeah,” he said very seriously.

made eye contact for a couple seconds.

They

Joe bit his lower

lip and looked away, while Kristin looked down at Zach. “And you need to get home and go to bed.

You’ve gotta

get up extra early tomorrow so you can go in and get some help from Mrs. Romar.” Zach’s shoulders sunk forward. Kristin put her arm around Zach.

“Awwwright...”

around.”

“We’ll pull the car

Palmer / Selling Out / 12 Joe nodded.

Kristin and Zach turned and left.

Joe

could remember a time a year or more past when he and his wife never walked away from each other without a kiss, even if it was really quick. Most of his excitement over finally beating Jack’s team had been sucked out of him.

He stood in the middle of

the field watching his teammates and his wife and son get farther and farther away from him. Joe reattached the flag Jack had ripped off his belt and started heading to the parking lot.

Jack and another

man were right in his path discussing something. The other man pointed at the top of the bleachers and a few other places on the field.

That elicited a frown

from Joe. The man talking to Jack looked to be in his 50s.

He

had a white goatee; he wore a white designer dress shirt, high-end jeans, and a thin, slightly tacky gold chain-link necklace.

The fact that the other man seemed to be running

the conversation made Joe anxious to say the least. “Joe, wait a sec,” Jack said before Joe could interrupt them. “This is Connor Thompson.

He’s VP of program

development at Florida Sportscast. league.”

He wants to Webcast our

Palmer / Selling Out / 13 Joe didn’t know what pissed him off more: the word “our” or the concept of Jack’s friend webcasting his league’s games. “Connor Thompson.”

Thompson stuck his hand out.

Joe

grabbed it to shake and Thompson squeezed it way too hard. “Joe McCloskey,” Joe said in a grim voice. Thompson talked so fast. where we’d put the cameras.

“I was just telling Jack The top of the bleachers looks

good and we could se--“ “--Hold on.” minute.

Joe put his hands up.

“Hold on a

Jack told you you could webcast my league?”

“He said you’d be on board.

I’ve been telling him

about the horrible ratings we’re getting for the NFL and other pro sports. webcast.

I’ve been looking for other sports to

I mean, I looked at youth sports and other local

sports. “Jack told me I should check out this little league you guys started. on it.

I think we could really make a killing

The response you guys got from the fans was

incredible.

I--“

“--I started this,” Joe said, making sure to enunciate very clearly. “Right, right.

We’re gonna pay you of course.”

Jack looked away grimacing.

Palmer / Selling Out / 14 “You really think people would watch this?”

Joe

couldn’t deny that he was intrigued by the idea, even though Jack was involved. Jack started talking with his hands. what sports fans are looking for. personalities.

“I think this is

They want to see

They want celebrations.

Watching pro

sports is like watching two computers trying to outsmart each other.

That’s why this is could be such a big hit.”

Thompson shrugged.

“Who knows, if we get really good

ratings and we get some big-time sponsors on board maybe you guys could do this full-time,” he said. “C’mon man, don’t be an idiot,” Jack said, as if he and Joe were good friends and he had a right to be insistent. Joe frowned at his longtime rival for a moment.

He

imagined a series of events that turned his fun little flag football league into something closely resembling the NFL. He thought of practices a few times a week. league become more and more complex. faster.

He saw his

He saw the games get

He felt pressure from outside sources to

commercialize more aspects of the league.

He thought about

tough decisions he would be forced to make that would corrupt his original intentions. Joe shook his head.

“I’m not int--”

Palmer / Selling Out / 15 Thompson held up his hands and interrupted Joe, “-Sleep on it and gimme a call.

K?” He smiled like a crooked

used car dealer. “You can reach me through Jack.” Joe exhaled.

“Alright.”

Thompson smiled, unperturbed. going.

“Well I’ve gotta get

I’ll talk to you later Jack.”

Thompson turned

around and left. “See ya Connor.” Joe watched Thompson leave, while Jack stepped forward and breached the outer limits of Joe’s personal space. “Don’t stonewall me,” Jack said firmly.

“We could

make a lotta money on this.” Joe chuckled very briefly.

“Even if I decide to do

this what the hell makes you think you’d be getting any money?” “Don’t you even think of cutting me outta this. league was nothing before I came along.

Your

Besides...you

don’t even own the rights to “your” league.

All I’ve gotta

do is file a claim and it’s mine.” “Go ahead.

I’ll withdraw my team from the league.

There goes your biggest rivalry. number of teams.”

And you’ll have an odd

Palmer / Selling Out / 16 “Don’t tempt me.

Besides it’s not a rivalry when one

team beats the other eight times—-“ Jack was interrupted by Kristin’s car horn. Jack looked back at Kristin’s car then at Joe and walked away. “Man...” Joe muttered to himself.

He was reminded of

Jack stealing Lily from him more than 10 years earlier. Joe would’ve married her if Jack didn’t convince Lily that Joe had cheated on her with a flight attendant when he was on a business trip.

She found out years later that Jack

had lied about Joe and she apologized for leaving him, but by that time Joe was about to marry Kristin. Joe slowly walked to Kristin’s car, wishing he was still playing a simple game of football.

When he sat down

in the passenger seat Kristin asked, “What did he do this time?” Joe shut the door and put his seat belt on. tell ya later.

“I’ll

I just wanna get home and get some sleep.”

“Who was with him?”

Kristin asked as she drove the

car out of the parking lot and onto the main road. “Can we just...I...” “Fine, Joe.” Joe sighed.

He could almost her thinking: We can’t

live separate lives, you know.

Palmer / Selling Out / 17 “Jack threatened to buy the rights to my league if I don’t let Florida Sportscast webcast our games. can workout a contract with the network. with the VP of program development.

Then he

He’s good friends

He introduced us.”

“What’d you say?” “I told him I’d think about it.” “If Jack’s involved it’ll just be another thing for you two to fight over,” Kristin said exhaustedly. “You know...I don’t sit around looking for ways to compete with Jack.” “No, but when he comes after you, you always push back.” “Well, I have to push back on this one.

He could

destroy my league.” Kristin rolled her eyes and checked on Zach in the rearview mirror.

He seemed perfectly content staring out

the window at the scenery. Joe sighed.

Kristin relaxed a little.

“I’m sorry.

It’s just...he’s done some

things I’ll never forgive him for. up...”

I just get caught

Joe shrugged.

“But if you let Florida Sportscast webcast your games can’t you keep Jack out of it?” “Yeah, I guess. be webcast.”

But I’m not sure I want my league to

Palmer / Selling Out / 18 “Why not?” “I wouldn’t mind making some extra money. improve the field.

Fix the goalposts.

We could

But...what if it’s

a hit?” Kristin chuckled.

“You really think that many people

would watch you guys.” “Well, look at how many people showed up to watch us tonight.” Kristin nodded. “The guy from Florida Sportscast, Thompson, said that the NFL gets really bad ratings. opposite.

And we’re the exact

I mean, if they promote us enough I think we

could be really successful.

He joked about getting support

from big-time advertisers and playing football as a fulltime job but I think there’s a good chance it could actually happen.” “So what’s wrong with that?” “We could morph into the NFL.” Kristin gave her husband a confused look. “If we’re on the Internet all the time I’ll bet we’ll wanna start practicing so we play well. studying game recordings.

We’d start

We’ll start getting more and

more creative...” “OK.

But you still won’t be the NFL.”

Palmer / Selling Out / 19 “Well, not right away. reaction.

But it could start a chain

If people kept watching there’d be nothing to

stop us from trying to get better and better.

Then one

day...we’re seriously considering growth hormone injections and muscle-memory shock treatment.

Joint replacements

wouldn’t be too far off.” “But that stuff could be decades down the road.” “Right. webcast.

But it all starts with letting my league get

This is my baby.

I started it as the anti-NFL.”

“I didn’t realize you had put so much thought into this.” Joe eyed his wife curiously. away.

“What...”

He looked

A sick feeling formed in the pit of his stomach.

“I’ll talk to my team about it.

We’re gonna meet for

drinks at Happy Hour tomorrow after work.” Kristin nodded. “Whaddyou think Zach? football on the Internet?”

You wanna see your dad play Joe turned his head to look at

his son. “Yeah.

That’d be cool.”

Joe smiled at his wife. me.

“Well, that’s good enough for

Looks like I’ll have to go through with it.” Kristin smiled briefly.

Palmer / Selling Out / 20 When they got home they put Zach to bed and got ready to go to sleep.

As Kristin sat down on her side of the bed

she asked, “So when are you coming home tomorrow night?” Joe slid his legs under the covers and adjusted the ice pad wrapped around his throwing shoulder and mulled it over for a second.

“A little after seven.”

“When after seven? 7:30? 7:15?” “I don’t know.

I’ll leave Happy Hour at 7.

It could

take me 10 minutes to get home or 30 depending on traffic. Why?” Kristin sighed.

“Can’t you just tell me when you’ll

be home? Why can’t you just tell me a specific time?” Joe rolled his eyes.

“OK.

7:20,” Joe said firmly.

“Why is that so hard?” Joe held his breath for a second.

“Alright...”

shook his head, dreading what was about to happen.

He “Let’s

clear the air right now,” he said calmly. “Alright.

Your flag football team’s more important to

you than your family.

You care more about beating Jack and

protecting the purity of your league than our sex life or Zach’s problems in school.” “I mean, you’re either playing two games a week or having drinks after a game or you’re meeting to talk about

Palmer / Selling Out / 21 the next game.

And your league’s almost the only thing we

talk about.” Joe sat up and leaned against the headboard.

“That’s

not true.” “Yes it is!”

Kristin looked away angrily.

“And if

you don’t know that we’re in a lot more trouble than I thought.” “Look, I know Zach’s having trouble with math.” “Did you know the other kids have been making fun of him? They won’t play with him during recess.

He just goes

off and sits somewhere by himself.” “He never said anything to me.” “That’s because you never ask about it. talk to him about school.

And you don’t

He doesn’t think it’s important

to you.” “Well...we’ll talk about it when I get home from Happy Hour tomorrow.” “He could’ve used your help months ago, Joe. probably gonna have to go to summer school.

Now he’s

Or he might

get left back.” “Well...be patient.

It might not be that bad.”

“You’re just saying that because you don’t know what’s going on.”

Kristin exhaled loudly.

Palmer / Selling Out / 22 “I almost hope Jack does buy the rights to your league.

It’ll force you to pay attention to us.”

She

rolled over on her side and shut off the lamp on her nightstand.

Joe stared at her back for a few seconds then

looked around the room, thinking. Joe spoke carefully.

“You’re right,” he said.

guess I’ve been too focused on my games lately. not just about me.

“I

But it’s

It’s a way for Zach and I to bond.

We

don’t watch sports on the Internet like my dad and I used to.” Kristin looked back at Joe. completely personal.

“OK.

But beating Jack is

And it seems to be more important

than keeping your family together.

So don’t try to act

like you’re not being selfish.” “Well...that’s mostly true.

But preventing Jack from

buying the rights to my league and webcasting the games does have a little to do with Zach. integrity of something I created.

I’m protecting the I wanna show Zach that

it’s important to fight for what you believe in.” Kristin rolled onto her back.

“You’re reaching Joe.

This is all about you and you know it.

If you’re really

concerned about Zach looking up to you you’ll let them webcast your games.”

Palmer / Selling Out / 23 She adjusted the pillows under her head.

“Oh, and if

you really cared about Zach you’d be talking about how to help him with math.

You wouldn’t have changed the subject

back to your league.” Kristin looked into Joe’s eyes. long, hard look in the mirror.”

“You better take a

She rolled back over onto

her side. Joe shut off the lamp on his nightstand and went downstairs to the kitchen.

He grabbed a beer out of the

refrigerator, went to the living room and flopped down on the couch.

He sank back into the cushions and took a big

sip of his beer before setting it down on the coffee table. Joe wished Jack had sprung Connor Thompson on him in a few weeks.

Then he would’ve been able to enjoy beating

Jack for a little bit longer. Of course, beating Jack at flag football was little consolation for everything the man had done to Joe.

For

instance, when they were in college, Jack tried to get Joe expelled after Joe reported Jack to the police for hazing and nearly killing one of his friends at a secret fraternity initiation-–Jack and his fraternity brothers water-boarded Joe’s friend and forced him to drink excessive amounts of liquor.

Palmer / Selling Out / 24 Joe didn’t know if the league was more important to him than his family.

That’s why he couldn’t just take a

leave of absence from it.

He hoped his teammates could

help him resolve the situation quickly.

Then he could

scale back his involvement with his team so he could focus on his family. himself.

He’d have time to take a long, hard look at

At that moment, he didn’t know how to describe

what he saw in the mirror.

#

As Joe approached the entrance to Happy Hour he looked at the sign above the door.

He remembered frequenting the

establishment when it was called Game Time.

The owners

changed the name to attract a broader demographic.

Going

to a bar to drink beer, eat chicken wings, and watch sports wasn’t a very popular thing to do anymore. After they all toasted Jack, Joe got down to business. He cleared his throat loud enough so all his teammates could hear him.

“I ahh...hate to break up the party,

but...we gotta talk about something.” His teammates looked his way.

“Jack threatened to buy

the rights to the league if I don’t let his friend at Florida Sportscast webcast our games.”

Palmer / Selling Out / 25 “Well, just buy the rights before he does,” Steve said. “That’s what I was thinking,” Joe said. “Would his friend pay us?” Jake asked. “Yeah.

He didn’t say how much, but...”

Jake took a sip of beer.

“That’d be great.

I don’t

know about you guys but my knees are really sick of that field.” “What about those goalposts?” Tom asked. Fred said.

“And maybe we could pay somebody to be a

referee–-stop Jack from playin’ dirty all the time.” “That’s true. don’t know.

That’s what I was thinking.

But...I

This whole thing makes me uneasy,” Joe said.

“Why?” Calvin asked.

“I mean, once you get Jack outta

the picture what’s the problem?

I think it’d be kinda

cool.” “That’s what I’m talking about.

What if we really got

into this? I mean, practiced more, created a playbook, came up with audibles.

The games became even more entertaining.

I think this would get pretty popular.

I mean, we could

end up doing this full time.” Steve spoke up.

“Oh, you think we’re gonna start

turning into the NFL.”

Palmer / Selling Out / 26 “Yes,” Joe said immediately.

“I mean, that’s probably

years down the road but this is the first step to that happening.” “People wanna watch us?” Jake asked. Joe nodded.

“If I wasn’t playing I’d probably watch.

I mean, that’s why I started this league.

Think about that

game yesterday.

Fred caught the

We won on the last play.

ball while he was falling down. night, it was packed.

You saw the bleachers last

This is gonna be the new thing.”

Fred said, “C’mon man.

I’m sure Zach’ll love seeing

you on the Internet.” “Yeah.

I mean, you’re taking a pretty big leap of

faith,” Steve said. “Besides, if that does happen we’ll all be dead by then.

It’ll be somebody else’s problem,” Jake added

through a mouthful of peanuts. Joe put his hands up.

“I can’t believe this.

I

thought at least you guys would get where I’m coming from. This could ruin everything.” Joe felt like he was in a car that was careening down a ravine and no matter what he did he couldn’t slow it down or get control of the wheel. “I can’t believe I’m the only one here who’s really thinking things through,” Joe said.

“I never intended for

Palmer / Selling Out / 27 our games to get webcast when I started the league. never wanted it to be that big of a deal.

I

I mean, I don’t

even think we should’ve gotten six teams.” Fred set his beer on the bar. started this.”

“Now wait a sec.

We

Fred twirled his index finger around to

indicate the rest of the team.

“And you’ve got to think

about what the other teams want too.” Calvin added, “This isn’t just your decision Joe.” “What do you wanna do?

Keep the league the exact same

way forever?” Fred asked. Yes, Joe thought. Tom’s brow furrowed and he bit his lip. could vote on it.

That’s fair.”

Calvin tilted his beer toward Tom. idea.

“Maybe we

“That’s a great

We’ll get the other teams together.”

“Well I think we should at least discuss it before just voting on it. shouldn’t do this.”

I want to tell everybody why we Joe spit the words out.

Jake finished the peanuts in his hand. to me.

“Sounds good

But I don’t think it’ll make a difference Joe.”

Joe sipped his beer angrily. “Relax man.

“We’ll see.”

You’re acting like this is one of the

most important decisions of your life,” Fred gripped Joe’s shoulder.

Palmer / Selling Out / 28 “That’s weird comin’ from you.

I thought this ‘little

flag football league’ was the best thing you’ve got goin’ for you.” Fred stared at Joe, his face like a stone. unbelievable man.

“You’re

Do you know what it’s like to go through

a divorce you...” Fred guzzled down the rest of his beer and set it on the bar. night.”

“Look, I’ll see you guys at the game on Friday He turned and started walking away.

“Fred?

Come on man...”

Jake watched him leave.

He turned back to Joe, “Thanks. celebrating.”

We’re supposed to be

Jake wiped his hands off on his pants.

“You’re gettin’ the check.” Jake looked at everyone else. Joe sighed.

“Let’s go guys.”

“Guys...I’m sorry...c’mon...”

Jake, Calvin, and Tom turned and left. stayed behind. on them.

He rested his elbows on the bar and leaned

“They’ll be alright.

apologize.

But Steve

Just call ‘em tomorrow and

But you better call Fred tonight.

crossed the line.

You really

For a second there you sounded like

Jack.” Joe mouthed a curse and pounded on the bar. women on his left turned to look, eyes wide. said.

Some

“Sorry,” Joe

Palmer / Selling Out / 29 “Why’d you stay?” Joe asked Steve, his eyes curious. “Well, I didn’t feel like walking outta here just yet. My ankle still hurts a little from last night.” a sip of beer.

Steve took

“And I wanted to let you know that I think

I understand what you’re talking about.” Joe leaned on the bar. “You’re right.

“You’re the first.”

If we let commercialism creep in it

could cause other things to happen and us to have to make decisions and turn the league into something we never set out to create.

But I don’t think that’s a foregone

conclusion.” Joe looked at Steve.

“I’m just trying to prevent that

from happening and I don’t know the best way to do it.

I

mean, we created something so great.” Joe’s mouth hung slightly open for a few moments as he searched for what he was trying to say.

“It’s pure...I

guess I felt like you guys didn’t think that’s important. That’s why I lost it.” Joe got the bartender’s attention and asked for another beer. “You’re right.

We did create something pretty cool.

But no matter what, it won’t stay that way forever.” Joe sighed lightly.

“Yeah, you’re right.

I guess you

can really only ask for something to be really good for a

Palmer / Selling Out / 30 little while.

Enjoy it while it lasts huh?”

Joe stared at

the bar. Steve took a sip of beer.

“That’s a good philosophy.”

“I wish my dad could’ve been around to see it.

He

would’ve really liked it.” “Yeah, you guys were pretty close right?” Joe nodded.

“We used to watch football and basketball

and hockey before it really went downhill--once the mechanical enhancements got more practical for most franchises.

It probably sounds a little melodramatic...but

I created the league in his honor.” “No, man.

That’s great.”

Joe could hardly wait for Steve to finish speaking. “I don’t want this to turn into something he’d hate.” “Do you think he’d be mad at you if he were still here?” It took a second, but Joe shook his head slowly. “He must’ve been around before the NFL and those other leagues started letting their players use steroids and HGH.” “He was. was.

He used to tell me how exciting everything

Teams weren’t always equal physically.

year there were upsets that nobody expected.

Almost every Stats were

important but a lot of times things would happen that went against the numbers.

Palmer / Selling Out / 31 “He actually had some old recordings from like 50 or 60 years ago. pretty fast. creative.

Football was just amazing. I mean not like now.

It was still

But everybody was so

There were offenses that wouldn’t allow teams to

win championships but teams didn’t seem to care.” Steve said, “It’s always interesting how much things change in only half a century.” “I love having this constant reminder of him. the best thing about the league for me.

That’s

I guess that’s why

I can’t help being selfish about it.” “Joe, you’re not gonna lose those memories if the league changes or you’re not a part of it. something unique.

You did create

But now it’s bigger than you.

I mean,

is this thing more important than your friends? Are you willing to alienate them just to carry out some personal vendetta against the problems with professional sports?” Joe could find good reasons to say yes or no.

He

remained silent. Steve reached over and gripped Joe’s shoulder. you’ll have to think about it.

“Well,

But I think your dad

would’ve been proud of you.” Steve set his beer down.

“Now I’ve actually gotta go.

I was planning on leaving early anyways.

I need more sleep

Palmer / Selling Out / 32 to recover from yesterday.

I could barely get outta bed

this morning.” “Alright Steve.

Thanks for stickin’ around,” Joe

said. “No problem. too much.”

Hey, don’t let this stuff get you down

Steve started to walk away.

“Hey Steve?” He looked back.

“Yeah?”

“How are you gonna vote?” Steve shrugged.

“Don’t know.

I’ll have to think

about it.” Joe nodded. “You too.”

“Have a good night.” In the back of his mind, Joe was hoping

Steve would tell him how he was going to vote because he would probably just go along with him.

He was weary from

thinking about everything. While Joe slowly drank the rest of his beer he noticed an NFL game starting on one of the Internet screens above the bar.

He rested his elbows on the bar and watched for a

few minutes before he paid the bill and went home. The Miami Dolphins were playing the New York Jets on what looked like a high school soccer field.

Joe

remembered that the Dolphins stopped playing on McDonald’s field 15-20 years ago because the owner at the time

Palmer / Selling Out / 33 couldn’t afford it anymore.

But he didn’t realize they’d

been reduced to playing games at local high schools.

Joe

found it pretty depressing that two once-proud NFL franchises were forced to play under those conditions. Joe still had trouble comprehending how a league that was so unbelievably successful at the beginning of the century had fallen so far.

But he could see one advantage

to playing at a high school: the bleachers were full so to viewers it looked like the game was a pretty big deal.

At

least, that’s probably what the producers hoped. The game was actually played on Sunday afternoon. Florida Sportscast was re-airing it.

Even though football

was getting terrible ratings it was still doing better than hockey or basketball.

If that wasn’t the case, Joe knew

Florida Sportscast would have aired live hockey or basketball games. Joe really hated kickoffs and punts.

The kickers were

so skilled and could put so much hang time on kicks and punts that their teammates would be on the person receiving the kick seconds before he ever caught it.

That meant that

nobody ever tried to block punts because otherwise they would never have a chance at a return.

So the receiving

team would array itself around the returner and the game turned into rugby for 5-10 seconds.

Except, nobody would

Palmer / Selling Out / 34 lateral because they were afraid the kicking team would intercept it or cause a fumble.

Nobody ever ran a punt

back for a touchdown. The NFL was still trying to figure out what to do about the problem.

Unfortunately, the NFL wasn’t a

successful business anymore so it didn’t attract smart employees who could figure out a good solution. Everything was so precise.

The defense could pick up

on exactly what the offense was doing before the quarterback snapped the ball.

Defensemen had retinal

implants that allowed them to zoom in on the backfield. They could pick every little movement before and after the snap. Trick plays wouldn’t work so they had become a thing of the past. secondary.

Receivers couldn’t get all alone deep in the Cornerbacks didn’t take chances because they

didn’t need to. Everything happened so fast that the viewer could hardly keep up.

At least in baseball you still knew what

was going on, even if you were bored out of your mind. And they thought the parity in the league at the beginning of the century was bad, Joe thought. Joe watched one last play before he left the bar.

The

Dolphins quarterback snapped the ball and quickly threw a

Palmer / Selling Out / 35 pass.

They were trying to do some type of screen.

There

were two other receivers on the same side as the one the quarterback threw to.

They were supposed to block the

defensive backs while the receiver caught the pass and ran down the field.

But the cornerbacks recognized the play

immediately after the snap.

Before the receivers could

block, the cornerbacks were in the backfield tackling the receiver who caught the ball.

Joe remembered that’s how a

lot of plays ended. Joe was back at the poker table.

He could either put

all his chips in the center of the table, thereby sticking to his deeply-held principles about the league, or he could fold and just be happy going with the flow.

And the other

players were staring at him or tapping their fingers on the table waiting for him to make a decision.

#

“Hey mom?” Zach asked as his parents got out of Kristin’s car in the parking lot of Frank Schmidt Community Park before Joe’s next game. “Yes?” “Can I get a cookie?” Kristin looked confused.

Palmer / Selling Out / 36 “Over there,” Zach pointed toward the side of the bleachers.

Joe and Kristin both looked in that direction.

They saw what appeared to be a mother and her 7-11-year-old daughter selling cookies.

There was a slowly expanding

line stretching into the front of the parking lot. “Why don’t you ask your father,” Kristin suggested. Joe smiled worriedly.

Time was up.

Bet it all or

fold, Joe thought. His instinct was to stop the mother and daughter from selling cookies because he didn’t want people selling things at his games. rules.

It was his league and he made the

But that would piss off his family, his friends and

everyone in line who hadn’t gotten a cookie.

He guessed

they were pretty good because so many people were in line. “Sure Zach.

Go ahead.

Why don’t you go with your

mother and get one for me too.” Kristin asked, “You sure?” Joe nodded at her and she and Zach headed for the back of the line.

“I’ll be on the field so just bring it to me

alright?” “OK,” Kristin said. “Oh well,” Joe muttered to himself. hands, he thought.

It’s out of your

Joe knew that Steve was absolutely

Palmer / Selling Out / 37 right.

It was almost laughable to think he really had any

control over the future of the league. After warming up with his teammates for a few minutes, Zach sprinted onto the field with Joe’s cookie in his hand. Zach had some chocolate on the corners of his mouth. “Was it good?” Joe asked as Zach handed him his cookie. “Yeah, can I get another one?” “What’d your mother say?” “No,” Zach stared at the ground. “Well, I don’t want you up all night so I have to agree with her. tonight.

Besides, you need to get some sleep

We’ve gotta work on your math homework tomorrow.”

“Maaannn...”

Zach trailed off.

“Hey, you’ll have the whole rest of the weekend to yourself.

We don’t have that much to do.”

Joe ruffled

Zach’s hair. “Okay,” Zach said as he walked away. Joe took a big bite out of the cookie. looked down at it.

It was pretty good.

Joe nodded and

The mother and

daughter were smart for trying to make some money off of them. Joe watched Zach sit down next to Kristin and tell her something.

Probably what Joe just told him.

Kristin

Palmer / Selling Out / 38 looked at Joe and Joe gave her a smile that was worth a thousand words. “Hey Joe where’d you get the cookie?” Joe turned to see Jake approaching. toward the front of the parking lot.

Joe pointed

“They’re selling them

over there.” “Is it good?” “Yeah,” Joe said as he took another bite.

Jake

hurried off. Joe finished the cookie and rubbed his hands together to get rid of the crumbs. Joe rejoined his teammates.

“Hey we were thinking of

practicing tomorrow for the next game against Jack,” Fred said. “Ah, you know what, maybe next time. Zach with his homework. out.

I gotta help

And I think Kristin and I might go

You can be the quarterback.” “Alright man,” Fred said matter-of-factly. “But tell me if you come up with any great plays or

anything.

We’ll definitely use them in the next game.

“Hey when do you guys wanna do the vote? Jack’s really been getting on my case about it. if we’re all together on this.

I figure it’ll be nice

That way we can keep him

out of it if we decide to webcast the games.”

Palmer / Selling Out / 39 Calvin said, “We can tell Burt’s team to vote on it and tell us what they decide before we leave. some people from the other teams are here.

And I think

I’ll just tell

them at half time and they can get back to us.” “Sounds good,” Joe said. As the other team started walking over for the coin toss, Joe thought about his dad and what Steve had said at Happy Hour.