Chapter 89: The call

LEO

"Taylor! Hustle your ass, boy. This ain't your college practice, where they carried you onto the field and fed you fucking cream puffs. This is real life, boy. Move it!"

Gritting my teeth, I picked up the pace, ignoring the sweat pouring down my face and into my eyes. I'd been in this place before. It was the same schtick, different venue. The first day of high school, our coach had warned us that we weren't in junior high anymore, playing midget football. The first day of practice at Carolina, our offensive line coach had jeered about whipping us 'high school Friday night lights starlets' into shape for the real game. And now, struggling to get through the first official month of practice and training camp at the University of Virginia with the Richmond Rebels, it was the same tired song.

Clearly none of these coaches had an adequate respect for their counterparts at the level below them. I wondered, in my heat-fucked brain, if they all had a meeting every month where they cam