'Twas the Night Before Kickoff

Kevin Aherne

​'Twas NFL kickoff, when all through the land,
Fans all rejoiced with a new season at hand.
Nylon jerseys pulled over new shoulder pads,
The persistence of DeflateGate made everyone mad.

​The locker room spikes went click and then clack,
Awaiting fumbles, completions, interceptions and sacks.
Belichick in his hoodie, Pete Carroll in his sweater,
Game-planning schemes for worse or for better.​
​Then onto the TV, something special appeared,
Bob Costas, Al Michaels, and a commercial for beer.
I jumped on my couch, and popped open a bottle, 
It was the pregame show, soon we will be going full throttle.

​They had a parade, and then some cheesy pop band,
The National Anthem to honor our land.
Then the referrees, dressed in all black and white,
Placed the ball on the tee, for its kickoff tonight!

​Now Eli! Now Brady! Now Jameis and Wilson!
On Bortles, on Johnson, on Stafford and Newton!
Into the Redzone, and straight past the goal,
Slash, and dash, then hit the hole!
​​The stadium filled up, excitement grew loud,
The scoreboard began changing, evoking the crowd.
Touchdowns and field goals, they're going for two,
But the home team was losing, fans started to boo.

​As the game clock ran empty,  and hope fleeeting away,
All luck seemed to run out for this team today.
Just one final chance on the game's final drive,
We need a Hail Mary miracle to keep our chances alive!

The quarterback dropped back, and to his delight,
His man was open, with the endzone in sight.
The reciever reached out at the spiral in air...


You scored the game-winning touchdown, now spike it with flare!