On Following the Playbook
- When you go to a party, always know multiple people there. That way, when you inevitably fall out of sync, there’s always another rhythm to tap into.
- You have to be big. If you’re not larger than life, then people will look down on you.
- The previous line refers to size and stature.
- It is not enough to be big. You also have to be strong.
- The required numbers are: 315 on bench, 265 on power clean, and 500 on squat.
- When the coach that recruited you says, “What’s up bird-chest?” you don’t look offended or caught off guard. Well—you certainly do, but he will never call your bluff.
- Do not attach yourself wholeheartedly to any group of people, that way when unexpected circumstances occur, you know those who you spend time with, are worthy of your presence.
- When you smoke with the other offensive lineman for the first time, a day after the biannual drug test, if there is a music video playing, that features a black video vixen, and if one white player asks, “Would you fuck her?” and another white player answers, “Dude my dad would kill me”, and only one other player says yes, and the rest of them regard him somewhat strangely, and you do not say a word the entire time, you do not smoke with them ever again.
- You still spend time with them though.
- And for the most part, you don’t mind. For the most part, the guys are decent.
Playbook Image by Mario Verduzco from Unsplash
Xavier Prince is a PhD candidate living and studying in Denver Colorado. He is interested in using expirimental forms to deal with memoir, Black existentialism, and radical Love. He has work published in Porterhouse Review, Birch Bark Editing, The Adroit Journal, and elsewhere.
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