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*Becoming a Python - woelkers - 09-16-2019
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I am using this article series as a way to give back to some (unfortunately not all) of the rookies of the s18 class, who have been so very good to me. Part of that is simply exposure for those whose stories are being told, and part of that is splitting funds with those whose names and words are used herein. That said, I would like to give half of the earnings of this specific article to Opera_Phantom, who graciously gave me the time for an interview as part of this piece.Previous Piece: Becoming a Coyote
The fourth stop on my journey finds me seated on the couch of a studio apartment in Portland, with S.L. Benfica and FC Porto engaged in a lively match on the television. Next to me, nervously hanging on to the edge of his cushion as Porto drives for goal, is Jay Cue @Opera_Phantom, the young stud at quarterback for the Portland Pythons. The Portuguese Phenom, as some know him, groans as Porto puts away their third goal of the match, opening up a two-goal lead over his hometown Benfica, and flips the channel to a game between Oregon and Oregon State; fortunately, the seventeen point lead the Ducks have over the Beavers brightens his mood, giving me an opportunity to start digging into the questions I have for him.
Cue was born in Lisbon, Portugal, to Peter Cue, an employee of the U.S. embassy there, and Ana Silva. Given his father’s citizenship, he grew up watching the sport of football, but until the age of eighteen, Cue seemed to be on the path to Benfica; perhaps his absence from the midfield is why they are losing to Porto. Of course, it is the sudden transition from the pitch to the gridiron that has captured my attention, and when I ask about it, he is all too ready to answer, “Yeah, I surprised everybody with that move; I’d never really played organized football, and even though I spent some time training at Oregon, I think it made scouts nervous that I was new to the game. But, I’m a natural athlete, and I was confident in myself, that I could do this, even if teams weren’t as confident in me”. Of course, time proved that at least one team was confident in Cue’s talents; Portland, under new management, drafted the talented young arm fifth overall. “I was shocked, really,” recalls Cue, “I was confident in my abilities, but I wasn’t particular optimistic that teams felt the same way, especially with so few snaps and almost no footage. So, when Portland grabbed me fifth, it was a huge boost to my confidence”.
“I’d run through fire for this team,” Cue says when I ask him how it feels to be a Python. “They took a chance on me, and I’m going to give them my best for as long as I’m here”. When I ask him what he thinks that will look like, he’s surprisingly quick on the draw, “I expect to play probably three seasons here; I don’t think any team in the NSFL has an immediate enough need to play me right away, so the goal is to win some rings, and hopefully even set passing records while I’m here”. When I point him towards goals for his NSFL future, however, he hesitates a while before answering, “For now, I don’t have goals for the long run. Like I said, I don’t think teams need or want me to play immediately, so I’m expecting to drop in the draft, and I’ll sort of take it day by day once I find a new home”. When I ask him about the potential of him switching positions to raise his stock, he scoffs at me, “Not a chance. This is the position I chose, and I’m willing to wait for my opportunity to play if that’s what I have to do. Some team is going to come knocking, and they won’t regret it”.
At this point, I turn to my most important question: what inspires Cue? Why play this game, and not soccer? He smiles and nods before answering, “I guess you could say determination. I am dead set on proving that I can make it in this game, at this position, despite a background that suggests I might have been better for soccer. I want to be the person who proves that anybody can play football, even somebody like…well, like this”. At this point, he flips back to Benfica to indicate what he means; much to his delight, they’ve pulled even at three. “So, yeah. That’s the chip on my shoulder”. As his attention returns to stressfully rooting for his beloved soccer club, I put the finishing touches on my notes: nobody ought to sleep on this Jay Cue kid. Nobody.
Next Piece: Becoming a Luchadore
*Becoming a Python - Dylandeluxe - 09-16-2019
Excellent
read!
*Becoming a Python - Opera_Phantom - 09-17-2019
Well, at least we got a draw!
Great stuff, awesome read