I’m not superstitious and don’t buy into the “bad things come in threes” idea, but I have to admit, when something bad happens, the thought does cross my mind. I first thought to write this as a story, but decided to give it a shot in poetic form. If you don’t know anything about football, it probably won’t make a lick of sense; but if you do, you might get a “kick” out of it. It’s kind of about more than football, just uses football to make a point about life. So give it a read if you have time. Thanks.
Threes
They say
Bad things come in threes
But I never heard it said
About good things
It reminds me of a guy kicking a field goal
You know
The one that’ll knock you out of the playoffs
End your season
You
Standing there in the D backfield
Wishing you were ten feet tall
So you could leap into the air
Knock the pigskin into the next county
Then do the discount doublecheck
For the whole dang world to see
HEY RAHJUZZ
But instead, you watch
As the kicker takes that first step
Your eyes getting big as Brian Urlacher’s
That first Monday night
One big difference
His
Were filled with maniacal glee
Yours
Are filling with tears
The kicker’s second foot hits the turf
It’s like slow motion
And feels like he’s stepping on your heart
You knew it was coming
When they converted
Who runs the dang ball
On third and twelve
With the game on the line
You
Remember your grandpa
Saying life ain’t fair
And the right guy don’t always win
The one
Who knows all the tricks
The one
Who’s willing to take chances
That’s the one
That’ll come out on top
And then everything clicks
Back to regular speed
The leg
Swings through
The ball
Sails over your head
The whole stadium quiet
Every head turning
Following the ball
End-over-end
And when it sails through the uprights
The sound comes back
Sounds like a million people screaming
But not for you
As you
Walk off the field
Trying to hold your head up
Because…
You know you’re supposed to
You know life will go on
But right now
It doesn’t seem like it will
Three steps…
Three points…
Game over…
They were right
Copyright © 2012 C Mashburn
Sharing this on dVerse Poets Pub’s Open Link NIght #73 this afternoon.
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Marbles In My Pocket ~ The Official Blog of Charles L. Mashburn ~ Poems, Short Stories, and random thoughts from the author of "Be Still... and know that I am God" 
pandamoniumcat said
Bad things do seem to come in threes… only said that today as the third one hit! Anyway, loved your footy poem, I was on the winning end at the stadium watching a try unfold that took my team to the finals…was exactly as you described…though I lost my voice when I left the stadium. 🙂
charlesmashburn said
I’m sorry to hear that third one hit. But you got to see that winning kick! Hang on to that meomory!
Pats Devotions said
Awe! So thats how i ended up being married times in my life HUH! and all along I thought that the Third time was a charm. “OH Well”… Blessings and thanks .. Bro Pat 🙂
charlesmashburn said
I reckon that’s a different kinda situation, Pat.
Thanks for stopping by!
brian said
haha i love the football imagery as we are pretty well fanatics at this point in the season and its heartbreaking in the moment…and we forget there is next week…and dang if we lose three in a row…well…maybe we will get a good draft pick and be back next year….smiles…really enjoyed man…
charlesmashburn said
Yep. Fanatics one and all, even though some of us pretend not to care. HA!
Thanks, Brian!
Grace said
I am a foot ball fan but you have captured the intense moments…its long between winning and losing the game ~
I am not superstitious….fate is fate, and you do your darn best to tackle it to your advantage ~
charlesmashburn said
oooo, nice play on words, Grace. I like it!
Thanks!
Pat Hatt said
What happens happens as far as I know but if you look you can sure find three in a row!
charlesmashburn said
I hear ya, Pat!
ManicDdaily said
Don’t play feeling but know the feeling. The three aspect cute, though a deeper story than that I felt. Agh. k.
charlesmashburn said
Yes’m. Much more to this than shows on the surface. Good to hear from you!
Mary said
Don’t know which specific game inspired this poem, but do know I am glad that the Green Bay Packers are pulling it together at the moment despite so many injuries. And also that Mason Crosby, their kicker, is managing to do HIS job most of the time….despite his recent slump. Football, like life, has ups and downs. Hoping for more UPS than DoWNS, as we all are.
charlesmashburn said
No specific game, Mary. Was more about life in general, just used a common football occurence as a parallel.
athursdayschild has a long way to go and much to be thankful for. said
Maybe both good and bad happen in threes….like third time’s a charm.
charlesmashburn said
A good point, although I see a flaw in the reasoning; The third times the charm usually indicates the first two were not so optimum, and maybe even bad. Juss sayin.
Thanks for the visit and comment!
AJ Walker (@ajwalker65) said
Really liked this one. The whole thing about 3’s and then tying it together with football. Genius!
charlesmashburn said
Thanks, AJ! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Raven said
Charles, I was glad for the intro re: football. It gave me all I needed to get into the “game.” I enjoyed the quickness of the game and the feeling that came with it. I could move along with you, even keep up.
charlesmashburn said
Awesome! I’m glad you got a kick out of it!
Gay Reiser Cannon said
Well you just wrote my grandson’s heart. He’s captain of his 3A team in Navarro. They played San Isabel in the playoffs last Friday. They led for the whole game in the last 30 seconds SI tied the game. It went into overtime. SI won the toss and got a td and extra point first. Then Navarro fumbled when it was their turn, the game was over. The difference had come because Navarro missed their first extrapoint kick and never could make the two point conversions to get more than 6 points ahead. Heartbreaking,…and life. It does go on, but the game stays on rewind for quite a few years as I’m sure you know.
charlesmashburn said
Oh, man, that IS tough! I guess I’ve seen about every scenario from both sides of the ball. You win some you lose some, and yes, some of the losses hurt for a few years.
Thanks for the read and comment, Gail!
ayala said
This is great 🙂 love it !
charlesmashburn said
Thank you, Ayala!