Robofootball: Doublespin

“I don’t know if I’m ready for this dad, I kind of gave up on football,” Carly said somewhat morosely and retrospectively. When she thought more about it, she didn’t really have a favorite parent. Parents always denied playing child favorites which was virtually impossible to do except in Carly’s case, she was an only child like Jess; nevertheless, the converse was often true. Favoritism is irrefutably a part of human nature. Her father was laid back, spoiled her immeasurably, and was basically the good cop. Her mother tended to be more stern and strict, the bad cop, but she could at least talk to her mom about girl things that her dad, like 97.6% of the population that was not gay, would or could never remotely comprehend.

“Nonsense, this will be fun, we’ve got some extra tickets left from our auto promotion for the game tomorrow. You should see one of these, I went last year and it was a riot! Lots of action, crashes, bang-ups, and the sweepers are a lot of fun too.”

“Sweepers?”

“Yeah, robot cleaner-uppers, they came out in little vehicles and carts and shovels with magnets to pick up the debris.”

“Sounds great,” Carly replied in her less than enthusiastic flinched ‘Gnarly Carly’ sarcastic voice. “I’ve got midterms in both biology and chemistry. I got a 92 on my last chem quiz, so I really REALLY need to study. It was Saturday, October 17, 2020, nearly halfway through Carly’s first semester in her second year of college. She was visiting home for the weekend which was customary for her to do once per month.

“You’ve spent 10 hours in your room today dear,” Sarah Tucker cut in.

“Yeah mom, but I’ve already gotten one A- on my record, I don’t want another.”

“Yes, but you need to take a break from time to time,” her mother went on. “It’s time for you to start dating again, it’s been a long, long time, over a year now since his passing.”

“I’ve got no time for it,” Carly remained obstinate.

“Honey,” said Peter Tucker, “College is supposed to be some of your best years. I know you take your studies seriously, but you’ve got to have some fun too, live a little. I’m confident that you’ll make it to med school, but that’s a ways off too.”

“But….,”

“No buts,” her dad interrupted, “We haven’t done anything as a family in awhile either, just the 3 of us, we’ll get some food, take a road trip!”

“I don’t know…..”

“Listen, I’ve got to pick up a car in Auburn Hills, we can take your Camaro and we’ll suffer through your music, throw mom in the back….”

“What? I heard that,” Sarah chimed in, “It’s cramped back there.”

“Yes dear, but you’re so thin and petite that you fit well, I think you’ve lost a little weight too since the last time you rode there,” said Pete.

“Yeah right, its short you meant to say, I’m afraid that Ms. Carlene Tucker may have inherited by hip displacement.”

Pete sighed as his plan was teetering in the balance like a teeter-totter with the short boy and the chubby girl, but as a consummate salesman, he decided to sweeten the deal. “You know, we could leave a little early, maybe stop at that one mall, what is it, the Great Lakes Mall or something?”

“Great Lakes Crossing!” Both Sarah and Carly chimed in.

“Hmm, I could do that,” added Sarah.

“Can we eat at the Rainforest Café?” Carly brightened.

“Sure, why not?” Pete put on his best somewhat glum poker face, but he was grinning inside.

Carly was on her way back upstairs when Sarah said, “Dinner in an hour.” When she heard Carly’s door close, she turned to her husband, “Good one slick.”

“Just looking out for my girls.”

“Yes, you are right, she does need to get out more. I hope that she doesn’t waste too many years of school, she’s all work and no play.”

“Well, she is still on the pill, right?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure why other than regularity, as far as I know, she hasn’t dated a soul since Jess died.”

“Yeah, too bad, they never even had much of a service for him did they?”

“No, none that I heard of, just a small announcement in the paper, nothing else. Jess’s dad always was a piece of work.”

“We did sell his wife a Malibu once, but I don’t remember much else, especially after she died.”

“Yes, they have had their share of tragedy.”

The drive down into southern Michigan was fairly uneventful. At her mother’s request, Carly was able to keep the sound playing from the front speakers only. Since Carly was only 5’3” which was still an inch taller than her mother, she naturally scooted her seat up which gave her stubby-legged mother an adequate amount of leg room sitting behind here. That way her dad could move the front passenger seat back to where it nearly connected with the limited rear seat. They stopped at the Chevrolet dealership in Auburn Hills to pick up the keys to a Topkick that Pete would drive home after having to boost Sarah into the truck from the passenger side. They would pick up the truck after the game as Carly would head back to Ann Arbor in the Camaro.

As a freshman, Carly had to live in the dorm and was not allowed to have a car. As a sophomore, she had moved out and rented a large home with 7 other girls and was able to have a car. On her next trip home in November, she would be leaving the Camaro with her parents in favor of the Cruze as the Camaro was strictly a summer car, the high gear ratio made the rear wheels spin at such a high rate that it was virtually impossible to drive it with an inch or two of snow on the ground. Rather than mess with specialized snow tires, it was easier just to switch between the 2 vehicles, a nice perk that came with the family auto dealership business.

They hit the mall for a couple of hours, and then ate next to a large fountain with a statue of Poseidon and his trident, not far from one of the big salt water aquariums with colorful fish that was a trademark of the Rainforest Café. Carly still got that little thrill when the simulated thunderstorm passed by with flickering lights, rumbles of thunder, and the sounds of frantic jungle animals mixed with wind-driven pouring rain. Outside the weather was sunny and surpassed 50 degrees Fahrenheit in this part of the state as the Pontiac-Auburn Hills area was much a northern suburb of Detroit. The Silverdome parking lot was quite immense and Pete had to pay $20 to park. The parking revenue alone might gross the Verlucci Family a cool million if the stadium was full. It wasn’t, but attendance had been creeping up, especially since the 2-2 Robocats seemed to be much more competitive this year after their disastrous 0-12 initial season from the previous year. The 2 losses in 2020 had been close ones at that.

The Tuckers settled in around the 40-yard line. Pete had saved some of the best tickets for himself and his two favorite girls. Above them in a special enclosed club suite closer to the 50-yard line sat Senator Lenny Wilson and his date, Dr. Isabelle Mendoza. Lenny was the guest of a fellow democratic senator from Michigan who had scored some of the absolute best seats in the house. The only ones better were in another suite directly on the 50-yard line at the highest seating point within the dome, and that was the presidential suite owned and occupied by Dano Verlucci. Reynolds of course was down in the war room directing his staff of trainers, player controllers and coordinators, not to mention his direct computer link communication with Antwan. The trainers were none other than repair and maintenance engineers led by Yuri and Doc Holliday, replacing the old First Aid and sports medicine personnel who once catered to injured human players. Damaged robots required a slightly different style of care.

Carly’s interest perked up briefly when she observed the #18 quarterback. Not only did he have the same number as Jess once had, but he would pull a similar double spin move later in the game like Jess used to. He would come out of the game for a spell, but a few plays later, unbeknownst to her and virtually everyone else in the stadium, he would be replaced by his #18 clone. She paid attention to the clone, but did not see anything out of the ordinary from what one would expect from mechanical players. The game would be fairly close, but the Robocats would come up on the short end of the 42-31 final score.

“Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch’entrate!” (“All hope abandon, ye who enter here!”)

Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto Ib. III, 9