Shifting Allegiances

Armand Reynolds had been shocked before. He had had the wind knocked out of him on the football field by guys two or three times his size. He had seen games won and lost on last-second Hail Maries. He had even walked into his off-campus apartment to find two women from the gymnastics team who had snuck in, removed their clothes, and tucked themselves into his bed as a surprise. Yet none of these shocks prepared him for the one he experienced when he opened his email on the first morning of the new semester to see a message from his star quarterback, Ethan Taylor, with the subject "My Decision to Transfer". Reading the rest of the message did nothing to reduce his shock:

Hey Coach Reynolds,

I hope you're doing well. I wanted to tell you that after a lot of thought and consideration, I've decided to transfer to Verdell University for the upcoming football season. This wasn't an easy call, especially considering the awesome time I've had here at Rushton. Verdell came through with an offer that's seriously too good to pass up. It's a chance to challenge myself in a new environment and really push my skills to the next level.

The camaraderie here has been unreal, and I'll definitely miss the team and the vibe.

Take care,

Ethan

Armand stared at the email, the words swimming on the screen. His eyes refocused and he read the message one last time, cementing the reality of the situation; his star player was leaving for Rushton's archrival. With one click of the "Send" button, a 20-year-old had thrown all of Armand's plans into disarray. He found himself trying to figure out why Ethan had decided to leave. It couldn't have been about playing time - Ethan was going to be starting quarterback, after all - and it couldn't have been about the quality of education - Verdell and Rushton were both synonymous with the highest level of academic achievement. So what had Verdell offered that Ethan couldn't turn down?

As he processed Ethan's bombshell message, Armand noticed Marcus Thompson passing by his office door. Armand gestured to the screen. "Marcus, have you seen this?"

Marcus, his ever-calm and composed assistant coach, glanced at the screen, his brow furrowing. "Man, what? Ethan's transferring to Verdell? That's... damn."

Armand nodded, frustration simmering beneath the surface. "Yeah, I mean, did you know about this? Anything that could have tipped us off?"

Marcus closed the door to the office and took a seat opposite his friend and boss. "I didn't want to say anything, Coach, but I heard through the grapevine that Ethan had a secret recruiting visit with Verdell over the summer."

Armand's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "A secret visit? How did we miss that?"

Marcus sighed, shaking his head. "Apparently, Verdell pulled out all the stops. And to close the deal, they... they showed him everything that the student body had to offer."

Armand leaned forward. "Marcus, who do you think you're talking to? Just say what you mean."

Marcus paused, choosing his words carefully. "Rumor has it they put that man in a room with the hottest women on campus. The rest is history."

Armand leaned back in his chair, a mix of exasperation and contemplation clouding his thoughts. "So that's how it's gonna be... You remember when we were getting recruited? The team would get you into a party, but after that it was on you."

Marcus nodded. "What can I say, the game's changed a little bit since our time."

Armand sighed. "I get it, you put a kid in that situation, who's gonna say no? But still… Verdell? Our biggest rival? It's a blow, Marcus, not just for the team but for morale."

Marcus nodded in agreement. "It's a tough hit, no doubt. But when one door closes, another opens. We’ve got a squad to lead, a season to prepare for." He leaned forward as he spoke, his voice carrying a conspiratorial tone. "And you know what they say, Coach - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

Armand looked up, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Join them? You mean..."

"I mean we consider their playbook," Marcus clarified, a sly smile spreading across his face. "We don't have to mirror their every move, but there might be insights we could use. It's about staying competitive, staying ahead."

Armand pondered the suggestion. He wasn't totally comfortable with the idea of taking a page out of their archrival's playbook, but he was intrigued all the same. "We'll need to do this right, Marcus," he finally replied, a glint of determination in his eyes. "We're gonna do it our way, which means we're gonna do it bigger and we're gonna do it better. We're gonna take care of our players all season long. You know how we have a practice squad? Well, we're gonna pull together a fuck squad made up of the most desirable, most attractive women on campus. Each game, we'll have our captains pick our "Players of the Game" - guys who are making the big plays, but also the guys who are doing the small things right. Those are the guys who will get the Verdell treatment, if you know what I mean."

Marcus grinned as his friend worked through his plan. "Coach, you're either gonna get us fired or you're gonna win us a title. Either way, I'm with you. Once those boys know what they're playing for, they'll be going crazy on the field. One question: where are we gonna recruit some "star players" for this new team? We're a week away from our first game."

Armand didn't miss a beat. "I know exactly where to start."