A Picture is Worth 364 Words

Day+Day+Knowles+

Day Day Knowles

 

A picture gives a different perspective through the eyes of each onlooker, depending on the view that person takes. Andrew Clark has his own thoughts on this picture of Day Day Knowles, worth 364 words.

 

Focused, the worn player watches from the sideline as his teammates line up three yards in front of the first down line, going for the stop.

“Hut one. Hut two. Hike,” he hears the Montgomery quarterback shout before the pigskin is snapped efficiently into his embrace.

This hardly sounds like a shout to most, as the words are muffled by the shaking of creaky stands, the roaring of an overly excited student section, and the striking rumble of the drum line.

To Day Day Knowles, it’s completely different. Everything beyond the boundary lines is but a blur to him. All he hears is the game, all he sees is the game, and all he feels is the game.

Sweat rolls over Knowles’ now useless, drenched headband and crevasses itself in the strands of his lowered brows.

He doesn’t wipe the sweat. A mist of spit and sweat extrudes his mouth with every exhale. He doesn’t wait for the mist to settle before breathing back in.

The players on the line rush towards the end zone, attempting to juke the Cardinal defense.

Knowles scans the field in search of undefended players. He spots a gap in the defense at the 22-yard line. He keeps his eyes glued, knowing one of his well-practiced teammates will see as well.

“One Mississippi. Two Mississippi.”

Nick Willoughby makes his way directly into Knowles’ line of sight, perched behind the newly guarded receiver. The quarterback pierces the ball through the air, only touching white threads before its release. The mist ceases as Knowles’ breath stops and as his thoughts increase.

“Will this throw be intercepted leading to victory?” Knowles thinks. “Will we be the team that broke the two-year dry spell? Will our names go in the books?”

The ball is now only a few feet from the receiver’s hands and a few more from Willoughby ‘s. What was only a few tenths of a second felt like a minute to Knowles.

The ball makes it to the hands of the receiver when… “Click.” A camera sounds, the ball is dropped, and Knowles’ attention is momentarily shifted before seeing the result of the game altering… no, the season-altering fumble recovery.