Those Once-in-a-Lifetime Moments

Three years after RFM swept the entire nation up in its frenzy back in 2019, the TFM that unfolded in its wake pulled Americans toward the sport in droves.

No high schooler or college athlete in history had ever basked in attention this dazzling.

And once the winner of the long-yet-brief TFM race was finally decided, people found themselves asking the same question yet again.

Really.

'Was it worth it?'

The public had asked exactly that when he became the first NCAA-affiliated client in Nike history, signing an astronomical two-year, $40 million contract.

But that year'sMain Character silenced the doubters with an all-time great performance, and this season, he raised his value even higher.

And so—

"GO READY— 80!!"

"TURBO, SET!!"

Today was no different.

[Chris Fowler – ESPN Play-by-Play]

"Second and 11. Play action. Moi in the pocket. You cannot give him that much time. He sees the target. Launch. And throw. Jordan Addison into the end zone— CAUGHT!! Ladies and gentlemen, you are currently watching the show of Dwayne Moi Stone, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft!! OH MY— OH MY!!"

Underdogs, yes — but TCU was never a weak team. Not by any stretch. They had entered the playoff as the representative of the Big-12, and they carried a deep reservoir of talent across every position group, players projected to reach the NFL as early as next year.

Steve Avila (OG), Kendre Miller (RB), Quentin Johnston (WR), Dylan Horton (DE), Tre Tomlinson (CB), Dee Winters (LB) —

And quarterback Max Duggan, even if he wasn't a draft-caliber talent, was regarded as the kind of prospect an NFL team might happily take a flier on as an undrafted free agent.

Above all, head coach Sonny Dykes — the man who had assembled and developed a roster whose talent had been squandered until just last year — was rated, alongside Kirby Smart, as a heavyweight candidate for 'Coach of the Year.'

But today, a great many things changed.

Even without a national title, the 2022/23 season should have remained a joyful, glorious memory for TCU and its fans. Instead, their final game of the season was becoming a nightmare.

The worst stinker ever played.

They had already surrendered the most points in national championship history, and in doing so had already completed the most humiliating defeat in their program's history.

Podlesny, who had trotted onto the field countless times today, drilled yet another PAT, and the score now stood at 87–7 — an eighty-point chasm.

A score that even a D1-versus-D2 matchup would struggle to produce had materialized in a D1 game — no, in the national championship itself.

The atmosphere was that of a funeral home.

TCU's players were already in tears.

Helplessness. And shame.

Those two emotions were why.

[Chris Fowler]

"In the end, Dwayne Moi Stone is carving his name into every record college football has to offer on his way out. 832 total yards. He has surpassed the single-game record for total offense that Patrick Mahomes set against Oklahoma on October 22, 2016 — by 13 yards."

[Kirk Herbstreit – ESPN Analyst]

"This kid is saying it right now: Doubt me more. Criticize me more. If you can look at these numbers and still feel the same way, then you just don't like me — plain and simple. There is no evaluating this kid downward on talent alone. It's astonishing."

832 total yards.

12 touchdown passes.

Dwayne Moi Stone had delivered, quite literally, a performance as if the god of football himself had descended onto the field.

The national championship, which opened at a 10.3% preliminary viewership, was still holding double-digit ratings despite the massive score gap.

That fact proved only one thing.

The fans wanted Moi's show.

A hero, not a villain.

The many layers of image that had accumulated ever since the moment he appeared like a comet at the national track meet had made Dwayne Moi Stone an irresistible, unrefusable product.

Then, a roar rolled out from the stands.

"MOI GOES PITTS!!"

"MOI GOES PITTS!!"

The chant, shared by fans dressed in Pittsburgh Steelers uniforms, was making SoFi Stadium feel like a Steelers home game.

And at that moment, Sonny Dykes thought.

'Please, Mercy.'

Just please — show some mercy.

Across the field, on the far sideline, a scene was unfolding: Dwayne Moi Stone exchanging hugs with a long line of people.

What could that possibly mean?

TCU's head coach could do nothing but pray that Georgia wouldn't pile on any further humiliation — and he couldn't bear how powerless that made him feel.

[Chris Fowler]

"The Three-Time Heisman Trophy Winner. And the Three-Time National Championship Most Valuable Player. He has not lost a single game since setting foot on a college campus, and this year he finally raised his standing to a place no one can challenge. Ladies and gentlemen — we are watching, right now, the greatest player in the history of college football."

I learned anew just how cruel the media could be when I heard Molly McGrath's question after the game.

"If you'd stayed out there and kept playing, do you think you could have broken 100?"

That question was tantamount to teabagging TCU, so I told her I honestly couldn't say — only that I'd have given everything I had — then offered a few words to console TCU and added a sentence expressing my respect for the journey they'd made.

The world has far too many traps in it.

"Damn— this is just incredible."

"Make sure you soak this feeling in."

"Why's that?"

"Because someday you're going to miss it. And then you'll catch yourself thinking you have to work like crazy just to feel it again."

This year, more than any other, belonged to the secondary — their play had been blinding. Among them, I offered Malaki, the one who would have to lead Georgia's defense going forward, some advice about the attitude he needed to carry.

Paper petals adorning the sky.

Crowds roaring for us.

If you wanted to be the star of this moment every single year, to feel this over and over, then the answer wasn't to get drunk on the success you'd just tasted — it was to learn how to crave it, how to starve for everything you were feeling right now.

"Your absence is going to leave a big hole."

"You'll get used to it."

"You're going to Pittsburgh, right?"

"Damn— how many times do I have to say it? It's not my choice! Did you forget? This is the draft!"

"Haha. Fair point."

This year, more than any other, I didn't want to leave the field.

Maybe it was because this was my last game in a Georgia uniform — but I wanted to savor this moment forever.

"Moi."

The moment I shared a deep embrace with Coach, who had tapped my shoulder, the surrounding cameras instantly filled up, capturing the two of us.

Still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠holding the embrace, he spoke to me.

"Truly, it was an honor to be with you."

"Same here, Coach."

Lately, I'd been thinking a lot about the day Coach Kirby Smart first visited Grandma's house. Back then, my future was clearly leaning somewhere other than Georgia — but after everything that happened, I ended up in Athens, and I made so many happy memories there.

Those once-in-a-lifetime moments.

"You're going to do great in the pros too."

"Haha. You do realize there are microphones all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around us, right?"

"Everyone already knows it. So what?"

"Still — thank you for declaring it on my behalf."

"Haha."

With my hand resting warmly on Coach's shoulder, and his hand on my waist, we walked together toward where the people were gathered.

An era, finally completed.

We had built a dynasty from 2020 — the year COVID-19 began — through this year, and now we would hand this legacy down to the underclassmen and set out on a new journey toward the next stage.

But I was still a Georgia student, after all — so, egged on by my teammates, I stood where I was and shouted to the sky:

"BUUUUUL DAAAAWWWWGS--!!"

"WOOF!!!"

"WOOF!!!"

I was going to keep saying it, from now on and always.

That I was glad it was Georgia.

That I was happy because it was Georgia.

I LOVE MY TEAM.

I LOVE UGA.

Until the day I came back to begin a new chapter for my diploma, I intended to pause my steps here, leave my uniform folded neatly behind, and walk away.

#. January 10, 2023

#–1. Lake Park, Illinois, USA

#–2. Chicago Bears Front Office

The Chicago Bears, who had watched the No. 1 overall pick vanish right before their eyes, were still reeling from the aftershocks.

The mood inside the front office was that of a funeral parlor, and there wasn't a trace of life to be found on the faces of anyone on the clock.

What accelerated that atmosphere further was the media. Footage of downtown Pittsburgh aired by the big networks like ESPN and Fox clawed the wound in the hearts of the Bears faithful even deeper.

The people of Pittsburgh were celebrating as though their team had already won the Super Bowl, and reportedly you could hear voices shouting "WE GOT MOI!" everywhere, at all hours of the day.

And then yesterday's national championship game drove the wedge in for good.

"…"

In an office thick with silence, George McCaskey stared blankly at the speakerphone.

In the future he had dreamed of, the phone lines should have been on fire by now — yet as of today, not a single team had approached the Bears' front office about a trade for the draft pick.

You could blame the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ongoing season and the six weeks still left until the Combine, but the NFL simply didn't operate that way.

Knock knock.

Click—

With the knock, the door swung open, and a woman swept quickly past the secretary who appeared first and strode inside.

A face radiating fury and discontent.

Joanne McCaskey slammed her palm down on the desk.

BANG!

"I told you, Uncle!"

"…My head is killing me."

"It ended up going exactly the way Ethan said it would! Didn't I tell you we couldn't fixate on losing alone?"

"…"

From the moment TFM was decided, Joanne McCaskey had been the one planning the future more seriously than anyone in the building. It was Joanne who recommended the rebuilding specialist Ethan Lowell to the front office, and it was also Joanne who called in when the team fell to 1–6 and insisted, "We have to lower the quality of the losses themselves."

But because she was a hardliner who argued they had to land Dwayne Moi Stone at all costs, the key figures — George McCaskey included — had quietly turned a deaf ear to her.

How much could a woman possibly know about football?

In the end, they paid the price for that thought.

"I'm not doing this job anymore."

"What?"

"Consider my employment void, as of today. From the very beginning until right now, you never trusted me — all because I'm young and a woman. And thanks to that, the Bears lost everything: the present and the future. Congratulations, Uncle. Be content collecting a handful of picks from the teams hoping for C.J. Stroud or Bryce Young with that precious No. 2 pick of yours."

"Joanne!! Hey!!"

Joanne McCaskey stormed out of the chairman's office, spitting her words like a squall, and George McCaskey, left alone, unable to contain his irritation, swept the papers on his desk timidly off to one side.

He had meant to do it violently — but he'd so rarely made a gesture like that in his life that this timid half-swipe was the best he could manage.

Only after letting out a long exhale did George McCaskey realize the secretary was still standing at the open door, watching him.

"Shall I… help you clean up?"

"…Yes. Please."

A future for the Bears that had come completely off the rails.

They were still adrift.

#. The same hour

#–1. Allen Park, Michigan, USA

#–2. Detroit Lions Front Office

Detroit was in the same boat — the result of Week 18, the final week of the regular season, had been the worst possible outcome for the Lions as well.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were the only team that wouldn't be swayed by any package the Lions could put together, and if Detroit wanted any shot at prying loose a first-round pick, they would have to offer up something enormous.

For the past 30 hours, the Lions' front office had been working through every combination they could possibly assemble, alongside Brad Holmes.

"This is insane."

"…"

"Dan isn't going to like it. And beyond that, the chemistry would take a massive hit. Chemistry is our single greatest strength. You know that."

They had missed the playoffs thanks to their early-and-mid-season slump, but Detroit had finished 9–8, handing their fans a reason to believe a bright future was waiting just ahead.

In the second half of the season, Jared Goff had performed like a top-tier NFL quarterback, and rookie Aidan Hutchinson had shown he could become the best defender in the league within three years.

Add even a modest reinforcement to the still-thin defense, and it felt like this team could leap into true contention next season in a single bound.

Which was exactly why this package was fatal.

Setting aside the fact that a starting quarterback obviously had to be included, it was a package that surrendered the young pillars of both the offense and the defense at the same time.

If they actually pulled the trigger, the backlash from the fanbase would be enormous — and Head Coach Dan Campbell, along with the entire roster, would lose their motivation to play in Detroit forever.

But no other route to satisfying an already-loaded Pittsburgh Steelers team was visible.

The position where Detroit had the most surplus assets was wide receiver — but Pittsburgh already had plenty of good, young players at that very position.

Besides — whatever Pittsburgh lacked, Detroit lacked too.

"…We have to let it go."

"Yes. That looks like the right call."

Brad Holmes had stared at Dwayne Moi Stone and nothing else for the past two years. So even as the words of acceptance left his mouth, the reality of it hadn't truly sunk in yet.

Pittsburgh had secured the No. 1 overall pick, and the future plans of the other teams were now being violently, rapidly redrawn around them.

And amid it all, Dwayne Moi Stone — now standing shoulder to shoulder with the biggest stars in the NFL — announced through his social media that he had signed a four-year deal with Nike.