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As a swashbuckling seventh grader, Sammy Sportface was stoked up to sing songs with his classmates at the annual recital.
His job was to sing a solo verse of Barry Manilow’s “I Write The Songs” in front of hundreds of people including the principal of the school, teachers, moms, dads, brothers, and sisters.
His solo consisted of a four-line stanza. The first one was:
“My home lies deep within you…”
But then Sportface forgot the three other lines. There was silence in the auditorium. Did Sportface forget the lines? Or was there supposed to be silence for forty seconds? Is this kid Sportface on something?
Sportface blanked. The whole performance spiraled downward from there. For months the class had been rehearsing. This was their big moment. But when the bright lights came on, Sportface darkened the whole room.
Here’s the whole song:
Four years later, Sportface stood at the foul line in Panama in a high school basketball game. It was tied with only two seconds left.
To ice Sportface, the Panamanian team called time out.
“Sportface chokes all the time,” said the Panamanian coach to his players. “It’s national news in the U.S. I’ve been reading about how this kid chokes in big spots all the time.”
On the bench, Sportface’s coach grabbed a towel and waved it in front of his player’s face. Coach knew Sportface was going to choke, so he figured he would try reverse psychology that might make Sportface surprise everybody by getting clutch for once in his life.
Sportface missed big free throws throughout his high school career.
As he sat there, Sportface felt supremely confident he was going to miss both chances to win the game.
So what happened? The first one, brick; the second, a cinder block. The game went into overtime and his team would lose.
Sportface’s vision became reality.
Everybody saw it coming. His teammates were mad at him. Still are.
Check out the photo with this blog. The hoops bucket looks like the one that Sportface made history by missing those big free throws.
Four years later as a college senior, Sportface landed a cameo role in Noel Coward’s “We Were Dancing” play. The aspiring actor entered stage right and was supposed to say four lines. He said the first line then went blank. The snafu was eerily similar to the Barry Manilow choke. Four lines got the first one, blanked on everything else.
An uncomfortable silence engulfed the ring theater, where Sportface’s friends watched with glee. Sportface couldn’t remember what he was supposed to say next.
“Perhaps it’s time for you to go,” said the lead actress wanting to get Sportface off the stage.
“Sounds good,” said Sportface. And off he went knowing his acting career jettisoned in an instant.
Here’s some filler about the play.
Author Profile
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Sammy Sportface, a sports blogger, galvanizes, inspires, and amuses The Baby Boomer Brotherhood. And you can learn about his vision and join this group's Facebook page here:
Sammy Sportface Has a Vision -- Check It Out
Sammy Sportface -- The Baby Boomer Brotherhood Blog -- Facebook Page
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