In his last year, he won an Outland trophy and played in a special game in Hawaii. A couple of months later, after a whirlwind of phone calls, television crews knocking at their door, Matthew signed his first pro contract. Everyone was thrilled that he would be playing close to home, but for his first game as a professional, she and Stephen would have traveled to Timbuktu if they'd had to.
The people on board the train started to buzz with expectant anticipation as the train traveled around a large hill where swarms of crowds had started to gather. When the train passed the hill, she saw a huge stadium with brilliant megawatt colors all over that had been built into the side of the hill. One of the new, sleek blimps darted to and fro overhead and dozens of trucks and vans carrying television station logos clogged the roads feeding into the stadium.
Stephen poked her, saying "What did I tell you?"
"Oh my god," Linda remarked, as they disembarked from the train and joined the throngs of people walking down a wide concrete concourse toward a gleaming set of stairs descending into the stadium seats. Young men on stilts, wearing replicas of the red, white, and blue Los Angeles Freedom football outfits towered above them, singing a song proclaiming their new football team. It reminded her more of a Mardi Gras celebration than a football game.
To get to their seats for the game, they had to travel down moving walkways and escalators that brought them downward to an opening at the field level. They sat among a few of the other parents of the Brown's players who'd made the trip. Stephen recognized one of them and laughed, saying "Hey Fred, where's your orange and brown?"
Fred, a guy a few years older than them, with a paunch and a hat covering his bald pate said "Are you kidding? If I wore them here, they'd probably kill me!"
While they waited for the game to begin, marching bands played peppy tunes on the field and cannons boomed by the huge scoreboard perched above the end zone. Beer priced at twenty dollars flowed freely and through the pre-game ceremonies, Stephen managed to chug down three of them with the other fathers. The Cleveland Browns spilled onto the field from one of the tunnels beneath the stadium, through a double line of their cheerleaders who shook pom-poms in the air above them as they ran past. A public address announcer read the names of the starting players as they ran to mid field.