Sharkey's Quest

 271.

Davis takes the news with a truckload of salt. "Before we even get to that scene we, I, Sharkey and Bess, need to make the sale to Goldson," he laments, "and that challenge takes place in exactly three hours. We're in wardrobe as we speak."

"Goldson was a decision maker in his former position as VP and now that he is calling the shots, the same underlying motivation should be something we can bank on," I encourage, "If I were you Mr Sharkey, I would play the greed and power card at every opportunity. He will eventually succumb to his own weakness, after all Don Sharkey you are making him an offer he can't - or shouldn't - refuse."

"You're right I'm just having some performance anxiety, strange, as that is something I thought I had licked in high school."

"We all get it," I admit, "it's nature's way of assisting with the importance of the situation, that flow of adrenaline, clearness of thought, sensory enhancement, use it mate, stand and deliver. We got your back."

"You haven't changed a bit, I remember you giving that same speech at halftime of the Peach Bowl, however many lifetimes ago that was," Davis jokes.

"And you remember the results?"

"It was like flipping a switch on. If I recall we went for twenty-one unanswered points, the final six of which where the result of one of your patented fades as time expired," Davis says like a color commentator.

"Same situation - just a different sport, my friend, and we're in the huddle calling your number for that last shot at it."

"Yeah, roger on that Cap, ya know, I've been thinkin' a lot about the phycology behind competition, and the bad rap it has absorbed recently, an off-base indictment as I am sure you agree. It's important to experience these deeply personal emotions to reach some higher moral ground on the other side of the game, match, tournament, confrontation. I, for one, absolutely treasure the moments we spent side-by-side defending our turf. It builds confidence and it speeds self-awareness."

"The non-lethal proving ground of the gridiron, diamond or court. Nothing quite like it. I do believe that the important part that goes mostly unspoken, and hence misunderstood, is the role that transcendence plays. Ultimately we all face the reality that it isn't so much about winning as it is about the will to win, putting in the time and effort to face that moment frozen in time when we face ourselves in the mirror of our personal quest. That nanosecond of quantum growth when we get the sacred opportunity to find out who we truly are - in real time, with the cameras rolling and facing overwhelming odds against us."

"OK, OK, I'm ready, thanks mate. I remember TOM saying once that the next move is always up to us."

"Always - and anytime, Sharkey, break a leg."