I’m not even sure what city it was. All I know is that it was one of the first road trips I had been on as a teenager with a newfound social identity. Well, you couldn’t really call it a roadtrip. It was really just a football game in a neighboring city. Hell, I don’t even know how we got there.

I think it was a state playoff game, or qualifier of some sort against New Brunswick or Canton McKinley. As you can plainly see, the details of the game itself are painfully accurate to me. What is forever etched in my memory, however, is one of the most pivotal events of my high school years.

I was up front in the stadium, to the left of Andy. He had on an SJ soccer sweatshirt and one of his old trusty baseball caps. And as usual he was in stellar form, shouting, cheering and generally harassing the refs and opposing team from an extra-careful distance (it was a rather large high school stadium, with a full track seperating the stands from the field itself). Who knows what the hell I had on, something toolish no doubt. But I do remember feeling like I could swing on the coatails of Andy’s mojo for the evening.

The game progressed, and inevitably began to take a turn for the worst. St. John’s was down by a touchdown heading towards the waning fourth quarter buzzer. In a moment of explosive, frantic desparation, Andrew turned to me and proclaimed, “I swear, if we get a touchdown to tie the game, I’ll turn around and kiss that girl behind us!”

I can’t remember if I was equally as caught up in the sporting moment, but I know certainly that I, 1) did not have the audacity (or confidence) to back up this claim myself and, 2) that I had no clue that someone of the opposite sex was even behind us. At 16, this was apparently already engrained in Andy.

Well unfortunately neither Cupid nor John Madden were not on Andy’s side that fateful fall evening. So, true to his nature, he spun around anyways and took the proverbial bull by the horns. I braced myself for embarassment (not because I thought he’d make an ass of himself, but…well, ok, no that was it). The rest, however, changed our lives forever.

Andy had in fact made contact with said female and said female’s best friend. He must have wooed them with his uncompromising charm or his boyish good looks. Or perhaps an exchange of money was involved. Nonetheless, the final result was that Andrew had secured for himself a homecoming date and in the process also dragged my reluctant ass into it.

Over lunch that following Monday, he spilled the details of their conversation and revealed that he was going with Andrea who went to Notre Dame (sister school), and that her friend Claire wanted to go with me.

Dear God what had happened here? Where did everything spiral into chaos and confusion?!? What had I done to deserve this? I was terrified.

The final result of it all was dramatic at best. I declined, and became a lame-ass for life. I regret my choice, but Matt went with her instead…and they dated for a few months. Andy in fact went with Andrea, and also dated for several months. In the process, my friends for life were solidified. Recounting the details of it all would more than spoil the justice that they deserve, but memories that I will hold close to my heart were etched into my brain that year. While I ran from academic pressures and personal problems, I clung tighter to this newfound group for all it was worth. They were and are better friends than I could ever hope to have. The Reliant station wagon, ice skating at Ottawa Park, listening to that techno song that sounded like a TV was turned on at Andy’s parent’s house, back-to-back indoor soccer games and Sufficient Grounds afterwards. My life, as I know it today, started that year, and I ache to relive it again. A dreary, misty fall evening filled with adolescent foolery birthed the relationships of fantasy.

And here I thought that Andy was going to get smacked. Again.