Max

  Chapter 16

  Game time. To Max’s surprise, the stadium was full. Although there had been publicity about the bomb scare in the newspapers, radio and TV, apparently most of the fans were convinced that the people in charge knew what they were doing. If they were willing to let the game go on, the fans would show up.

  Everyone who came in had to go through a metal detector, be sniffed by the trained dogs, and women had to open their purses for inspection. Cameras, packages and cell phones had to be checked at the gate.

  The media personnel went through the same procedures. Laptops had to be turned on to be sure they were really computers. Network TV cameras were permitted on the field and in the press box only after they had been scrutinized.

  Concessionaires had to remove all their wares from the cartons before they came in the gate. The inspection caused considerable trouble for the vendors of frankfurters. The bomb sniffing dogs were turned into drooling dogs when confronted with sausages. Finally, the dog handlers called off their animals, concluding it was highly unlikely that anyone would hide a bomb in a hot dog.

  Not even the players were spared from search. After one player’s gym bag was opened and inspected, he joked that he didn’t know the dogs could sniff out steroids as well as explosives. Another said he doubted any dog could smell anything once he got a whiff of the dirty socks in his gym bag. Nobody laughed.

  In order to shorten the time everyone spent in the stadium, pre-game warm-up was limited to calisthenics, jogging and simulated blocking. The usual passing and kicking drills were eliminated. The people in charge were anxious to get the game started as quickly as possible and get it over with.

  The team captains met in midfield with the referee, and after the coin toss was won by the Packers, they chose to receive.

  The players took their positions on the field, and the referee handed the football to the Rams kicker. He placed it on the tee and raised his hand to signal he was ready to kickoff.

  Max, as a member of the Rams offensive team had been on the sidelines. The Rams kicking team started their charge downfield a step behind the kicker.

  Suddenly, Max darted from the sideline, grabbed the ball from the tee an instant before the kicker made contact with it. Tucking the ball under his arm, he dashed across the field, through the tunnel and out one of the corridors leading to a stadium gate. The crowd in the stands, and the players and coaches on the field watched in stunned silence. While the amazed security officer guarding the gate looked on, Max dashed across the parking lot toward the river that ran alongside the stadium. At the river bank, he reared back and threw the ball toward the middle of the river. Just as the football hit the water, it exploded with a huge blast. A geyser of water erupted and shot twenty feet in the air.

  In the stadium, the explosion could be heard, and a moment later a column of smoke and water appeared beyond the grandstand in the direction of the river. Several people in the stands started to rush for the exits, when Max charged through the tunnel back on to the middle of the field. In his hand he held a bullhorn he had snatched from one of the cheerleaders. He raised it to his mouth and boomed to the stands, “Please, stay in your seats! You are in no danger!”

  Max turned to each corner of the huge stadium and shouted the same message through the bullhorn. After seeing the crowd resume their seats, Max returned to the sideline and handed the bullhorn to the cheerleader.

  Coach Jones, turned his palms up. “Max, what was that all about?”

  Max said, “I heard a ticking coming from the ball. I wasn’t sure it was a bomb, but…” He strolled over to the equipment manager, selected another football from a box that held several dozen, and held it to his ear for a second. He shook it, sniffed it then tossed it to the referee. “This one’s okay.”

  The game was almost an anticlimax to the excitement that preceded it. The Rams won 40-14.

  The headline for Ham Gleason’s column in the Monday Herald read: “Bombs Away!”

  The opening paragraph stated, “Yesterday, Max Aries the Rams’ star, showed the football world that he can throw a bomb like (fill in the name of any quarterback you admire.) Although this one didn’t score a touchdown, it probably saved the lives of the 48,000 or more people in Rams Stadium. The details are described on the front page of this newspaper and I won’t regale you with a repetition. But we have to add to Aries’ talents, his incredible hearing. He was able to hear the ticking of a bomb from as far away as many of us can see. Max Aries needs a different uniform from the one he dresses in playing for the Rams. He should wear one colored blue with a red cape. On the front of the top there should be a large ‘S.’ Oh, one other thing. He needs a phone booth in which to dress.”