MEARA LEVEZOW

After the Packer Game I Fantasize About an NFL-Related Strategy to Copy With My Father’s Death

PUBLISHED IN FOLIO 2024: VOL. 39

I’ll trudge off the wet field with the team, hand
my gear to the equipment manager, peel off my
sweaty uniform, and lose myself in the mayhem
of the post-game locker room: shouts of shirtless
men, dirt and turf kicked off cleats, local reporters,
clinical strength antiperspirant, the shock of ice
on the ankle, Advil swallowed dry, and afterward,

when they’re all gone, I’ll sit alone in the ghost light
and put it all back on again: compression shorts,
undershirt, hip pads, thigh pads, nylon Pro-Stretch
football pants, tact gloves, mouthguard, wrist brace,
Vaseline where things chafe, shoulder pads, helmet
with carbon steel open cage facemask, then walk out
the door and wear it all every day for the rest of my life.