Game day. Outside the bus, Madison hugs JD and tells him she’ll see him after; JD, brainwashed child that he is, tells her that he thinks they should cool things off and walks away, leaving her dejected. Tim, wearing earplugs, observes this blow-off along with the rest of the team, who all note that JD’s throwing away “a good piece of tail.” Classy, but then, consider who they’re talking about. Tim directs JD to take the seat next to him, and asks if he dropped Madison. JD mumbles that he guesses he did. “You know what’s good before a game? Getting laid. A lot,” Riggins says with an eye-waggle. JD eyerolls that’s not going to happen, and when Tim asks why not, JD admits because of his dad. Tim clarifies that JD just broke things off with Madison because of Monty, and then says that the team will not follow him if they think he’s a puppet. Man up, JD! “You know you’re a leader, right?” Tim asks, and JD says that he is. “Start actin’ like one,” Tim says, putting his earplugs back in. Beautiful.
Game night! As Eric promised, there are missed calls and late hits: he spends a lot of time yelling at the referees, who freely pay him no mind. Slammin’ Sammy Mead exposits that the Panthers have yet to get a call tonight. The Panthers fans go crazy for one unacknowledged foul after another: the Bisons throw sand in the Panthers’ faces before the ball is snapped, facemasks are grabbed, elbows knock helmets. JD throws a long pass to Matt, who’s dragged down before he can catch the ball. It’s obvious pass interference, and Coach flaps around on the sidelines like a crazy person, chasing after the referrees and hollering at the top of his lungs at the injustice. On the next play, JD throws a pass and is knocked to the ground well after the ball is in the air: the obviously villainous Bisons gloat and jeer from the sidelines. Coach charges the field, repeatedly questioning the ref’s eyesight, and finally loses it: “You know what you are? You’re a no-callin’.” The ref asks him if he wants a flag, and Eric, totally out of control, says that he’d be happy to see a damn flag – he gets this one, of course, and the ref throws him out of the game. Eric throws a complete hissy fit, throwing his clipboard and his headset, kicking the flag and anything else he can think of. He storms away, leaving Wade in charge, who throws his hands up in the air in disbelief. The Bisons are jubilant, of course. Eric has to watch the rest of the game in the locker room; even as he leaves the field, he keeps looking over his shoulder. He walks into some makeshift bar with a TV in the top right corner, obviously standing among Bison fans; he moves to the back of the room and shifts his weight nervously. He calls Wade to tell him that the Bisons are stacking their linebackers, and to have Tim run the sweep: Wade can’t hear him over the crowd, but it’s too late – the play’s already in motion. JD throws a miraculous long pass to Matt, who catches it; Wade sends some players out and tells Coach that he’ll call him back. JD gets sacked on the next play, and all Eric can do is watch.
00:24 minutes left on the clock, 13-10, Bisons. Slammin’ Sammy says that Wade’s “inspired play-calling” has put the Panthers deep into Bison territory, although we haven’t seen him do anything; JD throws a pass to Riggins, who plows through three attempted tackles and runs into the end zone. I’m willing to bet this is exactly what Eric told Wade to do, even though Wade couldn’t hear him. The Panthers go crazy, as you might imagine, as Slammin’ Sammy calls the Panthers win, Panthers win! refrain; inside the bar, Eric smiles slightly. “You got scotch in here?” he asks the bartender. HEE. On the field, number 99 picks Wade up and swings him around; Buddy shakes Wade’s hand and stares at him appraisingly before letting go. Eric toasts his scotch with someone until Slammin’ Sammy calls Wade Aikmen “a bright, shining star on the Dillon horizon.” Whoops.
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