SCENE: 8 am sharp, in a stately office on the west side of Iowa City. A silver-haired man sits at his desk, impeccably dressed but also wearing the stress of 96 unpleasant hours and counting on his visage. In one of the seats, another silver-haired man, much wearier, and wearing a high-performance sweatsuit. A sharp knock reports from the office door, but it's cursory, as the man on the other side lets himself in with a calm urgency.
Morning Gary.
Morning, Fran. Have a seat.
[He has a seat.]
Look, as soon as I found out—
I know, I know. I know you well enough. You were trying to do a good thing.
I mean, what kind of Hawkeye fan does whoever did this think they are?
Fans like these...
I mean, you can imagine my horror when Connor texted me after it went up. Turns out there is some benefit in knowing people who pay attention to this crap. Speaking of which, he should—
[Another perfunctory knock, before a young man peeks his head through.]
Connor, please, have a seat. We won't keep you long.
Thanks, Mr. Barta. Hi, Mr. Ferentz.
[would rather be anywhere else on the planet right now]
So you're a podcaster, you know online.
I... sure. Yes. Yes sir. I know online.
How bad is the damage from this Cameo thing?
It, well... it's barely...
No, c'mon. Tell him.
...it's all over the place. There's reporters sending it out, the hit website Go Iowa Awesome dot com, I saw some pretty big podcasters... there's this one guy with like 50 thousand followers who keeps his account private because he likes posting chicks with their tops off from OnlyF—
We done here?
Connor.
OK yeah sorry. It got all over the place. Everyone knows it's a troll, nobody thinks either you or him did it on purpose, but they're eating it up. Look.
Here is the Fran video pic.twitter.com/2N7zwhrrNB
— I Love Iowa Basketball (@ILoveIowaBball) September 13, 2022
Grabbed it in case someone tells Bob what he said. pic.twitter.com/GqrhLF0zBo
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) September 13, 2022
Yeah, they got Bobby good. If he bit that hard on play-actions when I was first coaching here, Hayden would have stapled his ass to the bench.
Also, we did some damage control, Patrick posted a tweet about how the money's going to cancer research.
Oh, well, sounds like the important work's done.
Now Kirk—
Well hang on. Kirk, look. I know this is tough for you. I know how much Brian means to you. And your whole family has my whole family's full support. You know that.
Thank you.
And I also know a thing or two about how difficult it can be to adjust the reality of your dreams for your kids. I mean, I'm not exactly raising the Murray twins. Ha, ha, ha!
Ha, ha, ha!
Ha, ha, ha!
hey
And I also know, as a father, that the bigger a shadow we cast, the more we get used to having our sons under it.
I've got one more year coaching this guy, and I'm awful lucky to even have that. And then his future's out there. Probably a couple more seasons with Pat. We're real lucky for those. Jack, hopefully, but I can't take that for granted yet.
These kids know I love them, I'd do anything for them. But... as a father, I also want to see what their shadow looks like. Maybe not today. But soon.
I appreciate you telling me that.
All right. Well, glad to know things are solid here, but I gotta put this fire out ASAP. Here's a framework our people drew up, just a couple sentences for you to sign off on, and let's move the hell on already.
Gladly.
Oh! Almost forgot the other important part. You got your phone on you? Can you look up who bought the Cameo?
Yeah—I can get you a username. Let's see... "Cameo purchased by user xcdad1016." There you go.
Like cross-country? Kirk, you in bad with any cross-country parents?
Christ, Gary.
Fair. Hey, Secretary?
Yes?
Can you run me a list of all the fathers of everyone on our cross-country teams? And 1016, 1016... can you flag if any of them have a birthday of... October 16?
Oooh
[points excitedly]
Legally I'm not sure I—
Just figure it out. We have a traitor in our midst.
Yes sir.
Look at that. Cracking the case as we speak. And everyone claims I'm not smart.
I thank the lord every day that you're my boss, Gary.
The four men idly chatter, pleased with the strength of their detective work and solidarity. The air in the room feels a hundred times lighter.
SCENE 2: Reckon about 8, in a dusty, hay-filled barn in downtown Ames. Chickens peck through stray seeds lit by the morning's fresh beams, peeking through the wooden doors. Chilly morning, but the city boy at the desk in the middle of the barn doesn't mind -- keeps the skeeters off his neck for another hour or two. Several cross-country accolades, for he and his children, adorn the barn walls. A horse whinnies over yonder.
Excuse me, sir?
Yes, Secretary?
We got an email yesterday evening, an unusual charge on your corporate card. $310 charged to something called... Cameo? Should I report it as fraud? Did we get hacked?
Oh! Ha, ha. I was just looking at some promotional material. A legitimate expense. Bill it to football promotions - special projects.
Yessir, right away.
Football's ours now! Ours!
And now I... I... I'm no longer inconsolable! I've never been so consolable in my life! Nyeahahahahahahahaha!
I HAVE FINALLY ACHIEVED MY REVENGE!
Thank you to our most extraordinary friend Tom Ksobiech for the idea. If you are dissatisfied about anything contained in this story, it is exclusively his fault.
Hey, @adam_jacobi and @PV_GIA, I have a theory for who paid for the cameos. Maybe someone who, after a big football victory, is no longer inconsolable? Someone who decided that revenge for prank calls is a dish best served after a decade and a website change...
— Tom Ksobiech (@TomKsobiech) September 13, 2022
