[legendsport]

November 30, 1941: Detroit, MI:

"Well, damn," Rollie Barrell muttered as he looked at the out-of-town scoreboard.

His Detroit Maroons were wrapping up a 16-0 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Paladins. A win that would give them an 8-3 mark for the 1941 American Football Association season. But... the bad news was that in Philadelphia the Chicago Wildcats were torching the Frigates by a 49-7 margin. That win would make the Wildcats 8-2. And Chicago would be visiting Pittsburgh on December 7th to wrap up the season. Rollie's Maroons were playing their last game today, so that meant that he'd have to sit and hope for the Paladins to shake themselves out of their doldrums and beat the Wildcats. That would put Rollie's team in the AFA Championship. But if the Wildcats won.... "Damn!" Rollie muttered again.

"Dad...." Allie Barrell chastised her father.

"Sorry squirt," he said and squeezed her shoulder. His younger daughter had entered a phase in which she shadowed her father and showed a big interest in everything he did - down to and including his time at Thompson Field running the Maroons. It was a situation he found amusing, his wife found slightly concerning and his older daughter found ridiculous. And Marty wasn't big on hiding her feelings.

"What are you writing there?" Rollie asked. Allie had a small book, much like his own planner, and was writing in it.

"Oh... I was keeping track of Stan Vaught's catches."

"Really?" Rollie asked.

"Sure," Allie replied with a shrug. "Did you know he might finish this season with more than twice as many catches... and... twice as many yards as any other player in the AFA?"

Rollie didn't know that, not exactly, and he was impressed. "No. I know Stan's been having a great year, but I didn't know that." He gave her shoulder another squeeze, "That's impressive, Alice."

"Dad, do you think a girl could run a football team?" Allie asked.

Rollie almost laughed, because in his heart he found the thought ridiculous. But, he caught himself and inwardly, he felt embarassed to have a thought like that. His wife was an intelligent, strong woman and both their daughters had fully inherited those traits.

"If anyone can do it, it'd be you Alice," he told her with a smile. Seeing her smile in return made him forget his frustration with those.... dang.... Wildcats.

"Because, I've been thinking..." his daughter said.

"Yes?" he prodded.

"Well, someday you'll get old. Like grandpa Rufus," she said, a serious look on her face. She reminded him of Francie so much when she did this. "And well... someone will need to run the Maroons after you retire... or you know, die..."

Rollie laughed. "I'm not going anywhere for a long time, Alice," he said.

"Oh, I know," she said quickly. "But someday..."

Rollie laughed and said, "Alright, I get the gist. And yes, if... after you go to college and start your life... if you want to work with me, that will be fine."

He figured she'd forget all about this "run the team" stuff once she was an adult, got married, and so on. If he was being honest with himself, Rollie kind of thought he'd sell the team someday, since he didn't have any sons. The idea that one of his girls could own the team.... had never really crossed his mind. If it had, Rollie would actually have expected Marty to be the one to follow in his footsteps - she hadn't really exhibited any interest in boys yet (for which Rollie was surprisingly thankful) despite having passed her 18th birthday back in May.

As if reading his mind, Allie said, "I miss Marty."

"Me too, squirt," Rollie said. Marty was a freshman at Noble Jones, and was hoping to get a degree in Accounting, just like her father. She was also playing golf, like both her parents.

"I thought she'd be at the wedding..." Allie said.

Rollie nearly swore aloud again - he'd almost forgotten but Gloria's wedding to Charley McCullough was taking place in just six days on December 6th in Cincinnati. He started doing some quick calculations in his head... could he get from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh on the morning of the 7th to watch the Paladins take on Chicago?

He pulled out his planner.

"What are you doing?" Allie asked.

"Trying to see if I can get from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh in time for the game on Sunday afternoon."

"So you can root for the Wildcats to lose?"

Rollie smiled - his kids were no dummies. "Got it in one," he said.

"Can I go with you?" she asked.

Rollie paused in his flipping through the book (he'd been looking at air charters) and smiled adoringly at his daughter. "You'd really want to go with me?" he asked.

"Of course," Allie replied. "If I'm going to own this team someday, I better start spending even more time with you, Dad."

Rollie burst out in laughter. Allie seemed bewildered, but then she started laughing too.

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