I was in Washington, three months out of the country and three months away from the game, when the team made the national final. I bought a ticket and flew back mid-semester to play in it.
I was in Washington. Three months out of the country, three months out of pads, one semester into a master’s degree — and the Beijing Cyclones made the national final.
There was a version of this where I sent the group chat a long message about how proud I was and watched it on a stream. Nobody would have thought less of me. That is exactly what made it a decision rather than an obligation.
Five practices in two weeks.
Then I started the national final.
I bought a ticket and flew back mid-semester. That bought me five practices in two weeks to relearn a playbook I had been away from, against teammates who had run it every week since I left.
I started at wide receiver and played the full game: five catches, seventy yards. We won the 2025 CNFL national championship — my second national title in two years, and the first one I had to buy a plane ticket for.
People read this as commitment to a sport. I think it is narrower than that. A team had spent a season getting to a final on the assumption that the people in it would be there. Showing up when it is expensive is the only version of showing up that actually gets counted.
Happy to help — ask about his work, or a moment that tested him.
I’ll show you where it’s written.