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.
I only answer from what is written on this site.
Type a few words — I will show you where it says so.