Wednesday February 12, 2014
11:48 AM Local Time
The scene opens with a closeup on Daniel Pollaski’s face. Pollaski’s dressed up for winter, in a ski hat, and shown pulling goggles down over his face. As he does, the iconic intro to the theme from “Chariots of Fire” begins to play in the background.
The shot then cuts to Terrence Thompson, wearing his race helmet (with the FFW logo splayed across the top). He’s pulling down his visor, and raising his ski poles, looking over to the side, where Pollaski is, intensity in his eyes.
Then to Theresa Thompson, looking adorable in a white beanie with the Olympic rings on it. She snaps a pair of swimming goggles into place. As the piano intro begins, she begins to jam her ski poles down in a cross-country fashion, propelling herself forward.
Back to Pollaski and Terrence, both who are also cross-country skiing, breathing heavily, clear rivalry between the two men as the camera alternates between the two. From behind them walks up Wendy Briese, somehow easily catching the skiiers. She’s not wearing anything wintery- instead, she’s in a T-shirt, covered by an open windbreaker, and a pair of jeans. She stares at the men, puzzled, as the camera pulls back, showing all three are skiing on the beach, and for all their effort, no one’s gone more than three feet from the starting line.
Wendy: “Do I even dare ask what you three are doing?”
Terrence and Pollaski look over at her, and Pollaski pauses just enough to reach into his spandex (yes, spandex), pull out a phone, and shut the music off.
Terrence: “What’s it look like we’re doing? We’re skiing.”
Wendy: “You’re skiing. On sand. You know they normally do this on snow, right?”
Pollaski: “Of course we know they normally do this on snow. That’s for sissy Eastern Europeans.”
Terrence: “Yeah, this is way harder. And everyone knows the harder it is… the more manly it is to do it.”
Wendy: “...right. For being such a ‘manly’ sport, you guys are getting your butts handed to you by a seven year old girl.”
She gestures over at Theresa, who has managed about a three foot lead on the adults.
Pollaski: “That’s because she’s lighter!”
Terrence: “Yeah, she doesn’t sink as heavily into the sand.
Theresa: “Oh, quit whining and take this beating like men, losers.”
Wendy looks a bit disturbed at her daughter’s brazen attitude, but ultimately turns her attention back to the adults.
Wendy: “Well, it’s good to see you guys getting into the Olympic spirit, but-”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA*
Wendy nearly jumps a mile as an airhorn blows, and into the scene walks a tall, lean, lanky man with a shaved head. He frowns as he looks at Wendy, shaking his head. When he speaks, it’s with a Belgian accent.
Man: “‘Allo. My name is Jean Claude Van Helsing. You owe me a hundred dollars.”
Blink.
Wendy: “Wait...what?”
Pollaski: “Are you mugging us, dude? Cause that’s a really bad idea.”
Jean Claude shakes his head, and flashes a badge of some sort at the Birdz, all of whom look surprised
Jean Claude: “No. No mugging. I am with the IOC, and you have used a copyrighted name in promotional material. That will cost you one hundred dollars.”
He looks down at Theresa, and rips her beanie off her head, gesturing to the Olympic logo stitched on it.
Jean Claude: “Make that two-hundred dollars.”
The quartet all exchange dubious glances. Wendy’s the first to find her voice.
Wendy: “Wait… if you’re with the Olympics-”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
Jean Claude: “Three hundred dollars.”
Wendy: “The IOC-”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
Jean Claude: “Four hundred dollars.”
Wendy: “OH COME ON!”
Frustrated, Wendy looks over at her husband and manager, hoping for an answer.
Pollaski: “I think what she’s trying to say is that shouldn’t you be in Sochi? 2014 Games and all?”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
Jean Claude: “Sochi 2014 is copyrighted. Five hundred dollars.”
Pollaski: “IT WAS TWO SEPARATE SCENTENCES!!!!”
Jean Claude: “You can appeal it if you want.”
Pollaski: “Yeah, I want to appeal it!”
Jean Claude: “Here is our documented appeals process.”
Jean Claude hand Pollaski a piece of paper. Pollaski takes one look at it, and goes berserk.
Pollaski: “This just says “YOU LOSE” on it, and has a coupon for a free apple pie at McDonalds!”
Jean Claude: “I’m sorry, but after reviewing your case, the IOC has declined your appeal. Now, as to why I’m here… this is the time when copyright infringement is most common. The IOC has agents all over the world to make sure our trademarks are kept safe and sovereign.”
Wendy: “Right… but we’re doing a fundraiser for the SPECIAL OLYMPICS. Kind of defeats hte purpose if we’re not allowed to say the name.”
She pauses, realizing that there’s no airhorn blaring, and recognition lights up her face. She’s not the only one.
Terrence: “Oh, I see. So we can say SPECIAL Olympics.”
Jean Claude nods.
Terrence: “But we can’t just say Olympics.”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA*
Jean Claude: “Six Hundred Dollars.”
Terrence: “OH THAT’S BULLSHIT!”
Wendy goes bug-eyed at the profanity, seeing that Theresa is standing well within earshot, but the little girl seems more preoccupied with getting her Beanie back. She frowns, looking over at Jean Claude.
Wendy: “I dunno… this seems a bit, like a money grab, don’t you think?”
Jean Claude: “No money grab. But some people use charity as guise to inflict copyright infringement. We have to stamp it out, or else we’ll end up like the music industry. Infringement everywhere. But good luck with your little fundraiser. Cross Country Skiing is actually a Special Olympic event, you know.”
Pollaski nods, apparently glad to move the conversation away from the topic of copyright infringement.
Pollaski: “Yup. One of eight winter sports the Special Olympics offers, in addition to the 24 summer sports. They also do alpine skiing, snowboarding, heck, even figure skating.”
Wendy: “Didn’t they just do a Winter Special Olympics last year?”
Pollaski nods.
Pollaski: “Yeah. In freaking PyeongChang, South Korea. And if that’s familiar to anyone, that’s going to be where THOSE guys are headed in four years.”
Pollaski gestures over to Jean Claude, who nods, accepting Pollaski’s aversion of the copyright.
Terrence: “Not to mention that the 2015 Summer Special Olympics are going to be in Los Angeles, while the 2011 ones were in Athens. Both major world cities with rich histories of tradition. Heck, both have hosted the Olympics TWICE.”
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
Terrence bows his head, silently muttering “of course.”
Jean Claude: “Seven hundered dollars.”
Annoyed, Pollaski, Terrence, and Wendy exchange glances.
Pollaski: “You know what, dude? Why don’t you just keep a SILENT running total over there, and tell us afterwards how much we owe. Okay?”
Jean Claude thinks about it for a second, then finally nods.
Pollaski: “Thank. You.”
Wendy: “Well, it’s understandable that you’d have major venues for the Special Olympics games. They need a pretty big place to keep the over seven thousand athletes they’re expecting in Los Angeles… not to mention family, friends, coaches, and the like. Pretty impressive the size, considering that it all started as a day camp in Maryland back in 1962.”
Pollaski: “And seven thousand is less than a quarter of one percent of more than four MILLION athletes who compete in their local Special Olympics in more than 170 different countries. It’s because the Special Olympics are one of the best ways for a person with an intellectual disability to be physically active. And it’s important for EVERYONE to keep a healthy and active lifestyle.”
Terrence: “Yeah, otherwise you’ll end up looking like Pollaski.”
Pollaski’s eyes narrow, and he glares over at Terrence.
Pollaski: “At least I’m in a REAL sport, Mr. Sits His Butt In A Car Every Weekend”
Terrence guffaws good naturedly, and even Wendy smiles.
Wendy: “It’s even more than just making sure people are physically healthy through activity. It helps people be mentally healthy as well, by giving them stimulation and tasks that they are capable of understanding. Many Special Olympians are individuals that will never be able to live on their own without assistance. By participating in sports, it can help their self-esteem, confidence, and even social skills by letting them enjoy the spirit of competition.”
Terrence: “And you know the best part? There’s a place in the Special Olympics for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re the fastest runner or the slowest, or if you can shoot a basketball like LeBron James or Betty White… there’s a division for you, because everyone should be allowed to participate and have fun. Heck, there’s even now Unified Sports, which team those who are not intellectually disadvantaged with those who are, to broaden the both the scope of participation, and the scope of perception by creating a camraderie.
Pollaski: “Not to mention it helps create a culture of patience and understanding. Which, I’ll admit, are the two things I’m rather lacking from my own impressive personality.”
Theresa, Terrence, and Wendy all scoff, mostly because Pollaski’s both so very right and yet so very wrong. The little seven year old pipes up.
Theresa: “Actually, I thought the best part of the Special Olympics is that it was FREE!”
Wendy smiles at her daughter.
Wendy: “That’s right, Theresa. Athletes don’t have to pay anything to participate in the Olympics, which helps it broaden the scope of participation even further. The games are supported through both corporate sponsorships and the generous donations of individuals. Games of this magnitude can’t be cheap to put on, especially when you take into account the logistical aspect of such an event. And it’s not just the big international events like Los Angeles or PyeongChang, either. There are thousands of national, regional, and even local events as well that need to be funded, not to mention the year round training that many participate in. Add in Healthy Athletes, activities for children too young to participate in the Special Olympics proper, and health screenings-”
Terrence: “-not to mention their work in activism, advocacy, and awareness. Such as a worldwide campaign to convince people to stop using ‘the r-word’...
Pollaski: “-or their efforts in Africa, where the intellectually disadvantaged can often be considered social pariah’s, and even regarded with fear and hatred by a community ignorant of the true nature of their condition. Like, way worse than what you’d see in the Western world.”
Wendy: “There’s a lot of things the Special Olympics do, and that’s why when an event like tonight happens, it’s important that we take advantage of it. Giving a little bit to help a great organization continue to do great things, and getting a great wrestling show out of it. You can’t do much better than that!”
Terrence: “Right. Even though tonight, for the first time, Byte This is free of charge on ESPN, we still encourage you to pick up the phone or go to the FFW website and donate. Tonight’s a night to give back, to help out a worthy cause. I know we’ll be donating… provided Captain Froggie here doesn’t take all our money…
A dark glare over at Jean Claude.
Jean Claude: “I’m Belgian. Not French.”
Terrence: “Whatever dude. In fact, most FFW stars will be donating to tonight’s cause. Heck, I can even assure you that FFW Racing and Diamond Motorsports will be making a donation. Heck, even Pollaski’s going to be donating, and that guy NEVER does charity.”
Wendy: “Unless it’s FOR him.”
A dark glare at Pollaski, who simply begins whistling and looking out at the Gulf of Mexico. Wendy sighs, shakes her head, and continues.
Wendy: “So tonight, a little bit of generosity goes a long way. Because while the Special Olympics is ostensibly about helping the disadvantaged, it’s really about helping all of us, regardless of who we are. After all, the Special Olympics athletes’ oath is ‘Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.’ That’s a philosophy that should apply to ANYONE in a competition. Not just the Special Olympics.”
Pollaski turns back around from his mock display of ignorance, and turns to face his client.
Pollaski: “So, will Sophie win? Or will she simply be brave in the attempt?”
Wendy’s smile fades into a grimace, and she shakes her head.
Wendy: “I’m honestly quite disappointed in Sophie, to be honest. Here you have a young woman who came into FFW like a rocket. She won the Television Championship in dang near record time. She dominated that title picture for nearly a year, finally lost her second reign to Summer, and was tipped to move up, and possibly be contending for the FFW Championship before the year was out and then… everything ground to a halt. She challenged for the Evolution Championship in a couple of ladder matches, and then… just more or less disappeared. In the two years since Chaos Theory and her loss to Summer, she’s had all of seven matches.”
“So with all that in mind, how lucky was she to be the one drawn out of that tumbler? Completely dead in the water, we hadn’t seen her since last years Unstoppable. Suddenly facing the FFW Champion… or at least I was, when her name was drawn. The absolute, bonafide chance of a lifetime. An opportunity to do exactly what Mika did- and push yourself to the top of the card, the top of the company, right smack dab into FFW Championship contention with one single match. Those aren’t handed out like candy in this company, so you’d think she’d be excited.
“Except where is the excitement? Where is the ecstatic reception to the chance of a CAREER? Where do we see her eagerness to grasp this opportunity and make the most of it? She just so happened to be there the night she was drawn. She gave us a fairly standard interview, and then… nothing. Not a peep from her on the matter, and it’s been two months since. Two months to build up the main event of Byte This, and she’s said NOTHING. No tweets. No appearances. No video packages. NOTHING.”
Wendy shakes her head, frustration clearly etched on her features.
Wendy: “I’d to think this is a big deal. I’d like to think that even though I’m no longer the FFW Champion, that facing me in the main event of a televised special… especially when you’ve done pretty much NOTHING for nearly two years, is EXACTLY the spark someone needs to get their career back on track. That’s the POINT of this entire match!”
“And it really makes me sad when I look at some of the OTHER women in this company who could have benefitted from a match like this. Sophie’s not the only woman who’s seen her career stall in FFW waters. Nicole Knight comes to mind. Allison Sullivan. Heck, even Christelle Gillet. It’s got to make a few of them SICK to be on the sideline like that, see opportunities like this past them by, and then see the beneficiery not exploit it to the fullest amount.”
“And you know the saddest thing of all? Sophie clearly still has it. We saw it at One Night Stand. She out-hustled Nathan McFarlane- that’s a feat in and of itself, and made her longtime rival Payton St. Pierre tap. She showed every bit the talent she did when she was Television Champion. I have no illusions that she’s dangerous, and that she may be able to beat me tonight. And that honestly makes me want to keep it from happening all the more.”
Wendy takes a deep breath. She actually looks angry, as the camera zooms in a bit on her, excluding the others on the beach.
Wendy: “I’ve said before that I’m well aware that there are narratives driving matches. Sometimes it’s about me, sometimes it’s not, and tonight is one of the latter. Tonight is supposed to be about Sophie Richards, and the hump she’s trying to get over. At least it WAS, until she decided that the moment really wasn’t worth seizing and maximizing. Now it’s about… I’m not really sure. I’m sure it will be more clear in hindsight.
“But I’m sure of one thing- I take my roles seriously. And if my role is to play gatekeeper tonight, and to turn away the unworthy, than theat’s EXACTLY what I’m going to do. Because like I told Aimee… it’s not supposed to be easy to get up here. And just like you don’t get to glide to the top by clocking people over the head with a briefcase and not have to answer for it, you don’t get to just show up for work once every three months on average, make absolutely no effort to promote ANYTHING, and shoot up to main event status because you won a lottery. And that’s not happening. Not on my watch.”
“Sophie’s great at ruining people’s careers. She did it to Desirae. She did it to Payton. You could even argue that she did it to Arianna, and she CERTAINLY did it to herself. I’m not letting her do it to me. I’m not going to let her so much as tarnish ANYTHING I’ve spent the better part of the last year building up. And if you’re not sure what I’m talking about… let me clue you in.”
Wendy leans forward, intensity in her emerald eyes as she glares into the camera.
Wendy: “Since coming back to FFW, I haven’t been pinned or submitted to lose a match yet. Val got me to tap in that two out of three falls match, and I was outside a decision on my other losses. We’re coming up on almost a full year since my return to the company, and I still have that intact. I’m proud of that. I’m VERY proud of that. I think it’s a big deal… and when I lose it… I want it to be a big deal. And if you want to have ANY idea of how important it is to me that losing something I’ve held on to for a very long time be a big deal.. you can ask my husband.”
A small, weird smile from Wendy, followed by a choking sound from Terrence off camera.
Wendy: “Sophie, I hope to God that you’ve taken these last seven months wisely, and have trained your butt off, because tonight you are going to try and climb the a ladder straight to the top, in an opportunity NO ONE has gotten before- not to the stakes these are. And I’ve played gatekeeper before- I did it to Aimee…. I did it to Jo, and I did it to Whitley Mercer, and honestly, right now you seem more like Mercer than Jo or Aimee with the apathy you’ve shown so far.”
“But I know you can change all that, you’re three seconds from changing all that. So what’s it going to be, Sophie? Are you going to win, deserved or not, and push yourself out of the pit you’ve allowed yourself to sit in for the better part of the two years? Are you going to be brave in the attempt, and at least leave Texas with more than you came with? Or are you going to fizzle completely, just like you’ve allowed yourself to so many times before? The choice is yours.”
Wendy pauses, glaring at the camera for another few seconds, before relaxing, and looking over at Jean Claude.
Wendy: “Thank you for your patience. How much do we owe you again?”
Jean Claude: “After that wonderful speech on the human spirit and the will of competition, I am so moved, I will drop all infringement fees.”
Wendy brightens, and she smiles.
Wendy: “Wow… really? I inspired you that much?”
Jean Claude: “No. Not really You owe me a thousand dollars.”
Wendy sighs, and pats her pockets.
Wendy: “.... I’ll go get the checkbook.”
Wendy sulks away out of the camera shot, while Jean Claude follows, leaving Pollaski, Terrence, and a still beanieless Theresa standing there. Pollaski reaches back into his spandex, and pulls out his phone, and once again Chariots of Fire is playing, the three immediately getting back to their race. Their extremely.... slow... moving...race
And with that, the scene fades.
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