Thumbnail: Aaron pumps gas

We cover a lot of ground on the drive, stuff I wouldn’t admit to just any­one. It’s good to have a set amount of time for some one on one. We see each other at par­ties, but it’s never time by ourselves.

Thumbnail: Rob's lair

We get there a few hours early because it isn’t so much about the game as hang­ing out with the two friends I don’t see enough. There’s a cooler full of snow and beer, and the food is com­ing in pro­tein; pigs-in-blankets, ground beef nachos, chicken fin­gers, crab dip, meat balls.

Thumbnail: Cradle

For a night, I’m with guys who punch arms, exchange ver­bal jabs, and laugh at blue col­lar jokes. Two lit­tle girls run around, and no one ever lets that change them. Now they’re fathers, but they’ll always be real men.