Chapter 162: Recognition
November 3rd, 2010
The next morning, the Crawley Town training ground didn't feel quite the same.
The air was sharp and cold, nipping at ears and noses, but what stood out most wasn't the weather, it was the atmosphere.
Yesterday, the players had carried a restless, hungry energy, like men chasing something just out of reach.
Today, that energy had shifted.
They weren't chasing anymore.
They had caught it.
The usual smells were still there, the damp grass, the soil pressed under countless boots but now there was something else lingering in the air, something new.
It was subtle, almost hidden, but you could sense it: the quiet pride of victory, the glow of recognition.
For the first time, the players of Crawley Town felt a little like celebrities, and that realization settled over the training ground like morning mist.
Dev was one of the first to step onto the pitch, his boots crunching softly against the thin frost that clung to the grass.
