Name, Image, and Likeness; Autofiction; & Louisville Sluggers

 

Name, Image, and Likeness

 

My name is Regular Season Boy. 

Choke Job Quarterback.

The Best Of All Time When It Doesn’t Matter.

The Man Who Coach Should’ve Benched In The National Championship Even Though Regular Season Boy Did Win Two Playoff Games To Get There.

Mr. He Psyched Himself Out, He Knew It Was Coming, Everyone In The Stadium Knew It Was Coming, Including Coach In The Fourth Quarter of The Big Game That Would Bring The Starving College Its First Championship When Mr. He Psyched Himself Out Was One Yard Away From Winning When Coach Called The Timeout, And Regular Season Boy Said Put In The Backup. I’m Gonna Make Us Lose.

Limp Arm Buddy.

Limp Arm Buddy Who Can’t Hand The Ball Off.

The Voyeur On The Sideline Who Watched The Backup Quarterback Fumble The Snap, Letting His Team Lose.

Coach’s Coward.

The Reason for Coach’s Firing. The One Who Was Allowed To Be Such A Wimp. He Who Should’ve Said Yes And Failed And Been Better Off Than This.

Sir Nearly Useless With A Bad Haircut Who Don’t See Himself
As A Man No More Because A Man Ain’t A Sucker. And Other

Words I’ll Never Repeat Out Loud But Remember In My Head And
Mull Over. Then There’s Loser And The People Calling Me Loser Saying
Adversity Is Just A Word. All I Am Is

I Lost And I Lost, I Lost And I Lost And I Lost Again
Today. It Hurts
To Give My All And Still Lose. I Lost And I Learned And I

Still Lost. I Learned And I Lost Again. I Lost

Again. I Lost. I Lose.

They Said To Get Back Up. I Did. I Lost. I Got Back Up.
I Lost. I Lose And I Get Back Up And I Lose And I Get Back Up And
I Lose. Getting Back Up Is Not Winning When I Lose Later. When I Lose Later
That’s A Loss. I Told You I Lost. I Lose And I Hope And I Lose. I Lose Hope
And I Lose. And I Hope. I Hope. I Lose. I Don’t Hope To Lose But I Lose

Then I Hope Then I Lose. I Lost.
I Lose And I Think About Losing.
About My Hope And How I Lost.
How It Was Close Or Wasn’t. Which

Doesn’t Matter. I Lost. I Lost
And I Lose. A Loss Is A Loss. I’m Close.

I Am Close To Loss. Loss Is Close
So Losing Is Close. I Will Always Lose.

I Always Lose. I Am Lose.
I Am Loss. I Lost.

It’s All Real. I Lost. I Lose. I Try Again.
I Lost Already. Already? Already.

I Have Lost. I Lose And I Lose And I Lose

And I Lose And I Lose And I Lose
And I Lose And I Lose And

I Lose. I Am The Definition

Of Insanity? Wonderful. In Preparation For Your
Death Threats, I Killed Your Dreams.

 

Chris Crowder is from Flint, Michigan, and earned his MFA at the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan. His debut poetry collection, The Kin of Nakedness, will be published by Four Way Books in 2026, and his work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Rumpus, Best New Poets, MQR: Mixtape, TriQuarterly, Shenandoah, Indiana Review, Witness, the VS podcast, and elsewhere. He is managing editor for The Adroit Journal.