2026-07-06, 02:29 AM - Word count:
(This post was last modified: 2026-07-06, 02:31 AM by Ltblackgrizzly. Edited 1 time in total.)
After a tough loss to Montreal United. Bodhi Grizz stands at the press corner for his turn at press availability. Still sweating and disappointed with the 1-3 result. He cast his gaze over the group of reporters ready to ask him about the match. A few holding microphones up ready to record the questions and his answers. A few with pencils to notepad. Ready to quickly jot down his words and actions. And one big camera aimed directly at him. He did his best to ignore it as he nodded to the first reporter while the wiped his paws on his jersey. Trying his best to wipe the sweat and dirt from them. The reporter quickly thrust his microphone forward as he asked his question.
"Bodhi. Tough result tonight. What is your immediate reaction to the 3–1 loss?"
The bear let out a sigh as he cocked his head to the side. "That was a rough match. We started out strong. With some early chances that got us the opening score. I thought for sure at that moment we were in for a good one. But obviously that's not the case. We started to give up possession and gave them to many lanes to the goal. Not a result I or we for that matter wanted. That's for sure." He said quickly. Trying his best to put the jumble of thoughts in his head together as he talked. He quickly brushed his paw over his head to brush the fur out of his eyes as he nodded to the next reporter.
"Despite the loss. Did you see any positives in the teams performance that you can build on?"
His ears perked up at that question. 'That's better' he thought. 'A positive question is what id rather hear right now' He straightened his posture a bit before answering. His eyes flicking toward the camera for a moment before returning his gaze to the reporter. "Yeah we had some strong moments tonight. We had some key steals and passes that really helped to push our opposition back at times and give us some room to move. Our forwards were really on their game when it came to switching from attacking to defending when they needed to. And the rookies showed some amazing resilience in the face of adversity and i never saw one of them give up as the game went on.... So id say even in a rough loss like that we had some clear building points we can look at in the film room." He said nodding reassuringly as he put his paws on his hips. Then the next reporter dropped his question before Bodhi was ready.
“Bodhi you’re supposed to be the backbone of the Cairo midfield. But Montreal seemed to walk right through it. Do you feel like you let your back line down?”
That one caught him off guard. He wasn't ready for such a direct question. For a fraction of a second he just started at the reporter. The question processing in his head before answering. "Uh... Yeah. Well i need to play better. Im supposed to be the wall in the midfield and I didn't do a great job at stopping them today. I feel like i put in a full 90 today. Taking the best tackles i could and trying to stay in the way of their forwards but they worked around me I guess. I have to show these guys that im here to be a rock for them." He quickly said as he tried to search for an answer that seemed satisfactory. Then the next question came as he let the silence build for a fraction to long.
“You play with a lot of aggression and it shows. But is it fair to say tonight it crossed into recklessness without much impact?”
He raised an eyebrow at that one. "What? Yeah i can get a yellow here or there but I'd say im not an overly aggressive defender. I make a lot of clean tackles. Not everyone is gonna come up good and sometimes a ref isn't going to like the way i slide in or take the ball. I think i pressed well when needed. Id say i had plenty of impact this game." He said somewhat pointedly. His ears twitched a bit in annoyance. These questions were beginning to get a bit out of hand. Another reporter lifted their microphone forward.
“Bodhi, take us through that free kick in the 26th minute. You had the keeper beaten there. Does it feel like a missed opportunity that could’ve changed the momentum of the match?”
He grimaced at that. The kick that hit the post. That one stung. "Ah yeah. That one was tough. I was aiming for the top corner and beamed it straight into the post. Doesn't matter if i had their keeper beat or not if i don't put the ball into the back of the net. I think that if i make that goal my team plays with more confidence and relaxes a bit more. That one was on me." His gaze drops down to his jersey. Disappointed in himself that he could have helped his team breath a bit more had he made that goal. Then the next question rang out over his thoughts.
“On the second free kick you chose to play it to your team in the box. That ball gets cleared almost immediately. Do you feel that was a wasted opportunity in a game where you were already chasing?”
Bodhi winced again before looking back up. "That one was from almost mid field. I felt that it was better to try and play it to our forwards in the line rather than try to boot it to the net. I don't regret that decision at all. Even if it didn't work out. Ill trust my team on that play every time. Cant help that it didn't work out this time." there was a tinge of defensiveness in his voice. That play wasn't exactly planned but its the kind of play that works out if it goes right. And Bodhi believed that fully. Trusting your team to make the play when you don't think you have it is never a bad thing. Even if the media will make it seem like it is.
“Is it fair to say Cairo needed more quality from you in those dead ball situations tonight?”
His eyes narrowed as he heard that one. Annoyed that a reporter had the audacity to ask him something so boldly. But inside he knew it was a valid question. His team was trusting him to make the most of free kicks. It was on him if he couldn't live up to that. But that didn't stop the anger that was welling up inside of him. "Are you kidding me? What kind of question is that? I gave all i had in those moments and you have the gall to ask me if we needed more quality? I leave everything i have on the field. Every. Single. Game. And you ask me if i think Cairo needed more?" He could feel the heat rising in his face. He took a dep breath before continuing. Doing his best to suppress a growl that was building low in his chest. "I think i did my best out there and we had some bad breaks. Moments where we... Where I could have scored or stopped them from scoring. But it just didn't go our way. And if you think that im gonna let some second rate journalist whos never been in those moments question the effort and quality I put into each and every game then you can go f-" Right before the word could leave his mouth he felt a hand close around his snout and begin pushing him away from the media grouping. Surprised he jerked his head to the side to see who it was that stopped him when his eyes landed on his Coach No-face. Bodhi was immediately hit with a feeling of disappointment in himself for letting the reporters get to him and letting his anger boil over. After pushing him away a bit No-Face released his muzzle and held up a finger telling him to wait.
Bodhi watched as his coach walked back over to the media grouping to address them. "I mean look, I'm not going to sit here and say we are where we want to be right now, and we are all disappointed with how the season has started following on from making playoffs last season but when we drafted Grizz we did so as we needed a defensive Bulwark in the midfield and this is what he has provided match after match after match. Could we have got a result if things went slightly differently? Of course, but the Minors league is not the same beast it was years ago I mean look at ASP's keeper he's easily one of the best, if not the best Goalkeepers in the league, so when you bring in a wave of fresh talent these things are bound to happen so it's not something we are concerned about at camp, but rather necessary growing pains to get to where we need to be and everyone has brought into that and knows the plan, but who likes losing huh? Grizz is taking our free kicks not because that's what we drafted him for, but because he wants to help his team every single possible way he can and we see it behind closed doors day in and day out, is he right now the best set piece taker in the league? Maybe not, but when you have a talent like Grizz mixed with the passion it's a coach's job to foster that growth, not to stand in the way, I have no plans to change anything soon and with all the work happening on the training pitch I have no doubts we will see a new string to Grizz's bow soon enough." And right as the reporters began to talk over each other trying to ask impromptu questions he held his hand up. "No more questions. Thank you." Then he swiftly turned and walked back over to Bodhi. Putting a hand on his back and leading him away from the media and towards the tunnel to rejoin his team. The walked in silence for a bit and before getting to the locker room Bodhi looked over. "Thanks Coach. Ill make sure they wont have a reason to push me next time."
(The dialog from No-face was sourced from him so if you can pay that part out to him that would be great <3)
Also sorry for two deleted threads. First one was accidentally posted to early and the second i messed up the formatting and couldn't fix it lol.
"Bodhi. Tough result tonight. What is your immediate reaction to the 3–1 loss?"
The bear let out a sigh as he cocked his head to the side. "That was a rough match. We started out strong. With some early chances that got us the opening score. I thought for sure at that moment we were in for a good one. But obviously that's not the case. We started to give up possession and gave them to many lanes to the goal. Not a result I or we for that matter wanted. That's for sure." He said quickly. Trying his best to put the jumble of thoughts in his head together as he talked. He quickly brushed his paw over his head to brush the fur out of his eyes as he nodded to the next reporter.
"Despite the loss. Did you see any positives in the teams performance that you can build on?"
His ears perked up at that question. 'That's better' he thought. 'A positive question is what id rather hear right now' He straightened his posture a bit before answering. His eyes flicking toward the camera for a moment before returning his gaze to the reporter. "Yeah we had some strong moments tonight. We had some key steals and passes that really helped to push our opposition back at times and give us some room to move. Our forwards were really on their game when it came to switching from attacking to defending when they needed to. And the rookies showed some amazing resilience in the face of adversity and i never saw one of them give up as the game went on.... So id say even in a rough loss like that we had some clear building points we can look at in the film room." He said nodding reassuringly as he put his paws on his hips. Then the next reporter dropped his question before Bodhi was ready.
“Bodhi you’re supposed to be the backbone of the Cairo midfield. But Montreal seemed to walk right through it. Do you feel like you let your back line down?”
That one caught him off guard. He wasn't ready for such a direct question. For a fraction of a second he just started at the reporter. The question processing in his head before answering. "Uh... Yeah. Well i need to play better. Im supposed to be the wall in the midfield and I didn't do a great job at stopping them today. I feel like i put in a full 90 today. Taking the best tackles i could and trying to stay in the way of their forwards but they worked around me I guess. I have to show these guys that im here to be a rock for them." He quickly said as he tried to search for an answer that seemed satisfactory. Then the next question came as he let the silence build for a fraction to long.
“You play with a lot of aggression and it shows. But is it fair to say tonight it crossed into recklessness without much impact?”
He raised an eyebrow at that one. "What? Yeah i can get a yellow here or there but I'd say im not an overly aggressive defender. I make a lot of clean tackles. Not everyone is gonna come up good and sometimes a ref isn't going to like the way i slide in or take the ball. I think i pressed well when needed. Id say i had plenty of impact this game." He said somewhat pointedly. His ears twitched a bit in annoyance. These questions were beginning to get a bit out of hand. Another reporter lifted their microphone forward.
“Bodhi, take us through that free kick in the 26th minute. You had the keeper beaten there. Does it feel like a missed opportunity that could’ve changed the momentum of the match?”
He grimaced at that. The kick that hit the post. That one stung. "Ah yeah. That one was tough. I was aiming for the top corner and beamed it straight into the post. Doesn't matter if i had their keeper beat or not if i don't put the ball into the back of the net. I think that if i make that goal my team plays with more confidence and relaxes a bit more. That one was on me." His gaze drops down to his jersey. Disappointed in himself that he could have helped his team breath a bit more had he made that goal. Then the next question rang out over his thoughts.
“On the second free kick you chose to play it to your team in the box. That ball gets cleared almost immediately. Do you feel that was a wasted opportunity in a game where you were already chasing?”
Bodhi winced again before looking back up. "That one was from almost mid field. I felt that it was better to try and play it to our forwards in the line rather than try to boot it to the net. I don't regret that decision at all. Even if it didn't work out. Ill trust my team on that play every time. Cant help that it didn't work out this time." there was a tinge of defensiveness in his voice. That play wasn't exactly planned but its the kind of play that works out if it goes right. And Bodhi believed that fully. Trusting your team to make the play when you don't think you have it is never a bad thing. Even if the media will make it seem like it is.
“Is it fair to say Cairo needed more quality from you in those dead ball situations tonight?”
His eyes narrowed as he heard that one. Annoyed that a reporter had the audacity to ask him something so boldly. But inside he knew it was a valid question. His team was trusting him to make the most of free kicks. It was on him if he couldn't live up to that. But that didn't stop the anger that was welling up inside of him. "Are you kidding me? What kind of question is that? I gave all i had in those moments and you have the gall to ask me if we needed more quality? I leave everything i have on the field. Every. Single. Game. And you ask me if i think Cairo needed more?" He could feel the heat rising in his face. He took a dep breath before continuing. Doing his best to suppress a growl that was building low in his chest. "I think i did my best out there and we had some bad breaks. Moments where we... Where I could have scored or stopped them from scoring. But it just didn't go our way. And if you think that im gonna let some second rate journalist whos never been in those moments question the effort and quality I put into each and every game then you can go f-" Right before the word could leave his mouth he felt a hand close around his snout and begin pushing him away from the media grouping. Surprised he jerked his head to the side to see who it was that stopped him when his eyes landed on his Coach No-face. Bodhi was immediately hit with a feeling of disappointment in himself for letting the reporters get to him and letting his anger boil over. After pushing him away a bit No-Face released his muzzle and held up a finger telling him to wait.
Bodhi watched as his coach walked back over to the media grouping to address them. "I mean look, I'm not going to sit here and say we are where we want to be right now, and we are all disappointed with how the season has started following on from making playoffs last season but when we drafted Grizz we did so as we needed a defensive Bulwark in the midfield and this is what he has provided match after match after match. Could we have got a result if things went slightly differently? Of course, but the Minors league is not the same beast it was years ago I mean look at ASP's keeper he's easily one of the best, if not the best Goalkeepers in the league, so when you bring in a wave of fresh talent these things are bound to happen so it's not something we are concerned about at camp, but rather necessary growing pains to get to where we need to be and everyone has brought into that and knows the plan, but who likes losing huh? Grizz is taking our free kicks not because that's what we drafted him for, but because he wants to help his team every single possible way he can and we see it behind closed doors day in and day out, is he right now the best set piece taker in the league? Maybe not, but when you have a talent like Grizz mixed with the passion it's a coach's job to foster that growth, not to stand in the way, I have no plans to change anything soon and with all the work happening on the training pitch I have no doubts we will see a new string to Grizz's bow soon enough." And right as the reporters began to talk over each other trying to ask impromptu questions he held his hand up. "No more questions. Thank you." Then he swiftly turned and walked back over to Bodhi. Putting a hand on his back and leading him away from the media and towards the tunnel to rejoin his team. The walked in silence for a bit and before getting to the locker room Bodhi looked over. "Thanks Coach. Ill make sure they wont have a reason to push me next time."
(The dialog from No-face was sourced from him so if you can pay that part out to him that would be great <3)
Also sorry for two deleted threads. First one was accidentally posted to early and the second i messed up the formatting and couldn't fix it lol.
