cycle paper #4: those six minutes

For some, this is all they've been waiting for, but for others, its six minutes of embarrassment and torture. As the green and red men secure their ankle straps, they each step on their respective line as they enter a whole new world. The two glare at each other eye-to-eye as they shake each other's hand. The whistle beeps; the two are unleashed. The hand to hand, head to head and overall body contact is inevitable. Fighting for a takedown, worth two points, the green man hauls the red man up in the air. Luckily the padded mat is there to cushion their fall. Immediately, the red man squirms to his feet while the green man keeps him down. With thirty seconds left in the first period, the red man manages to escape, closing the gap. The score is 2-1.
The black and white man casts the green and red coin into the air, whirling back down to the mat. The fire truck red side notifies the red man to make a choice: top, bottom, neutral or differ. "Differ, sir," the red man declares to the referee as he motions his arms, forearms parallel, his right arm a few inches from his left. The green man glances at his coaches who motion the down position. The green man mimics the same gesture to the referee, as he bends down to rest his ragged kneepads right in front of the faded line on the mat. Shaking his arms, from his shoulder to his fingertips, he flops his hands down in front. The referee takes two steps backward, hunching over, ensuring that the green man is set in the proper position.
"Set?" the referee assumes. The green man nods his head, as the referee motions for the red man to cover, "elbow last." Immediately after the red man's hand completely covers the green man's elbow, the whistle beeps, initiating the second period. 2:00, 1:59, 1:58, 1:57… The green man pops up to his feet as the red man struggles to keep control. The score: 3-1. Before the green man gets situated into his comfortable stance, the red man makes a tie-breaking move. The green man clumsily falls to his stomach. A quarter of a second later, the red man drives his shoulder into the green man. It's easy to differ which one is in better shape. The green man lies on the mat, without enough energy to get to his feet. The red man accumulates 3 more points for turning the green man to his back for 5 seconds. This happens once again, the green man is gasping for air.
*Beep!* "Out of bounds!" the referee shouts as his arms to his left. The red man rolls to his butt as he plants his feet on the ground in front of him. The green man pushes himself up. The green man gets set on the bottom position once again before the red man covers. *Beep!* The green man doesn't have any motivation as he just waits for something to happen. His lungs are about to give up. All he hears is a jumble of voice, which he cannot make out. The red man manages to get him to his back in just a few seconds with a simple, power half. The referee flops to the mat, searching for the green man's shoulders. Both hit. *Beep!* *Boom!* The referee slaps the mat. The match is over with just 22 seconds left in the entire match.
The red and green men rip off their ankle straps. They shake hands until next time. The red man's hand is raised. The green man strolls off the mat, only wondering what kind of lecture he will receive from his coaches. The red man knows that he can look his teammates and coaches in the eye, knowing he did his best.