The football field inside Worcester's DCU Center, home of the Massachusetts Pirates of the National Arena League, probably isn't like any gridiron you've ever seen before.
The 50-yard turf is laid out over the skeleton of a hockey rink, resulting in a carpet that's closer to a pill shape than a hash-marked rectangle.
The surface feels like a big sponge under your feet.
Oh, and it's blue with teal end zones.
It's a look that's both bizarre and familiar. But for Pirates players, this field is where their dreams of playing the game are kept alive.
"There's really no minor league system for the NFL," said Jawad Yatim, the president and general manager of the Pirates. Yatim, who used to play arena football himself, founded the Pirates two years ago.
He said there are two types of players on the team.
"One is the young guys who are trying to make it, trying to get their film, trying to continue to be evaluated and scouted at the higher levels," Yatim explained. "And then you got your guys who have already been there and just love the game and want to keep playing until they can't play anymore and collect the checks."
One of those players whose ultimate goal is to make it to the next level is starting quarterback Sean Brackett.
"Right now, I'm still looking the NFL shot, you know? That's why we're all here," he said.
Brackett, a Connecticut native, put up big numbers at Columbia University, but couldn't catch on with an NFL team after graduating. He was also in conversations with an arena team that folded and a Canadian Football League team, but the contract situation never got resolved.
So that first year out of college, Brackett went home, worked in insurance, and flew to workouts across the country in hopes of catching a club's attention. He said he just needed a chance.
"But when those opportunities don't come, that's tough. 'Cause again, you're putting in all this hard work in for nothing," he said. "So, especially talking to my dad and my family, stuff like that, they're kind of like, 'It might be time for you to hang it up.'
Then one day, the now defunct Las Vegas Outlaws of the Arena Football League signed him to a contract based on what they saw from his highlight tapes. He had never played arena football before.
Now, he's a veteran, having played in different teams from Jacksonville, Florida to Qingdao, China.
Even though he's a pro, this is not a glamorous lifestyle: Brackett also teaches in Waltham, coaches high school football in Cambridge and is a private quarterback coach in the off-season.
But this game is his passion. His eyes light up like fireworks when talking about throwing the ball.
"Just throwing around before practice, I love that," he said. "I'll do that for free. I'll play games for free."
Brackett is still searching for his big break, but guys like wide receiver Dexter McCluster have already lived out their dream. McCluster played at Ole Miss before spending seven years in the NFL, where he made the Pro Bowl in 2013.
He's here because he's simply not ready to leave the game yet. But it comes at the cost of being away from his family, who are in Tennessee.
"My oldest daughter, she's about to be in high school next year. She reminded me a couple of months ago that, 'You know what daddy, remember you told me that you were gonna retire when I get to high school? And that's next year,'" he said. "And I said, 'Man, I didn't think it was gonna come by that fast.' So we'll see how it turns out right now, but just being away from the family, man, it's rough. It's getting harder and harder each year."
In the team's final regular season game against the New York Streets, the action is fast. The truncated field allows space for only eight players per team and forces the ball to come out quick. Players slam into the padded walls, which act as sidelines. Some even flip over into the stands from the hits. It's football with an espresso shot of adrenaline.
On the field, Pirates defensive back Chucky Williams may be the most animated of any player. If he's not making plays, he's dancing or cracking jokes. Last season, he signed with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Louisville, but was cut before training camp.
He didn't even know where Worcester was when the Pirates came calling.
"I thought I was gonna end up in Boston!" he said with a laugh.
Playing in an arena league, where empty seats can outnumber the fans, has been a humbling experience for Williams — but he knows it's giving him a chance to prove himself.
It’s fair to say that no kid grows up dreaming of playing arena football in a town they've never heard of. But dreams are fragile, and football games are fleeting. And as the Pirates get ready for the playoffs this weekend, there’s at least one game left to suit up for.
"After this season, if things don't work out ... I won't even be mad, 'cause I know I came out here, I did what I had to do, went hard everyday and I had fun. And that's one thing I can lean back on and be happy about," Williams said.
