I'll hail for the traditionalists that love to see The Little Red-Haired Girl as an unseen entity. Unfortunately (or fortunately), this would have jettisoned half of the show's plot of Charlie Brown trying to impress his heart's desire. Pedestrian, but not bad.
The other half, concerning the football game, is where a golden opportunity for karmic payback was missed for comedic effect. Lucy, on the last play, decides to pull the ball away *yet again* from Charlie Brown trying for a field goal. Savvy football fans should know that that ball is *still* alive, in the case of this being a *fake* field goal. In Lucy's case, she would be the target of the defenders trying to sack *her* with the ball. My humble rewrite would have Lucy, in full panic, run up and down the field in sheer terror, and despite herself, still end up scoring and winning the game! Lucy the hero, after all this? Well, it *is* still a Charlie Brown world.
The other half, concerning the football game, is where a golden opportunity for karmic payback was missed for comedic effect. Lucy, on the last play, decides to pull the ball away *yet again* from Charlie Brown trying for a field goal. Savvy football fans should know that that ball is *still* alive, in the case of this being a *fake* field goal. In Lucy's case, she would be the target of the defenders trying to sack *her* with the ball. My humble rewrite would have Lucy, in full panic, run up and down the field in sheer terror, and despite herself, still end up scoring and winning the game! Lucy the hero, after all this? Well, it *is* still a Charlie Brown world.