Author's note: In the book Football Champ, Ty is a freshman in high school, and has an older brother who is going to play in the NFL. He lives in New York with his aunt and uncle and never gets to do much other than work. One god thing is that Ty is going to be filthy rich. That’s what his grumpy old uncle thinks. That’s what his aunt thinks, and that’s what his brother thinks. Tiger Lewis has played 4 mind-blowing seasons of football at Syracuse University, and people are now talking about him being a first round draft pick. Ty is also a good football player, but not nearly as good as his brother. That is what he thinks, and that is what everyone tells him. Little does he know, he will get a chance to shine just as much, or even more than his brother in my version of the ending.
After sending one kid to a hospital twice in one week, the corner backs now feared Ty. This is what made practice so easy for the speedy wide receiver. It was like taking candy from a baby the way he flew down the field waiting for the ball to reach him. Sometimes, he would have to put in an extra burst of speed to catch up to the ball, and sometimes he would have to stop to catch the ball. Today his team was scrimmaging, and the call was to send Ty on a slant, and see if he could break free. When the ball was snapped, Ty broke into an all out sprint, then stopped and cut toward the opposite sideline. The ball was thrown on a line right to Ty. He grabbed it with smooth hands, and then started faking out every defender that dared to come near him. Once a hole opened up, Ty sprinted as fast as he could towards the end zone. After scoring, he looked up and noticed his older brother motioning for him to come over. It was time to go.
Ty had never worn something so nice. It was a sports suit that fit him flawlessly. This was a huge night though, and they were going to celebrate thoroughly. Ty couldn’t believe all the considerable football players that surrounded him, including his brother. When Tiger got picked to go to the New York Jets for the first pick in the NFL draft, Ty was so emotional that he burst out into tears. He hugged his brother, and even hugged his aunt and uncle for the first time in his life. His uncle was drunk and was screaming, “Were going to be rich!” He then passed out onto the cold tiled floor. That partially ended the celebration. Ty could care less. His uncle had never done one thing nice for him in his life. So instead of helping him up, he left him on the floor, and went to talk to his brother.
Tragedy struck in the Jets first home game. Tiger had been playing the greatest game a rookie had ever played. He had two touchdowns in the first quarter alone and had 113 yards in total. At the start of the second quarter, Tiger went up to grab a pass, when his knee gave out completely. The crowd gasped. At first, the football stud tried to get up, but then slumped back down onto the ground, groaning like a dying goose, and grabbing his right knee. The medical crew put him on a stretcher, and carried him into the locker room. Ty couldn’t help himself; he jumped down onto the field and sprinted as fast as he could over to his brother. The look in Tiger Lewis’s face was agony. Tiger whispered something to him. He told Ty to go into the game for him. That’s when Ty passed out cold onto the grassy turf. He woke up in the same spot not half a minute later, and remembered what his brother had said.
Ty could not believe what he was doing as he jogged out of the locker room wearing Tiger’s jersey. . There were 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter, so hopefully he would not have to go in. It was overwhelming, how a freshman in high school was playing in an NFL game. Once the Patriots kicked the ball off to the Jets, that’s when Ty noticed that they were losing by five, 35 to 30. The coach screamed for Tiger to get his butt into the game, and Ty didn’t know what to do. He was completely frozen to his spot. Then another player shoved him onto the field and TY sprinted off towards the huddle. He kept his head down, worrying that other players might notice that it was not Tigers face inside the helmet. His heart also skipped a beat or two when the play was called. It was a deep post corner to Tiger. When the QB asked if he was ready, all he could manage was a small gasp and a nod. He lined up. All he had to do was try to get open. When the ball was snapped, that’s exactly what Ty did.
Sprinting as fast as he could, he ran a perfect route, and beat the corner back. Not even realizing what was happening, he got past the corner and looked up just in time to see the ball coming down to him. He put his hands up, and the ball hit them with force. The football started to fall to the turf. He dove out for it, hoping with everything he had that he could get his hands on it. Ty closed his eyes and hit the ground. When he opened his eyes, he saw the brown football sitting in his palms. Looking up Ty saw the referee hold up his hands signaling a touchdown. The game was over, and the Jets had won. Emotion once more flooded through Ty’s body as he lay in the soft green grass. The last thing Ty remembered thinking was if his brother was going to be OK. He made a silent prayer, and then once again shut his eyes.
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