Chapter 42

By the next morning, although I had developed serious soreness in my shoulders, neck and upper back, most of the feeling had returned to the rest of my body. I was taken for another complete MRI workout, shortly after Alexis had left to go home and clean up. By two o’clock I was back in my room, watching TV. Shortly before six that evening, one of the doctors came in and informed me everything looked fine on the test, I would be discharged in the morning.

Alexis was back at around six thirty, she was sitting next to the bed holding my hand as the door opened. The nurses were changing shifts, my day nurse told me Vanessa would be in to see me shortly, but that in the meantime I had a visitor outside who wanted to see me. I nodded to her it was fine, she stepped back out of the door.

A few moments later the door opened, both Alexis and I were shocked to say the least, at who entered. In walked the small boy who had changed my life after just one meeting. Bryan Butler, the small boy who had been the inspiration for my foundation, walked across the room, followed by both of his parents. He was wearing one of the shirts I had given him, although he had grown quite a bit since last I had seen him.

“Hey buddy, how are you?” I asked.

“Are you still hurt?” he asked, the most sincere look on his face.

“I’m going to be good as new.” I answered.

He walked over to me and pointed at a spot on the bed next to me with his finger.

“Can I sit here?” he asked.

“Sure you can.” I responded, motioning for his father to let him up.

After he got situated on the bed, he reached over and took his hand, wrapped it around my thumb.

“Why did that man hurt you like that?’, he asked.

“He didn’t do it on purpose buddy, that’s just how the game is played.” I answered.

He looked down as if he were trying to process what I had told him, but I’m not sure he really understood. His dad stepped forward, placing his hand on his son’s shoulder.

“I’m really sorry for barging in on you this way. We were watching the game and when you went down, well Bryan was very upset. He cried when they took you off the field on the cart. He wanted us to bring him up here last night, he begged us for hours.” he admitted.

“You were worried buddy?” I asked my little friend, squeezing his hand.

He just nodded his head, the tears rolling down his face. Without any warning he leaned forward, falling on my chest, his arms around me. His mother began to move in our direction, but I shook my head telling her it was fine. I put one arm around him as he softly cried, his small body occasionally shuddering.

“I’m going to be fine, before you know it, I will be catching touchdowns again.” I said, patting his head.

I could feel the emotion welling up in me as well, I really never knew just how much this little guy cared about me. It was obvious, I meant as much to him, as he did to me. He finally calmed down enough to sit back up.

“You know Bryan, Alexis here, well she is my best girl friend in all of the world. But you, you are my best man friend that I have.” I told him.

“Really.” he said, wiping the remnants of his tears from his eyes.

“Really, you are. You were my first fan when I got here, now you have become my first true friend.” I responded.

He seemed to cheer up considerably after my last comment, then he made an unusual look, one that suggested he was perhaps confused.

“What’s wrong Bryan?” his mother asked.

“Well, that’s what I tell everyone at school, that he’s my good friend. But they all call me a liar ... they um, they laugh at me.” he confessed.

“They do? Well, I tell you what buddy, we will fix that as soon as I get out of here. I promise you.” I answered.

“What ... What are you gonna do?” he asked.

“Just don’t worry buddy, I will handle it.” I assured him.

That seemed to make him feel a bit better, he began smiling and laughing. They stayed for close to an hour before his mom told him it was time to go. I thanked them for bringing him by, it really meant a lot to me.

I was discharged early the following morning, Alexis drove me home. After making sure I was comfortable, she had to go into the office to catch up on some work. Starting the following morning, I would have to report to the practice facility where the training staff and team physicians would start therapy on my injury. I had been told I could possibly be out for three to four games, I was hoping for a much quicker recovery. Although most of the feeling had returned in my extremities, I did still have some occasional numbness and tingling that would come and go.

The rest of the week I reported daily, spending hours with the trainers, alternating behind ice and heat, analgesic and anti-inflammatory medication and restriction of movement. Since our next game was on the road, I was excused from the trip, instead staying behind to work with the trainers. Alexis and I watched the game on Sunday, unfortunately we played horribly, losing the game 31-21, to Miami. It was our first loss of the year, we were still first in our division and tied for first in our conference.

Alexis had been wonderful at home, she waited on me hand and foot, her energy seemed endless. By the following week, I had very little effects left, I was ready to start practicing again, but the trainers would not release me. Apparently with this type of injury, another trauma to the same area too quickly, could result in chronic pain and muscle weakness permanently. I was once again excused from the game in Denver, staying home to work with the trainers. For the second week in a row, even though we played much better, we lost.

At the team meetings on Monday, I was cleared to begin practicing again, I was looking forward to Wednesday. It seemed as if it were ages since I had last caught a ball, I was eager to get back at it. On the ride home from the practice facility I called Bryan’s mother, we spoke briefly about an idea I had. She told me she would call his school and talk to the principal about it, she promised to call me back.

Later that night, she called me and told me she had cleared the event with the administrators of the school, everything was set for eleven o’clock next Tuesday morning, although no one would be told, it would be a surprise to everyone, including Bryan.

I started practicing the following day, but it became immediately apparent to me, I wasn’t a hundred percent. On several passes that I caught, I could feel tingling and stinging sensations move through my hands, arms, shoulder and neck. I didn’t say anything to anyone, I decided to try and work through it. We would be at home this week against Philadelphia, so I was able to work out up to game day. I was listed as probable, it felt good to be back in the lineup. Although I did play a dozen or so downs, caught two passes, I was rested for the majority of the game, which we lost by a field goal. We were now one a three game skid, the problem was no one knew why. We were simply just not getting the job done across the board, the simple things were killing us. We had dropped out of first place in our division, we were desperately searching for the answers to stop this downward spiral.

That Tuesday, I stopped by the foundation on the way to Bryan’s school to pick up the items I needed, then made my way to the small elementary school across town. I arrived at ten thirty, I made my way to the main office to meet with the principal. As I stepped into the office, I was greeted by the school secretary.

“Yes sir, may I help you?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m here to see Ms. McDougal.” I replied.

“Oh yes, you’re Mr. Stevens, wait right here, I’ll get her for you.” she instructed and rushed down the hall.

A few minutes later, Ms. McDougal arrived, greeting me warmly, telling me everything had been arranged as necessary. She had one of the custodians remove the two large boxes from my car, then take them to the library, where the children would be assembled. She instructed me that the event was being limited to only third, fourth and fifth graders, she felt the younger children would tend to slow things down. I was kept in the office area adjacent to the library as the students were escorted in, grade by grade. From what I was told, there were two classes in each grade, a total of close to one hundred fifty children. I have to admit, they were quite orderly and quiet as I heard them being led into the room, then instructed on where to sit. Finally after all classes were seated, the teachers took there seats, the principal addressed the room.

“Boys and Girls, I know you’re wondering what is going on, as I sure your teachers are as well. I have a surprise for you today, we have a very special guest with us. He has invited all of you to join him for lunch, which will be pizza for everyone.” she started.

The room erupted in a chorus of cheers, the principal quickly taking charge once more.

“What I need from you is as always, be on your best behavior and show our guest the respect and gratitude he deserves for making this possible for you. Do you all understand me?” she continued.

“Yes Miss McDougal.” they all answered in unison.

“Good, then I would like to introduce to our guest today, I’m sure many of you have watched him on TV many, many times. He is a member of our own San Diego football team, their tight end, Mr. Brian Stevens.” she ended.

There was a nice applause as I walked into the library, the kids all looking at each other like something special was happening. I walked over to Ms. McDougal and shook her hand, then turned to the crowd of youngsters.

“I want to thank Ms. McDougal and all of your teachers here for allowing me to interrupt your busy day here.” I started.

I scanned the room quickly looking for Bryan, I finally noticed him in the back next to one of the teachers, his mouth was open in surprise.

“I called Ms. McDougal and asked her permission to come here and have lunch with my best friend, who comes to this school. But Ms. McDougal informed me that perhaps instead of just having lunch with my friend, I should have lunch with everyone. So I talked to my friend and he agreed, so here I am.” I continued.

Before I could start up again, one rather large young boy in the front row raised his hand quickly. I pointed to him, he stood up and spoke in a clear, loud voice.

“Your best friend goes to this school? Who is it?” he asked, looking around.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you guys that. My best friend is seated over there, Bryan, will you please come up here.” I waved.

You could see everyone in the room just about drop the teeth out of their mouth, as I waved the young boy forward. Bryan jumped up and made his way through the maze of kids, quickly making his way to my side. I put my arm around him, then turned back to the assembly.

“Bryan here, was my first fan ever. I met him just after I arrived here in San Diego. He was with us last year when we won the Super Bowl, in fact the team has nicknamed him HD2.” I admitted.

You could see all the kids just looking at each other in utter surprise, the fact that one of their classmates actually knew me in person was not believable. Just about that time, one of the doors in the back of the room opened, the pizza’s were being brought in.

Everyone was served pizza and soft drinks, the group was really having a great time. I set up the two large boxes I had brought with me behing a table, then sat down in a chair pushing up to the table.

I motioned for Bryan to come over and sit next to me which he did. I instructed him to pass me the items one at a time.

“Ok children, listen up. Quiet now.” she instructed.

The room became quiet, the children all settled back down, their eyes on her.

“Before you go back to class, one at a time, you come to this table and see Mr. Stevens. He will autograph a tee shirt especially for you. Once you get your shirt, meet your teacher in the back of the room. Teachers, once your entire class has a shirt, please return to your room.” she instructed.

One by one the children came up to the table and stated their name. I then personally inscribed a Hyper Dunk Tee Shirt to them thanking them for being so well behaved. Bryan was all smiles as he passed me shirt after shirt, on this day, he was definitely the big man on campus.

Bryan’s teacher came up and asked me to walk him back to class, when we were done, I nodded to her that I would. Soon the room was empty, he and I were walking back down the hall towards his class.

“Well buddy, I guess everyone believes you now huh?” I said, my arm on his shoulder.

We stopped at the door to his class, I knocked on the door, the teacher opened it quickly. She instructed Bryan to go to his seat, then stepped out in the hall.

“I want to personally thank you for what you just did. Bryan adores you, he has taken a lot of ribbing from the other kids. He did a paragraph once about you giving him a football you caught in a game, several kids really gave him a bad time. Bryan has been through quite an ordeal the past few years, I’m so glad to see him this happy.” she stated.

“He’s a good kid, his parents are wonderful. It was my pleasure to be here.” I answered.

We struggled through the rest of the year, ending the season with a record of 10-6, many experts stating that the magic we had produced one season ago, had vanished. We made the playoff’s as a wild card, but would have to win on the road this year, home field advantage was not ours. Our first game would be against Baltimore, although not the best team in the division, a team with a very good defense. We practiced all week, then left on Thursday, arriving late that night.

As I was being taped up before the game, I thought back about the season, trying to put a handle on what had went wrong. Looking at myself, I had not come close to the production I managed last year. I had missed a few games due to injury, but overall, I had not played as well as I knew I could have. Perhaps success had come too easily. As I looked around the locker room, this definitely did not look like a team that was ready to make a run at another Super Bowl. We needed something, I was just not sure what.

We opened on offense and went three and out quickly, having to punt the ball to Baltimore. They went on a long drive, but had to settle for a field goal when our defense held on a third and ten. On our second possession, one of our wide receivers dropped a deep ball that would have probably been a touchdown. As he came back to the huddle, he had a smile on his face, something Josh took exception to.

“You just dropped six, you find that fucking funny?” he asked Jaxon.

“Fuck you, like you never heave a dud.” he shot back.

Josh started to go after him, I extended my arm pushing him back to his familiar spot in the huddle. He knelt down, listening to the call from the sidelines, coming through his helmet.

“Fuck it, I’m taking this game over, you don’t want to play, get the fuck out of my huddle now.” he screamed, looking at each and every one of us.

“Power right, twenty cross, waggle, delay fade, ten hook, on two.” he barked.

The ball was snapped, I came off hard on the linebacker driving him straight up the field. Ten yards into the pattern, I sat down hard and spun around, the ball was already on the way. I reached up and pulled it down, spinning to my outside avoiding a tackle, picking up an extra fifteen before I was brought down close to mid field. I got up, made a first down signal up the field, which the crowd voiced their displeasure at immediately. The linebacker I just beat squared up to me and yelled.

“Don’t get used to it motherfucker, you won’t get many more.”

I stepped towards him putting one hand in his chest, shoving him slightly.

“On your best day, you can’t run with me boy.” I answered.

He immediately jumped at me, the referee quickly stepping between us. He was still yelling as I walked trotted back to the huddle.

“I see your making friends.” Josh quipped as I leaned into the huddle.

“Every time you see us matched, I want to abuse him.” I answered.

Josh knelt in the huddle, he knew what I meant, we needed an emotional spark, anything would do right now.

“Double full, delay left, even screen, fade right on three.” he barked.

The ball was snapped, Josh dropped back in the pocket and looked down field. As designed, the lineman held their blocks for a mental count of three then released their men, forming a wall to the left. Scott Douglas, our speed back, floated to the left as well, catching the soft screen pass from Josh. He went untouched into the end zone for our first score, we now led 7-3.

Our defense took the field and two plays later the Baltimore running back mishandled the exchanged, fumbling the ball at their thirty three. Sam Watkins, our rookie linebacker was on the spot, falling on the ball quickly. The offense ran back out on the field, determined to take advantage of the gift. Several plays later, we had a third and nine from their fifteen yard line. We called a play that had three options, one corner route by the wide receiver, a wheel route by our running back, and a quick slant by our other receiver. I was to primarily run a decoy route to the same side our running back would circle out to. That way if the ball was thrown to him, I could possibly come back and give him a block.

The ball was snapped, I ran to about the three yard line, then broke outside, turning to see what was developing. Josh had already looked off his first two options and was opening to throw the wheel route, when their weak side linebacker jumped the route. Josh pulled the ball back down, then scanned the field again. I cut my route off, then headed back towards the center of the field looking for any opening. I saw a crease between their middle linebacker and the safety, it was tight but it was there. I broke hard for the area, Josh apparently saw the exact same thing at the last moment. As he released the ball, he was blasted by one of their defensive ends, driving him to the turf. The ball was high and to my right, as I went up between the two defenders. I was able to get my right hand on the point of the ball and bring it in towards my body. Just as I brought my left hand to the ball, I was hit by both of the defenders at once, the three of us falling backwards. The ball slipped from my right into my left, as the linebacker pulled hard on my right arm. I pulled the ball against my body with my left, just seconds before the three of us impacted the ground full force. A split second later, I felt an arm rip at the ball, pulling it loose, causing it to fall to the turf. I looked down the goal line, the official was signalling touchdown. I jumped up, picked up the ball, accelerated to the goal post and slammed the ball over it, causing the post to shake.

The defense was still arguing with the official as I ran off the field. As we lined up for the extra point, the officials blew the whistle, signalling that the booth would review the touchdown. The referee went over to the booth, pulling the hood over his head. I was on one knee on the sideline when Coach Reed walked over to me.

“Good?” he asked.

“No doubt Coach, I was already on the ground when they stripped it.” I answered.

It took quite a while, the crowd was beginning to grow anxious. Since the ruling on the field was touchdown, there had to be clear evidence, the ball had come free before I hit the ground. The referee stepped out from under the hood and ran to the center of the field, turning on his microphone.

“The receiver caught the ball with his right hand, lost control, then regained possession with his opposite hand. He clearly had possession when making contact with the ground, the ball being stripped after the play was over. The ruling on the field stands, touchdown San Diego.” he stated.

The crowd erupted in a chorus of boos, but it didn’t matter, the ruling was right. We kicked the extra point and took a 14-3 lead, which we held until halftime. On the opening possession after halftime, they drove down and once again kicked a field goal narrowing the lead to 14-6. The third quarter was a defensive struggle, both teams forcing the other into punting situations, over and over. Early in the fourth quarter, there running back broke free and ran sixty eight yards for a score, cutting the margin to one, 14-13. We had three missed tackles on the play, Coach Reed was livid with the defense. On our opening possession of the fourth quarter, we quickly found ourselves in a third and fourteen situation, not an ideal down and distance.

“Twins left, X Cross, Giant Under, Power set, X Waggle on Blue.” Josh called.

As we lined up for the play, Josh began cadence, he went with the hard count on one, unfortunately our right tackle moved instead of the defense. Flags littered the field from both sides, the ball was marched back five yards. Josh stuck with the same play, now looking at a third and nineteen. The ball was snapped, the receivers on the left crossed down field, I ran an out pattern under the switch maybe fifteen yards down the field. As I drifted toward the sideline, Josh read through the first three options, not happy with any of them. Having played with Josh for so long, our mental play clocks were almost in perfect synchronization. I knew just about the exact time, he would pull the ball down and begin to move from the pocket, trying to improvise. I scanned the middle of the field quickly, finding a spot between two defenders that was uncovered. I pushed hard for the spot, then sat down as the ball was headed my way. I knew I would be short on distance, so I knew I would need to pivot and try to pick up a few more yards. But before I could get my hands on the ball, the defensive back was on my back, knocking me forward, the ball careening off my hands into the secondary, then falling to the turf. As I got up, I looked around, then late, very late a flag was thrown. The Baltimore coaching staff erupted in protest, but it wasn’t even close, there was contact long before I touched the ball. The referee stepped up and turned on his microphone.

“Pass interference on the defense, number forty two. The ball will be placed at the spot of the foul resulting in an automatic ... first down.” he ended.

We had caught a break, a gift of sorts, we were determined to make the most of it. Several plays later, Josh hit one of our wide receivers in the end zone, extending our lead to 21-13. It was still a one possession game, but we had some breathing room. There was 6:15 left to play when we kicked off, the ball going out the back of the end zone for a touchback. I sat on the end of the bench, hoping our defense would get the stop, but preparing just in case we had to go back out there. Coach Cullen had Josh and the receivers going over a package that we would run if they scored and tied the game up. If the situation was right, we would attempt to go for the win, rather than play it safe and go to overtime.

They methodically drove the ball down the field and with two minutes left in the game, they were on our seventeen yard line. By now we were all up on the sideline, watching the drama unfold. On first down, their wide receiver dropped a pass in his hands in the end zone. It would have been a tough catch, we had him covered well, but it was too close for comfort. As they lined up on second down, it appeared we had a blitz package called, I saw Sam Watkins stepping over and up to the line. When the ball was snapped, Sam came off like he was shot out of a cannon. The left tackle was able to push him wide for a second, but he quickly moved around his outside shoulder. As their quarterback stepped up into the pocket to throw, Sam unloaded into him, snapping his body forward causing the ball to tumble to the ground. When the pile was cleared, we had recovered the ball, the game was ours.