The Full Playbook

Prologue

SET HIT! Flashing lights and screaming fans. those were the days. It seemed like

nothing could go wrong. Anything he did and anything he had done was seen by people as

magnificent as courageous. Kids wore his jersey and women oohed and ahhed over his

perfectly built body,yet they knew they had no chance. Men watched and cheered him as they

saw him play the sport they and he loved most. It’s simple, strategic, and self rewarding. Its

football, and Javon Jackson was the face of it. But anyone can be the face of anything with

hard work. And anyone can not be removed from that position by a couple things. Lack of

hard work, no motivation, and in our case, badluck.

Chapter 1

Looking up the grass Javon looks to his right. He sees his brother Pierre. Short, high

pitched voice and dark skin. He looks in front of him. He sees two defensive players that are

actually just the neighbor boys from across the street from their house. Their names were

Jack and jamie. Javon and his brother would always mess with the two boys saying they had

girl names and the other boys would always fight back without hesitation. Looking to his left

he sees the basketball court about 50 feet away from them. Javon only being 10 at the

moment visualized in his head the play he and his brother came up with to beat the kids. It

was a simple pass play that Pierre would toss to Javon making it look like a run but then

Javon would pass to Pierre who would be running down the grassy field. “DOWN!”, Pierre

screamed as they got in their stance. “SEEEET!”, Pierre held out as he was only 11 and liked

to play around. Javon new that beating the neighbor boys would be the coolest thing in the

world as they were just a little bit older. “HIT!” Pierre yelled and the play began. Rolling out to

the left Pierre tossed the ball to Javon who quickly started to run. Both the opposing team

boys recognized what was happening and flew up toward Javon. Barely being able to see,

Javon threw the ball up to his brother and was soon tackled by the other boys. It’s backyard

football in the Bronx what do you expect? Hitting the ground with a hard thud he winced in

pain. After everyone realized the ball was out of his hand, all three looked down the brownish

green field to see Pierre with a gigantic smile holding the ball jumping up and down

screaming, “ We won! We won”! Javon ran over to his brother to give him a giant hug and in

that instance Pierre looked at him and said, “ I cant wait to play football with you next year

brother.” as they were both one year away from playing on the school team. The brothers

celebrated their victory gloatingly as the other boys walked off the feild in disgust, but at the

same time hanging their heads.

Chapter 2

Growing up Javon Jackson lived in the poorer part of the Bronx in New York. He

wasn’t selfish and he always was respectful to his friends and teachers at West Brook Public

Schools. Javon had nice creamy deep brown eyes along with a natural build. He didn’t have

much things or dreams, but his one dream was to play in the NFL. Going through school

Javon and his brother were almost identical. Besides them not looking the same or sounding

the same, they did almost every activity the other did and with the same work. They were

called the dream boys as they both always talked about making it to the pros. His brother

grew up playing quarterback while Javon cycled through a couple positions, but soon settled

with running back. They were so alike in junior high that their mother onced recalled a game

when they scored and he and his brother both did the same touchdown dance. Although it got

them a penalty it showed how much they were alike. Javon’s mother Rose was a single

mother after her husband DeAnthony ran off with another woman when the boys were both 6.

Rose was very eccentric yet strict. She knew her boys would make it out of the Bronx and live

a better life than the one they were given. There house was not a mansion either. they lives in

a shabby wood creaked house that was plain and dull. Their yard was trash filled by the gang

kids running around and trouble was all around them. Shootings were not a big deal and

drugs were highly used by most. Although the boys were always very good and respectful

they sometimes had their moments.Never anything serious like drug association or gang

association , but just little things. Back to football though these boys were the best there was.

But once they hit high school, things seemed to change. Its fair to say that the talent gene

was given to both boys, but Javon seemed to have it more than his brother. Pierre didnt hit his

growth spurt untill the end of high school. He began to focus more on his acedemic chances

and his school envolvement. Javon on the other hand seemed to once again get all the lucky

cards as he hit his growth spurt the summer going into his freshmen year and soon start to

ttrain his body to become a superb all county and sooner or later a all state athlete. All years

of high school Pierre tried to make the team, but his size disadvantage and his killed

confidence didn’t help him. Javon made The Varsity team all four years and his popularity

rapidly started to be noticed. He started to date the prettiest girl in his school (and one of the

most popular) and soon became the most popular himself. It was uncommon for a kid to make

the paper in his poor ghetto school, but during football season Javon always made the front

page. His mother started to brag and talk about how her son was going to play college ball

and soon pro. The jealousy started to develope as Pierre watched his brother rise to the top.

Later on their senior year Pierre graduated top of his class and soon attended with a full ride

to the ivy league school Princeton, while Javon was fought for by many college coaches to

play ball. He soon decided along with the help of his mother and her new boyfriend James

that he would play for Florida State as he loved the opportunity. With the little money his

mother and boyfriend could give him he walked into college just needing to focus on school

while Pierre had to get a part­time job and buy most of his own things. Their mother claimed

she loved them both equally, but when it came to an opportunity to touch fame it seemed like

she became biased. 19 year old Javon was just taking a footstep closer to the worst thing

ever in his life. Or as it seemed to him.

Chapter 3

“Bro, how’s ya brotha been?” Javon’s dorm mate at Florida State said. Montel was his

name and just like Javon he played football. Javon replied,”man it’s been a while since i’ve

seen him. I honestly don’t know how he is.” Isn’t he goin to Princeton bro. Thats some high

stuff. Ha, I mean he seems like a complete nobody thats super smart,” Montel said, “from

what you told meh it seems like ya brotha ain’t anybody.”Javon hesitantly replied, “bro you

know thats my brother and i dont like to bring him up. Lets just focus on this banger of a party

we goin to! I hear theres gonna be them twins we met last week bro!” Thats what i heard bro! I

can’t wait to be holdin that sweet hunny in my arms,” Montel said, “I don’t care which one we

even take.” They both chuckled in unison as Javon started to cough out of laughter while

Montel buckled in tears of laughter. They quickly got dressed and left for the part as one

another didn’t talk about the conversation they had on Pierre.

“Everybody havin a good time!” the dj boomed over the microphone. Everybody

started dancin even more and Javon and his friends started to have a good time. Javon was

dancing with a girl (one of the twins) and was having the time of his life. He whispered in her

ear,”come back to me and my boys place cause were gonna have a good time.” She seemed

to like that idea and put a piece of paper in his pocket and whispered back,”call me when to

come.” She then smiled and walked away as Javon grinned and smiled at her backside.

Continuing to have a good time at about 11:45 Montel ran over and said,” dude lets take the

party back to our place. I got a bunch of ladies and some other boys of mine comin!” Javon

decided to remember that girl he talked to a while ago and once him and Montel left the party

he called her. He told her to come over to their crib and that it was just going to be a small

party with some cool people. Intrigued she told him she was on her way. Once back to their

place they started to get around and cleaned up. Montel had alcohol stains on his pants and

jacket and Javon had sweat on his shirt from dancing.

Finally people arrived and Javon spent all night talking to the girl he invited over. Of

course he bragged and talked about his football accomplishments and that he was soon going

to be drafted out of college to the pro’s. Her being a more loose girl and being turned on she

started to touch his leg. they started to kiss and Javon started to touch her to. Her hands

roamed to his built chest. She thought it was like the side of a mountain because it was so big

and hard. All of a sudden Montel walked in. They both quickly put the clothes on they had

taken off one another and she ran out of the room. Javon just shook his head with a look of

sarcasm and anger while Montel pleaded with,” Bro, I didn’t know.”

They soon ended the party watching everybody out, especially the girls that had came,

and once everybody was out they both changed into some athletic gray sweats and fell into

their beds. Montel started chuckling and Javon asked him what the hell he was doing. Montel

said, “bro, you was gonna get some.” Javon just ignored him and fell asleep with the

chuckling of Montel in the background.

The next day Florida State seemed busy as ever. Nothing out of the ordinary though.

You had mixed groups of people playing football and frisby. Some were studying while other

actually slept. It was about midday before Javon woke up in his trashed dorm with a raging

hangover. He winced at the noise outside and soon picked up his clothes off the ground and

began to get ready. He tossed around the idea of going to class or just skipping and wasting

the day away. Finally his cell phone went off with a loud ding. Jumping and wincing from the

sound he ran over to answer it. It was his mom and he fought through the pain of talking to

say hello. “Javon,sweety! How are you?”, his mom said, Ive missed you and was just calling

to see how you are. “Hey mom”, Javon rasply replied, “Im doin good how’s ###? “It’s been so

long since ive seen you baby. I believe the last time was when me and ### got married. He’s

doin good. Hes still trying to get connections for you to play in the pro’s baby!” “Momma dont

worry about my chances. Im just trying to go to school and play college ball right now. I

actually have practice at 4 today. You gonna come to our game saturday? I got you 2 tickets,

and theyre great seats”! “Of course youre gonna see me there! I wouldn’t miss it for the

world.” Javon asked, “So uh, hows Pierre. Been awhile since i talked to him.” Rose

responded, “you know he’s good. He’s gonna graduate next year on the honor roll so thats

good, and he plans to open his own buisness. Hes opening a car dealership.” Javon started to

reply but his mother cut him off saying, “ Im just worried about you and your chances to play

some big boy football.” She then chuckled and said, “Im gonna let you go now honey. Be safe

and I love ya.” Javon then replied with i love you too and hung up the phone. He cycled

through his head, “am i good enough to even play pro football? Will I get a draft letter now and

leave during school?” All these questions soon floated out as he went to the bathroom to

wash up and go get brunch.

“Cmon ‘you slackers”, coach James yelled, “if were going to beat those damn

buckeyes, were gonna need to put some fire under us!” He was the defensive coach and

didn’t really much care for Javon since he played offense. But also coach James didn;t really

care for anybody. It was about 3:00 and the defense was exhausted as they were drilling

hard. Onthe other side of the field stood coach Scott. He was the head coach and worked a

lot with the offense and offensive coordinator coach Burt. They both had a love and some

players joked crush on Javon. He was the image and definition of what they were looking for.

The best part was he was young as he was only a sophomore at the time. The coaches had

the members doing light condition and then striaght to new plays for the week. Pretty easy

practice, for the offense anyways. After practice both coach Burt and coach Scott pulled

Javon out of the scrambling locker room and into the prestige coaches office. Coach James

wasn’t there as he was chewing out other players for in his words, being an immature slacking

idiot. Coach Scott looked at Javon with a half smile and sorrow in his eyes as he said, “so

Javon i have pretty amazing news. I have recieved a letter from the NFL inviting you to take

part in the 2014 draft!” With fire and unwounding excitment Javon jumped up and strting

hugging both coaches. “Now listen, youre still young and as coaches we think that you should

cosider this offer. Yes, it seems like the chance of a lifetime but you have to ask yourself if

you think your’e ready and if you think dropping out of FSU is the path you wish to take. Javon

thinking of how he was still far from getting his degree in Buisness he then responded saying,

“coach, all my life I’ve practiced and ran and studied plays and formations and football in

general just to play in the NFL and you think I should consider all that?” Coach Scott

responded sternly, “Its your choice. But just think of what your’e doing son.” He stood up and

walked out of the room along with coach Burt who patted Javo on the shoulder while Javon

sat in the rolling chair in front of his coaches empty desk

Chapter 4

“Mom!, I did it. I made it to the NFL!” Javon screamed over the phone while he could

hear the tears of joy swelling up in her eyes.” Oh baby, thats so lovely. Praise the lord! Praise

the lord!” It was clear to say that Javon made up his mind to jump into the draft. But the fight

wasnt over yet. There was still the chance of not even making a team and his little kid instincs

kicking in about not making a good team. He’s always wanted to play for the New York Giants

since its his hometown team from New York. He and his friends in highschool always talked

about the giants and there eyes as kids always lit up as they went on. After he and his mom

talked on the phone and making arrangments about coming home to organize things out he

hung up and thought to himself. “should I call my brother,” he wondered, “would he even want

to hear about it?” He decidedit was best as he called Pierre and a woman with a stern upbeat

voice answered, “P county motors, how may I help you?” “Uh, umm, is uh Pierre Jackson

there?”, Javon asked. “He isn’t here today but do you have a appointment? I can leave a

message?”, the lady asked kindly. Javon said, “oh uh no I dont. Thats okay though I’ll call

back another time,” as he then hanged up the phone. He paced his room and then went to the

library.

Not a lot of people knew, but Javon was actually a superb reader. It calmed him down

and cleared his mind. After shuffling through some old dusty books in the corner of the quiet

library he sat down at a table and began to read. The Qoute of the Player the book was

called. It was a philisophical book on sports and why many great athletes over the years of

history chose to play sports. After flipping and reading through a good 100 or so pages he

looked up and saw people starting to walk out. The library was becoming ore dense as it was

getting dark out. He lost track of time and didnt realize hed been there for about 3 hours. He

put the book neatly back on the shelf and walked back to his room. Once he got there he

didnt find Montel and didn’t care as Montel was probably just out partying the night away. He

slumped into his half made bed and fell asleep to the thoughts of the book rolling and

surfacing in his head.

Chapter 4

About a week after the draft invitation Javon found himself in a airport in Florida with

his buddy Montel who drove him there. Javon’s mother paid for the tickets for him to come

home and get ready and organized for the draft. Nervous and prepared at the same time he

said his goodbyes to Montel and passed through security making his way to the plane. As he

walked his natural charm and looks made many women turn and stare with the occasional

wink. Even a couple of young adult guys did the same. He was always a people person but,

he decided to just move on the way. The plane ride was about 5 hours as there was some

problems starting up. He sat next to and elderly lady who seemed to be traveling alone. He

had helped her put her brown luxory luggage in the compartment above and he took his seat

next to her. All she did was smile and nod. He talked to her a little bit about his possible

football career and again she just smiled and nodded. She didnt say one word that trip.

Annoyed he decided to sleep away the couple of hours he had.

Once being dropped off he had helped the old lady off the plane with her luggage and

even gave her a hug. The ladies daughter who had been waiting for her thanked him. Javon

asked,” is she not a talking type of person?” The young lady chuckled a bit and said,”no, you

see she’s deaf but, she can read lips astoundly.” After connecting the dots he then walked

away saying goodbye. After about forty steps he looked to his right in the lounging area of the

airport to see his mom and her new husband with flowers and signs. Sneaking up on them,

Javon hugged his mother from behind and chatted away with her. His relationship with ###

was really good and he saw ### like a father. He always pushed Pierre and Javon when they

were in highschool. They ruffed housed like typical men and after Rose calmed the two

excited men down she walked them out of the airport and Javon finally was home.

After some non serious conversation Rose spoke and said, “This is so good! Pierre

has been keeping us company but now youre gonna come home too! this is great.” Shocked

and stunned as the news about his brother being home caught him off guard, the rest of the

car ride home was quiet as they had a 2 hour more drive till home. Pulling up sparky, a golden

retriever that was about 8 at the time ran up and tackled Javon down to lick his face and greet

him. Wrestling the dog off with a smile he looked at his childhood home.Still small and petite

there had obviously been some improvements. The money ### makes working obviously

went into the house a little bit fixing it up. Also the trash littered yard growing up was now

clean with a average green grass. Sparky helped keep neighbor kids out of it. He walked in

the dark house and all of a sudden a loud surprise and flashing on of the lights startled him as

family and friends caught him off guard.

Slumping down a bit and starting to chuckle he immediately was being hugged and

patted and many congratulations were thrown his way. His whole family was their! His

aunt,uncle,grandma,grandpa, and even family friends were there. Pierre however came up to

Javon and of course gave him a hug. Javon all excited picked him up and hugged him even

tighter. Javon was getting really excited from everyone being there. Pierre just smiled and

gave a non loud hey his way and sat back down with other family on the couch. Javon went

around and talked to everyone. Finally after about 10 minutes a loud champagne clank filled

the room. Rose said’” Hey everyone! Today is one exciting day as my dear sweet baby Javon

if going to be playing some Pro football!” Everyone again started cheering and tears started to

fill Rose’s eyes as she then said,” Now son. I always knew you could do it. Ever since you

were young youve been an outstanding athlete and person. I just wanted to tell you how

proud I am of you.” Clapping started to fill the room as Rose yelled over the clapping,”Now let

the party begin!” Excited and having fun Javon and others started to casually dance and talk

to people as the first day home seemed amazing.

At about 6:00 everyone started to go home. Hugs and kisses were given, especially to

Javon, as they said their goodbyes. Even though it was a party, their was no food so Rose left

the two brothers and boyfriend in the room as she soon left to make dinner. Javon started

getting around and told everybody that he would be back as he was going to look for some

old friends. He walked down to the end of the block. The plain streeted sidewalk was filled

with young kids playing games and running around. He walked past an old teachers house

and gave a nonchalante wave in his direction. He finally came up to a house where he found

two of his old friends from highschool Mac and Devin. Mac was a plumper individual that

dressed in nice baggy clothes and he was very quiet but always liked to joke around. Devin

was a taller skinnier guy. He used to play basketbal in highschool with Javon but his Junior

year he got cut due to possesion of drugs and he never tried out for the next year. He was

way more childish then Javon or Mac. They swapped whats up’s and caught up with each

other. In Javons head he thought how nice it was to finally get back home. Know one really

knew but he always had a case of slight homesickness. Sadly he got it about the second day

of college at FSU. Mac told about how he was going to online school to get his degree and

Devin said he was just hangin out at his grandmas house. Javon told them about his draft

invite and the boys instantly made a ruckus. They congratulated him on making it so far and

how he was gonna be killin it wherever he went. Mac and Devin started getting into an

argument over what football team was better, the giants or the falcons, and Javon just

smirked and walked away giving a c ya at the two arguing guys. After walking around and

meeting old people from his teenage years he walked to his old highschool feild. When Javon

was younger after every football game he would stay about 2 hours later to just think about

how the game went and sometimes over little stuff like how school went and other life tasks. It

calmed him and he felt most comfortable on the feild. He sat in the middle of the feild tossing

around the draft. It was only 3 days away and he just kept taking in the negative idea of not

making a team. Then making the final cuts for the team also hurt his confidence. After about

an hour or so it started to get dark out and he felt like it was time to head home. He moaped

back home taking in the cenary of his old town and finally got home. He walked in passing

### who was on the couch sleeping while an old recorded basketball game was on. Javon

crawled in his old bedroom and fell asleep to the ticking of his first alarm clock. The next

morning Javon awoke at about 11:00am to the smell of a tasty breakfast. He got dressed into

some basic sweats and walked out to the kitchen. He saw his mom rose cookign eggs and

making toast while Pierre was making bacon. ### was eating breakfast reading the sports

section of the paper. Outside was sunny and the house was warm due to the heat outside and

the cooking in the house. “Have yourself some breakfast sweetie,” Rose said. He mindlessly

fixed himself a hefty plate of bacon and eggs and 4 peices of toast and taking two trips walked

over to his seat and started eating quickly. Pierre looked over in disgust and said, “ You know,

its not going anywhere. You can take your time.” ### said, “hey! this boy needs to be eating

lots of meals in order to get bigger. The better enhanced he is the better player he will be.”

Pierre just looked over and ignored ###. ### talked to Javon about a new Gym that was very

nice and that he could work out there. Pierre also went to that gym. Pierre decided that Javon

could tag along and head to the gym with him after breakfast. Javon finishing quickly let Pierre

finish his breakfast while Javon went to get his clothes and gym bag ready. Finally the two

brothers left for the gym and decided to walk since it was only 3 blocks away. “So”, Javon

said, “how has it been?” “It has been alright”, Pierre said, “Ive been spending some time at

home with momma and ###. “ive been working on opening a new dealership with insurance

on cars.” The two brothers slowly acquainted as Javon did most of the talking about college

and football. Javon always was the more talkative person. Finally arriving at the gym. Javon

signed up for a 2 day membership valuable to use any 2 days, while Pierre used his monthly

membershp. Pierre started walking in but, Javon was caught up by the young pretty desk

attendee that signed him up. After some flirting and smirking Pierre dragged him away into the

gym entrance. Pierre hit the treadmill which what he usually did and Pierre decided to lift

weights as he usually did. The gym was like what ### said it would be like. There seemed to

be every peice of equipment in there and Pierre used most of it. He yelled over to his brother,

“ hey Pierre! Why dont you hit some weights with me? Get those biceps big, eh?” Pierre just

shook his head while Javon sheepishly laughed and got back to his set. After working out they

hit the showers and Javon sat in the hot tub. They decided to get some food and Javon

wanting really badly to visit an old hot dog place persuaded Pierre to come with. On the way

out Javons high school girlfriend passed him. The two struck up a conversation and the two

immediately connected. It was clear to see even by Pierre that she still was heavily into him.

She told him about a small party back at Devins crib. She told Javon that he should come.

Javon asked if there was going to be some of her friends there and she named many. Javon

looked over at Pierre with a cheesy smile on his face then looked back at her and smoothly

said, “ yeah, you’ll see us there.” She walked past him with a wink and once she entered the

gym and was far off Javon jumped up with excitment and started horseplaying with Pierre who

clearly wasnt as excited as him. Javon explained how this party was going to be fun and that

he was going to have a good time. Pierre told him he was not going to go and that it was

pointless. Javon told him how that some women were going to be there and that he needs to

talk to more girls and have some fun. After hearing the endless nagging about it Pierre busted

and agrreed to go. Javon yelled out and Pierre just walked with him up to the hot dog place

and shook his head in embarrasment.

After eating they arrived back home and found Rose and ### getting around and

dressed. They explained how they were going to see a movie and gamble a bit at the casino

in the city next to where they lived. They toold the boys that they were going to be out all night

basically and to watch the house. Pierre started to pipe up and say how they were going out

too, but Javon cut him off saying how everything would be fine. Rose smiled at the two boys

and gave them both a hug and kiss. Her and ### left the house and Javon started to get

around. It was only 6:45 at the time so Javon started calling friends inviting them to the party

at Deevin’s house. He seemed to know a lot of people cause it wasnt untill 7:30 he got off the

phone and looked over at Pierre who sat on the couch eating a bowl of sliced fruit and

watching some sport game. He started to get dressed in a nice outfit and Pierre catching on

followed suit. They sat around all dressed in there nice outfits (Pierres a little more buisness

looking) before they headed off. Finally at about 9:30 the doorbell rang and Mac and his

girlfriend sharlene walked in. Javon greeted them and finally the four walked down the road to

devins. Sharlene was good friends with Pierre and they walked talking together. She

explained to him how her friend was going to be there and how he and she should talk and

get together. Sharlene was always trying to set people up. Even in highschool she would set

her friends up together. Sometimes it was a fool proof amazing plan while other times it ended

in disaster. The other two boys walked energetically behind them talkking about the party and

who they all invited. The people Javon was friends with all liked to go out and party and have

fun while the people Pierre was friends with were more quiet. Finally they arrived at the house

and enetered the party. byt the time they got their it was only 10:10 and the whole house was

already banging. There was about 100 people already there and more were arriving. The

music was loud andDevin suprisingly had a nice open place. The perfect place for a party.

Javon quickly sat with a couple girls that he knew while Javon was introduced by Sharlene to

her new friend. Javon seemed to be having a grand time while Javon was more quiet.

Sharlene left and it was easy to tell that the girl laying on Pierre was really drunk. She tugged

and pulled on him and blindly kissed him a little bit. Javon looked over to the other side of the

rom to see the two getting acquainted and winked at his brother. After about a hour or so

Pierre started to loosen up and even get a little tipsy. All of a sudden shots were being fired

and Javon looked at Pierre who was clearly drunk and ran over to him to get out the the

house. A gang that Devin had made deals with over drugs and such came to the house and

was shooting it up. Javon carried him out while Mac held sharlenes hand to run too. They

escaped out the back of the house and ran into the tall grass behind the house and kept

running. They plopped down in a little are of no grass and layed there exhausted from the

running

“What the hell was that?!” Pierre yelled clearly sobering up from the adrenalin. Javon

and Mac were cracking up laughing and Javon looked over and asked, “ how was that gil bro?

You guys were looking pretty comfortable.” Pierre still enraged and now even more enraged

by his brother stood up and pushed him away. Javon quickly responding pushed him and the

two almost throwing punches were broken up by Mac and sharlene. After calming down Mac

decided him and sharlene head back to his place while the two brothers head back home too.

Both boys mad and heated decided to put the hatred at the moment aside and walke back

home. Not a word was said to the other and when they entered the house Pierre walked in his

room muttering something under his breath angrily while Javon walked in his room and going

straight to bed.

The next mornig the whole family (veen Pierre) got up early to cathc the plain to the

draft at 8:00pm. They woke up at about 4:00 to get around and eat. They left the house and

arrived at the airport . Rose wanted to make sure they arrived on time and that everyone was

comfortable and well organized. They got on their plane and set off. The whole plane ride ###

talked to Javon and boosted his confidence. Javon was determined he was going to be

drafted. Finally they arrived at their destination. They were in Motor City New York and the

place was popping. It was the typical New York city. There was people everywhere. People in

buisness suits talking to themselves vigourlously to people begging on the streets. The place

was loud and they were all overwhelmed since the family came from a small area of the

Bronx. They made their way to a cab and headed over to the specific hotel that the NFL

association set up for them. The hotel was about 9 blocks away and the traffic was heavy.

Finally arriving at the hotel at about 12:00 they settled into their rooms and Javon quickly

using the directions figured out where the conference hall to the draft was located. He hung

up his suit and got around again to go out to dinner before they headed off to the draft. All the

players staying in the hotel were to be limoed to the draft so Javons family would be taxied

seperate. After dinner Javon got dressed and headed off to the draft. He sat in the Limo next

to a hefty yet small lightskinned individual. He was tall and gentle looking, yet when Javon

looked at his hands they were gigantic and long. He assumed that he was a widereciever due

to his built and after some talkinng the athlete confirmed his observation. You could tell they

were booth nervous yet honored for the oppurtunity to even be there. Finally arriving at the

giant conference hall where many television news and sports channels were catching the

draft on television. The players waited for their families and walked in with them, some being

interviewed due to the high predicted draft numbers they were at. Javon wasnt even on the

predicted top 20 so ofcourse he got nervous.

Finally they entered the conference where many people ,especially men, were there to

get the program started. The draft started and the announcer boomed, “and the number one

draft pick of 2015 for the Jaguars is, James Worrick!” The quarter back stood up and walked

over to put on his new Jaguars hat and his family hugged him after they celebrated about his

accomplish ment. He then stood off to the side being interviewed by some big sports channel.

The picks kept going on and as the numbers got biger, Javon got more nervous. He looked

over at his family who his mother Rose reassured him everything would be fine. At the 40th

draft pick Javon put in his head that he wouldn’t be drafted. Starting to feel sorry for himself

the announcer announced, “and the number 47th pick for the San Fransisco 49ers is running

back, Javon Jackson!” Looking up quickly with glowing eyes he popped right up and walked

over to recieve his 49ers hat and jersey. His family ran over and hugged him dearly. He

walked over with the other families and players and shook their hands as well congratulating

and being congrtulated on his and theirs accomplishments. At that moment,, Javon new a

new beggining was going to open its eyes for him. Once they got back to the hotel, the NFL

invited all the new draftees to a formal dinner starting at 10:00. Javon and his family went by

taxi and strolled across a red carpet into the dining are. The resturant was called The Italiano.

It was a high dollar italian resturant which the NFL paid for your dinner. All the players were

seated with their families in a seperate dining area and they went away and ate. They were

served a four course meal starting with a soup, then salad, then entree, then dessert. The

food was very exquisite and amazing. It was one of the best things Javon had had in years.

There was music on a stage at the front of the dining area and after about a half an hour a

man rose to the stage and congratulated all the players on their accomplishments. He gave

basic information on what the players need to do next. After the dinner they went back to the

hotel to sleep untill the next morning where they were to catch the plane back home. Javon

layed in his bed next to his brother who hadnt said much that night. Javon fell asleep with a

smile no one had ever seen before. He realized that all of his dreams as a kid were going to

come true. The plane ride home wasvery talkative, especially between Rose,###, and Javon.

They arrived back at the airport and got their taxi home. Once home though Javon immidiately

had the rest of the day starting at about 2:00, to pack his things and catch his plane to San

Francico to start get settled in to his new house. In his contract he was given the minimum

slary for his first 5 years which was $500,000. He decided to save a bit of it. But he did buy a

fancy car once he got there. If he was gonna play in the NFL, He was going to be living like a

NFL player.

chapter 5

The plane ride there was long and vigorous and the first thuing he did once he got to

his his starting home in California he started to renovate his house. It was a nice house with a

big garage. He went out the next day and brought furniture and personal things he liked. He

felt amazing and in a way famous that he had this money to spend. He knew that the luxory

would soon go away though as he was expected to be at basic training in about 4 weeks. It

was the trainiing the 49ers did to first record and test the physical attributes of their players. It

was like orientation for a job. They even are expected to take a test acknowleging their basic

understanding of eduacation and another test to see their basic understanding of football.

WHile at the testing site held in San Fransisco Javon went through many tests. A speed test,

how long he could hold his breath underwater, lifting weights and doing other vigorous drills.

This testing would see if he would make it to the next step in making the the roster. After a

week of this testing he was exhausted. It was nothing like college ball and just the testing part

was hard. Whenever he felt down and killed he would talk to his mom and his roomate at

FSU. Finally all the new players at the testing site either moved on with their progress or were

sent home. Javon made the cut and was notified that training over the next couple of weeks

was going to happen in order to train the players up for spring training. The facility was

indoors due to the weather outside being cold. Everyday of traing Javon got stronger and

more faster. He would go for a run every weekend. Saturday and Sunday were the only days

the players didnt have basic training. Moving up closer to the date the basic training re did all

the testing to see how well the players did. Javon improved on everything except the written

test on knowlege. That one he kinded stayed the same on. Finally the las friday the players

were notified that next week monday would be the first dat of spring trainig and that they

would recive there equipment that day. Over the weekend Javon calmed himself. He studided

the playbook that they were given and actually worked hard. He talked to his mom a lot over

that weekend. She encouraged him. She made Javon feel at home. Luckilly Javon wasnt’t

suffering to bad from homesickness as he was used to living far from his home after going to

FSU.

The first week of spring training was hell! The head coach sat all the players down the

first day and explained how only 80 were going to be kept after traing was done. He said how

players over the next couple of weeks would be slowly let go and that a final roster would then

be anounced. Javon wasnt to bad. He trained and practiced with the running backs and was

about the 2nd best guy. He was even better than some of the veterans who secretely

despised him for that. Coach Jamie Dibble was a small petite guy. He was also voted one of

the best coaches in the league. And by the players one of the meanest. He was a older mid

40’s white male that had ginger hair and a ginger curly mustach. Some players called him the

bull as he was always hounding on players and always up and in their face. But for Javons

luck, Coach Diblle actually liked Javon. The fact that Javon worked as hard as most of the

veterans and even harder than some of them made Coach Dibble believe the the potential

Javon had was outstanding and that he would make a valuable piece for the team. Coach

Dibble appriciated hard work over talent. He always told the players, talented players are

winners, but hard working players are champions.

Javon fought his week through practice. One day it would be super long with lots of

conditioning and one day it would be cramming plays into the players heads and expecting

them to get them right the first time. Javon though was lucky. Everytime his turn came he

would perform the task amazingly and to the coaches eyes, he made it look like he could do it

without any effort. Javon always talked to the other players. He quickly made friends with

almost all of them except one 4 year veteran player that had been the starting running back

for the 49’s. Max Juss was a hefty pale skinned country running back who was built like a

horse. He had been a good running back for the 49’s and even obtained a couple player of

the game tropghies and MVP awards. The reason he hated Javon was two reasons. He grew

up in a very racist southern part of Alabama, and Javon was better than him. Javon being

smaller was much faster and quicker on his feet, and Javon was able to learn the plays and

everything else much quicker. Coach was always on Max telling him how he was a slacker

and how he was going to bench him untill he grew white hairs. The relationship between the

two football players was not at a good point.

On Saturdays when Javon wasnt working out or spending time at home he went out

and explored SAn Fransisco. He visited the coffee shops and sometimes would just sit at

them and read. His favorite was the Blue Ocean Cafe because the coffee was amazing and

he loved eating the scones they had next to the fireplace that was just the perfect temperature

while he read his many books. He soon visited the library which was actually just 2 blocks

away from the practice field. So some days after the strenous practice they would have he

would get dressed and go search and read books in the library. Javon was doing a great job

at not getting lonely. He hated being alone, unless he was reading a book, and he was always

a socializer. He would hang out at the other football player’s mansion houses in their giant

living rooms watching college football games on their giant plasma screens. Theyd eat

amazing food and be men while they were not practicing. Although it seemed like he was

having the time of his life he still thought about his family. His mother was the biggest thing on

his mind and it killed him to not be with her. Also the feeling of being without his brother reallt

got to him. He would think how their plan as kids was to make it to the big leagues together

and how Pierre would throw the game winner to Javon and they would win the game or Super

Bowl or whatever and they would pile on top of each other and be heros in the football world.

He hated that he wasnt their with him and even tried calling him. No answer. He would try

again. No answer. It wasnt until a great amount of time later in Javons life that he realized his

brother purposely didn’t call him.

Weeks and weeks of football passed and finally final cuts were to be made. Also the

better skilled players who had no fear of getting cut would see the final roster and the starting

lineup. After a hard curriculum learning practice the coach talked to individual players. Even

though Dibble was always on everyones case he still cared about his players. He talked to

individuals personally and they left as practice went on. The team got smaller and smaller as

about 40 to 50 players were now gone. Finally a whistle over hearing it seemed like the whole

state of California signaled that practice was over. The players made their way over to coach

who had them report to the locker room for a talk. Everyone crowded and veterans who knew

what was happening were smiling and hooting and howlering while younger guys were

clueless. Coach walked in and after a couple looks and glances said, “You know, 20 years

ago I sat right here in this locker room right where you guys are and wondered to myself, am i

good enough? I thought a lot about that question and was hoping to hear the answer from my

coach. Surprisingly he gave me another answer. He told us that we ourselves will dtermine

how good we perform and that us as individuals will determine how good we want to be and

will be.” He took a pause and then continued, “I will lead a team to victory, and you guys will

lead me to victory, But in the end myself or any of the other coaches wont be seen as

champions, but instead you men will be seen as champions.” After a lot of celebration and

hype from the players the coach calmed them down and said with a smile, “Its not going to be

easy, but it will be worth it. This right here in this room is the San Fransisco 49’s.” He then

walked out and one of the assistant coaches said, “there will be practice all next week and our

first spring game will be the next following sunday. Starters will be decided next week.” The

rest of the coaches walked out and the players began to celebrate and make a ruckus.

Players jumped aroud as someone put music on in the locker room and the players went even

more crazy. Javon looked up into the sky and once again, another chapter in becoming the

football polayer in history was born.

Chapter 5

After a week of practice, Javon waking up on Sunday was preapared to play the

redskins in their first spring training game. It was like a real game and he wasnt going to hold

back. He was going to be the starter for this game and Max showing no god apprieciation was

quickly shot down by the coach. The crowd was in a way terrifying. He had never seen so

many peopole in the crowd. He would say in his head, “theyre hear to wathc me baby!” The

captains walked out and the 49’s won the coin toss. The day was perfect. Sunny with little

wind and the perfect temperature brought fans from all over to watch. The 49’s were to

recieve and Javon was prepared to run the ball down their throat. The redskins had a

particularly weak team last year and this year they were no better. They were absolutely

terrible to put it more blantly. Everyone in the crowd knew who would win this game. The ball

was kicked high into the air. The brown football soared across the sun and then soon dropped

in the hands of the 49’s return man. It was actually a decent kick and making the smart

choice for the game he took a knee into the endzone and signalfied a touchback. The

offensive squad ran out to the ball and the crowd roared as they did. Javon with a smile

bigger and the moon ran out. He looked in the lower parts of the stands and saw his mom and

### sit therir without Pierre who was away on work terms. He invited and gave tickets out to

his whole family. Rose and ### where waving and cheering. The squad of men huddled on

the field and the quarted back Todd Micket gave the play. Todd was one of Javons good

friends that he made on the team. He was a white but tan man and was built like a

quarterback with a thick body. He had huge arms and he was one of the fastest quarterbacks

in the league. They decided in the huddle that the first play would be a running play and it just

so happendd it would be a hand off up the middle to Javon. Hearing the play Javon became

nervous. This was his very first play in the NFL. He cycled through his acomplishments up to

that point and with aggression and energy broke the huddle to his position. Todd yelled,

“down!...SET...green 42 green 42, Hike!” The men started to go. At a instance everything

went slow to him. He started to go but didnt even think about running. Its like he wasnt in

control. His body was just going. He grsped the ball that was being jutted out by the quarter

back leading Javon right up the middle to follow his linemen. The smacking of helments and

shoulder pads sparked as men gritted and grunted from impacts. It was like two sets of traffic

flying into each other. Javon saw a hole to run through between the center and guard which

he quickly sprinted through. A linebacker that looked not that fast dove at Javon’s legs.

hurrdyling the defender Javon quickly got through the pile of men and worked his way up the

dead middle of the field. It was insane. The crowd was going wild and people were up on their

feet. Javon thought at times while he was running that he could maybe hear his mother and

### in the stands , but obviously denied that fact since he was in a stadium with thousands of

people. That last man was the short safety. Javon approached him at a sprint and all of a

sudden juked him out. The crowd went wild for that as Javon made his way into the endzone.

At that moment it was fair to say that Javon had scored his very first NFL touchdown. His

teammates piled up on him and he cherished that moment on the field. He didnt know how to

express himself. After his teamates piled off of him he looked up into the stands where his

mom was sitting and he pointed in their direction right at her. Rose quickly swelled up with

tears of joy for her son and that day, she was a proud mother.

The game was pretty terrible to watch, at least if you were a redskins fan. The 49’s

won the game 48 to 6. Javon scored two of those touchdowns. He decided to pass on going

out to the after game celebration party where his teammates would all be at having a

celebration like kings. They had won their first game of the season. That night Javon decided

to go out to dinner before his mom had to catch her plane back home from the game. He

laughed and talked to his mom and just spent quality time with her. ### had some friends that

lived in the area and he decided to go out and gamble with them, so it was just Rose and

Javon. He loved his mom, but more importantly loved his family. After dinner and a trip to say

goodbye to his mom at the airport, Javon went home and relaxed in his bed. It was about

midnight and all Javon could think about was his brother. He thought, “what if he had made it

to the big leagues too? Would things be different?” The questions zoomed in his head before

he even realized that he had fallen asleep on his couch. He rested like a infant that night.

The next day was a day off for the team. Javon decided to spend his day shopping. He

had watched his mom while he was young but that was when his family was on a budget.

Now that he had a high paying career, he bought all his favorite foods. He got frozen pizzas,

hotpockets, waffles, tv dinners, pizza rolls. He was a typical male. He loved to eat anything

italian. Pizza was his favorite food. He remebered him and his brothers making pizzas in the

kitchen when he was younger when all of a sudden coming around the corner of the store he

bumped into someone. They both tripped and fell to the ground and Javon quickly popped up

and helped looking down saw this amazing woman. She was short and skinny with light

brunette hair. She wore glasses and was wearing a short skirt, but not too short.