In 4th grade, we had to write a story that could have been true, but wasn’t really. It took me a while to think of football, but when it came, I had the whole story in mind, save for a few edits. (When I first thought of the story, Harry was going to be a disabled man who was begging for a chance to play on the Cowboys.)

“He’s at the 30-yard line… the 20… the 10… TOUCHDOWN!” shrieked the commentator, zeroing in on Harry, the Dallas Cowboys star! The crowd surrounding the colossal, Dallas Cowboys football stadium let out an uproar! WOO-HOO! Pushing his glistening blond hair out of his blue eyes, he went to his position of wide receiver. He was a good player, tall, skinny, and speedy. He also wanted to win the Superbowl more than anything on Earth. Since this was the semifinals, he had a chance.

Just then, a loud “Tweet!” from the referee made Harry jump. It was the Seattle Seahawks’, Harry’s opponent’s turn to have the ball! Unfortunately for the Seahawks, they were losing by 3 points, and there was only 1 minute left in the game! Harry saw Dave, the Seahawks’ best player bolting swiftly through the Cowboys’ players. The sight alarmed him!

He scrambled to Dave, shouting “I’m going to get you, Dave!” His blood pounded in his head, and his heart beat as hard as it could.

Oh no! Harry tripped, slamming into the sweat-stained grass.

“Dave is at the 20… the 10… Touchdown.” moaned the commentator. There was an audible groan from the audience. CHEER! CHEER! CHEER! Bewildered, Harry jumped up.

“Where is the cheer coming from?” he thought to himself. It was from his teammates! From them, he deduced that the announcer had realized the game ended seconds before Dave had scored the touchdown! The Cowboys had won the semifinals! A wave of relief washed over Harry. He and his team were now secured into the finals, also known as the SUPERBOWL! Harry felt like the luckiest person on Earth.

Suddenly, his happiness dissolved. He realized (with an involuntary twitch) that he had to play the New England Patriots, the team that the Cowboys loathed, and the team that had been undefeated for 2 years. “Well, we’ll take any challenge they give us,” he thought aloud to himself. He decided he would work as hard as he could and exert himself for the upcoming practices.

As soon as he got home, he told his wife about the game’s events, ate his dinner, hugged his son, Bill, good night, and leapt into bed, exhausted.

The next morning, Harry got up excitedly, happy about his first practice for the Super Bowl. He hastily shoveled his breakfast into his mouth, nearly choking.

As soon as he got to the field, his coach, Coach Simon, welcomed Harry with a hearty slap on his back.

“Nice playing yesterday,” he greeted. “You’re the first one-“

“Yes yes,” cut off Harry, stepping closer to Coach. “I need to tell you something important.” Coach Simon’s eyes flashed from happiness to fear.  “Why? Is everything okay?” he stammered, looking at Harry with worried eyes. “Will you not be able to play or something?”

“No no,” Harry sighed. It’s about the Super Bowl.” “If we want to demolish the Patriots, we will need to work as hard as we can.” Coach Simon heaved a sigh of relief. “Oh. Okay!

They had a great practice. Harry had an air of satisfaction as he slept that night.

The next practice turned out great. And the next… And the next…

Before Harry knew it, it was time for the Super Bowl! Coach Simon had given a pep talk to the team. “They will try to beat us using their strategy, but we will counter it with our own! If we try as hard as we can, we can wreck the Patriots today!” Coach Simon encouraged.

The team responded with a deafening “WE WILL!” However, Harry hardly heard a word. Normally, he would have butterflies in his stomach before a game, but today, he didn’t have just butterflies in his stomach. There were snakes in his stomach. Long slithering serpents and cobras too. Harry knew the Cowboys were facing one of the toughest teams in the league. He was also positive that if they were not able to wreak havoc and defeat the Patriots, he would never forgive himself.

“Tweet!” At the sound of the piercing whistle, Harry scrambled to his position on the field. The game was on!

The coin glinted in the sun. Ping! The Cowboys were kicking off. The football was kicked off to Russell, one of the Patriots’ players. He caught it and darted forward, eager to get as far as he could. However, he had barely run ten yards when Marvin, one of Harry’s teammates, tackled him.

“He’s down!” yelled the commentator. Harry flashed Marvin a thumbs-up. Marvin returned it with a grin. Suddenly, Marvin scrambled away. Harry understood why at once. It was time for the next down! The whistle blew, but hardly five seconds later, another Cowboy tackled the Patriot with the ball. The Cowboys were on a roll! Harry felt totally psyched about his team’s success! He felt that he was going to win!

20 minutes later, it was the Cowboys’ ball, the second quarter, and the Patriots were leading 3-0. Luckily, the Cowboys were at the 30-yard line.

“Tweet!” That was the whistle for half-time!

Harry bolted toward the sidelines, sweat spurting from his golden hair. He gobbled up his sandwich without remembering his manners, drank up his water like a dying man, and sat down on a bench, relaxed. A sensation played in his heart, his mind, and the truth began to dawn on him.

“We are playing in the real true Super Bowl, the Super Bowl that tens of thousands of people up and down the country are watching, and we could win against the Patriots, the team that has been undefeated in two years,” he thought.

“Tweet!” That was the end of half-time. Harry leapt up, ready to win. He started toward the football field, but then he noticed something strange: None of the other Cowboys were out yet! He noticed them and Coach Simon sitting in a corner, looking worried.

Puzzled, Harry called them over. “Guys! Come onto the field!” Coach Simon shook his head and motioned for him to come. Harry ran over and saw Marvin. His stomach dropped. Marvin sat on a bench, his face screwed in pain, and his leg looking like his leg was about to fall off.

His face very pale, Coach Simon explained that Marvin had broken his ankle and his wrist.

Harry looked at him, his face white with shock, asked the one thing he desperately wanted to know.  How? Coach Simon grimaced. “That is the part I HATE about it.” He looked away from Harry.

Harry responded, aghast. “That’s a nasty thing to do.” Then he turned to Marvin. “We’ll win this for you,” he encouraged Marvin. “Let’s get out on the field!” he shouted to the other Cowboys. They nodded and dashed away, Harry following.

The game started again, Harry coming out determined as ever.

15 minutes later, there were not many events except the event were Harry caught a 50-yard pass, resulting in the Cowboys leading 7-3!

However, the Patriots used a trick play, scoring them a touchdown, making it 10-7! Thankfully, it was the Cowboys’ ball and they scored a touchdown, making the score 14-10!

But it was as the Patriots made yet another touchdown, that the commentator shouted, “Only one minute leeeefffftttt!”

Harry heard this, and he felt his chance of winning slipping through his fingers. “I need to do this, he thought. “I need to do this!” He did it. Harry made an exceptional interception, and scored a touchdown at the last second, his heart pumping, making the score 21-17!

“He passed Russell, Smith, Thomas, Russell again, he’s swerving around them, ducking under them, and he scored, and just as time runs out!” the commentator had yelped ten minutes previously.

 Harry could not believe he had won. He remembered that moment against the Seahawks when he had thought he could. He had done it, accomplishing his life’s goal.

Carrying the glittering trophy, he headed to Marvin.

Addressing Marvin, he declared “This is for you.” He pushed the trophy towards Marvin. “You deserve it.” Marvin stood up and gave him a bear hug. “Thanks, man,” he said. The Super Bowl today was more than a football game. It was the bonding of two teammates!