America 1979

Chapter 84 I'm Just a 1.8-meter-eight Child
The NFHS New York State Association and the state government were not inefficient, scheduling the tournament's awards ceremony evening the week after the championship game.

On Tuesday night, the Hamatun school team was invited to the headquarters of the association. In a large room decorated with rustic decoration, under the witness of a star-spangled banner hanging obliquely, the chairman awarded each person a bonus of [-] US dollars. And a gold-plated gold medal with NFHS New York State on it.

Part of the activities of this association is funded by the state government, and the other part is the commission for television broadcasting rights and game tickets. The association as a whole is relatively rich.This part of the exclusive football game makes a lot of money, and the prize money for the various minor league championship teams is also high. The bonuses for players and coaches add up to almost $20.

Several of the team's most important players also got the opportunity to speak individually, followed by Bill and the quarterback and running back.

"When I first played, I was wearing a pair of second-hand football boots. In order to pick the boots that meant a lot to me, I even had to pinch my nose to get rid of the smelly second-hand boots. I dialed one by one by myself to find..."

The testimonial is how it happened. Bill first talked about second-hand sneakers and second-hand equipment, and then talked about his parents who died very early. He took the opportunity to thank his uncle Conte's family.

"Without the support of my family, and coaches such as Murphy discovering me from among the students, it would be impossible for me to be where I am today..."

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered the attitude of the principal when he returned to school, so he raised his mouth calmly.

"...I was anxious to go back to school, but the principal George Jackson asked me to go to another school on the grounds that the quota was full. If Coach Murphy hadn't fought for me, I'm afraid..."

The principal also asked for a sponsorship fee of [-] U.S. dollars, but there is no evidence for this, and he cannot say it in public.The two sentences Bill just said are enough for Principal George to drink a pot.

My younger sister, Dorothy, has graduated, and the principal is considered an administrative post, and the credits are managed by the teacher. Principal George has no right to be stuck with Mr. Ferrari, who has already made a name for himself.

He's not vindictive, he's just holding grudges.

After speaking sideways to the camera, Bill returned to his teammates and asked the cornerback behind him to go up and give his thank you list.

The time of the party was very precise, and it was only early eight o'clock after all the procedures were completed.

The chairman is a middle-aged white man who should have experience in the sports industry. He is tall, strong and funny.

"Finally, don't forget to pay taxes on the bonus, the IRS gang is not easy to mess with." This is the chairman's parting message.

In the following half a week, Bill and his teammates were interviewed by many small local TV stations in New York. Although the questions asked by each TV station and the topics of conversation were quite similar, these interviews could not be declined.

All kinds of performances off the court can strengthen fans, and every opportunity to be on the show and in front of the camera should not be missed.

Bill, Charlie, Steve and others participated in the program one by one, rushing from one TV station to the next.

As an excellent player who has played for two seasons, the college offer Bill received is also a topic often asked by the host of the show.

In this regard, Mr. Ferrari only said that he got invitations from some strong teams, but did not disclose which university teams.

In addition to the regular football topics, what Bill said at the championship night meeting was also brought up and talked about repeatedly, which caused a certain amount of public opinion for President George Jackson.

The next week, there will be more events for the championship team, including the Governor's Reception Day.

Because of the disparity in their identities, the members of the entire Hamatun school team are looking forward to the reception of Hugh Carey, the Democratic governor.

But when the reception day actually came, I found out that it was just like that.

The meeting took place in the office building in Albany, the state capital. In the large office with classic decoration style, Hugh Carey shook hands with each team member, and said "Congratulations" mechanically, and it was over, and then the two faced the camera Fake a smile.

The lieutenant governor was accompanied in this big office. Beforehand, Bill found out that the lieutenant governor was of Italian descent, so after he shook hands with Hugh Carey, he took the initiative to go to lieutenant governor Mario Cuomo.

"Mr. Cuomo, I am also Italian..."

Bill started talking about relationships, starting with his own race, and then talking about community origins.

Hugh Carey should not be in office for a few years. The Cuomos and his sons are evergreen trees in New York state politics, so they must establish a good relationship.

"Oh, I read that news, your high school principal seems to discriminate against us minorities?"

Mario came up with the rhythm of making troubles. He is a blue fighter, and his main focus is to promote the affirmative action movement and win votes from ethnic minorities.

In the 80s, Italians had not yet been classified as "the white". They belonged to a minority group like Africans. Although they suffered much less discrimination than blacks, they were considered more among European immigrants.

Bill was so happy, so he summed up the whole incident to Mario in detail.

"Sir, I was just a 1.8-meter-eight, 220-pound kid, my parents died early, and I didn't know how to deal with it at all..."

Mr. Ferrari began to sell miserably again, and even told Mario the tacit secret of the sponsorship fee.

Mario, who was half a head shorter than Bill, patted the handsome Italian guy on the shoulder, "This matter will never go away like this. It's a pity that I heard that your grades are very good, otherwise we have more ways... ...In short, you can pay more attention to the news at home, and I will find someone to contact you when necessary, it is time to let those idiots of the Republican Party know what respect is."

It still suffers from the culture. The most famous affirmative action movement in the 60s is that it is not allowed to reject students because of poor grades. This rule hits the students of the Chinese group the hardest, because their grades are generally good.

If Bill also had the heavy BUFF of poor grades, George Jackson could be punished even more.

"Thank you very much." Bill took his hand and shook it twice.

This handshake was more emotional than the handshake with Hugh Carey just now.

Mr. Ferrari really wanted George Jackson bad luck.

After finishing the show in front of the camera, the team members were allowed to leave, but many people crowded in front of the state government building for group photos, and Bill also snapped a few group photos.

In mid-February, after the wave of TV interviews had subsided a bit, Bill received another honor.He shared the title of best New York City high school athlete in 1980 with a baseball player.

The sponsor this time is the NFHS New York State Association, but the location is in the studio of a TV station in New York City.Because there are only two people, Bill has more time to play freely.

"I've lost my parents since I was little...if it wasn't for my family, especially my uncle Marcico Conte and my aunt...it was Coach Murphy who discovered my talent in rugby and offered to recruit me. On the Fort Hamilton High School team..."

It was still a bad start, and the center of the testimonials was Bill's difficult journey to study and play, interspersed with Mr. Ferrari's first large version of the thank you list.

PS: The third update, there is a problem with the comment system in the past two days. You can only see the new comments by yourself. Don't worry, it should be released in two days.Ask for a recommendation ticket and ask for a monthly ticket.

(End of this chapter)