David Tyree Gives Thanks for "The Catch"

By David Tyree, Wayne, New Jersey

As appeared in

Super Bowl XLII. 1:15 left on the clock. Third and long. We were trailing the New England Patriots by four points.

The undefeated New England Patriots.

I played wide receiver and special teams for the New York Giants. Our quarterback Eli Manning took the snap and dropped back. I started running my route.

Then the Patriots defense swarmed Eli. He broke away and launched a desperation pass. All at once everything slowed. It was just me and the ball. It hung in the air for what seemed like ages, but I knew it was coming to me. I reached out.

Even if you're not a football fan, you might know what happened next because it made all the papers and TV shows. I leapt for the ball at the same time Patriots All-Pro safety Rodney Harrison did. I grabbed it. Rodney smashed into me. I felt myself falling. My left hand slipped off the ball. No! I pinned the ball to my helmet with my right hand and hauled the pass in just before I hit the turf.

Four plays later we scored what would be the game-winning touchdown. Giants 17, Patriots 14.

Reporters called it one of the biggest upsets and that ball-on-the-helmet catch one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history. Suddenly, everyone knew my name. I was on talk shows, the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Everywhere I went people asked me to reenact "the catch." It was pretty overwhelming for an under-the-radar player like me.

"That catch will change your life," people said. But the truth is my life was changed long before that. And let me tell you, it—or rather, I—needed changing.

I started playing football in middle school. I started drinking not long after that. In high school my post-game ritual was getting loaded on malt liquor, whiskey and marijuana.

I don't know how, but I kept my grades up enough to qualify for college scholarships. I got 45 offers, as a matter of fact. I still don't believe it.

When I told my mom I'd decided on Syracuse, she smiled so big I almost couldn't see the corners of her mouth. Mom was my first fan and she'd worked so hard to move my sisters and me from the inner city to the suburbs so we could have a better education. I wanted to make her proud.

Before long I was a team captain for the SU Orange. I was an all-star partier too. But somehow I found myself drawn to a girl on campus who shied away from that scene.

Leilah had the most adorable sleepy brown eyes. I talked her into giving me her number. We hit it off. Leilah was not only beautiful but smart too, a nursing major. She really had her act together.

From the outside it looked like I did too. I had a wonderful girl, a supportive family and, in 2003, I landed the job of my dreams. Pro football player with the New York Giants.

But if college was one big party to me, the NFL was a never-ending bender. Leilah begged me to get clean. She'd started reading the Bible, exploring her faith. But, me? I didn't have time for that stuff. I was living in the fast lane.

Then at the end of my rookie year I got pulled over for speeding. My car reeked of marijuana.

"Do you have anything in here that I ought to know about?" the officer asked in a voice that said he knew I did. He searched the car and found a bag of pot under the seat. I was arrested.

You know that expression "rock bottom"? Well, I hit it. Literally. There I was, sitting in a holding cell, staring at the cement block walls. What had I been doing with my life? I needed to change. Was it too late to ask God for help?.

I didn't know where to start, so I looked up, clasped my hands like I'd seen people do, and said, "Lord, I need you right now. If you could spare my job, I'd really appreciate it." I wanted a chance to make it up to Leilah and my family.