The NFHS New York State Association and the state government were not inefficient in scheduling a victory ceremony for the tournament the week after the championship battle.

On Tuesday night, the entire team of Toadun Tun was invited to the association's headquarters, and in a large, rustically decorated room, witnessed by a diagonally hung Star-Spangled Banner, the chairman presented each of them with a prize of $3,500 and a gold-plated gold medal with the words NFHS New York State emblazoned.

The association's activities are funded in part by state grants, and in part by taking a cut of television rights and game tickets, and the association as a whole is relatively wealthy. The more money earned in this part of the exclusive football game, the more money is given to the winning teams of each minor football league, and the bonuses for the players and coaches add up to nearly 200,000 US dollars.

Some of the team's most important players were also given individual speeches, followed by Beal at quarterback and running back.

"When I first played on the pitch, I was wearing a pair of second-hand football boots. In order to pick out the sneakers that meant a lot to me, I even had to pinch my nose and go to the smelly second-hand shoe section to find them one by one......"

Bill started with second-hand sneakers and second-hand equipment, then talked about his parents who died very early, and took the opportunity to thank his uncle Conte's family.

"Without the support of my family and the discovery of my students by coaches like Murphy, I would not be where I am ......today."

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered the attitude of the principal when he returned to school, so he quietly mentioned it.

“…… I was in a hurry to go back to school, but Principal George Jackson told me to go to another school on the grounds that it was full, and if it wasn't for Coach Murphy fighting for me, I'm afraid I'd ......"

The principal also asked for $20,000 in sponsorship, but there was no evidence for this, and it could not be said in public. Just the two sentences that Bill just said were enough for Principal George to drink a pot.

The younger sister Dorothy has graduated, the principal is considered an administrative post, and the credits are managed by the teacher, and Principal George has no power to live with Mr. Ferrari, who is now famous.

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

After speaking to the camera, Bill returned to his teammates and asked the corner-back behind him to come up and give his own list of thanks.

The time of the party was very precise, and the whole process was completed at just over eight o'clock.

The chairman of the board of directors is a middle-aged white man, who should have worked in the sports industry, and is tall and funny.

"Finally, don't forget to pay taxes on your winnings, the IRS guys aren't easy to mess with." This is the chairman's parting message.

Over the next half-week, Bill and his teammates were interviewed by a number of small local New York TV stations, and although the questions and topics they talked about were very different from each other, these interviews could not be dismissed.

A variety of performances off the pitch can solidify fans, and every opportunity to appear on the show and in front of the camera should not be missed.

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

As an excellent player who played two seasons, Beal's college offer was also a topic often asked by the show's hosts.

In this regard, Mr. Ferrari only said that he had received invitations from some strong teams, and did not disclose which university teams they were.

In addition to the regular football topic, what Bill said at the Champions Night was also taken out and talked about repeatedly, causing a certain amount of public opinion for President George Jackson.

The next week, the events of the champion team become even more, and the Governor's Reception Day is among them.

Because of the disparity in their identities, the entire Toad Tun varsity team was looking forward to the reception of Hugh Carey, the Democratic governor.

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

The meeting took place in the office building of Albany, the state capital, in a large, antique-style office, Hugh Carey shook hands with each team member, said "congratulations" mechanically, and then the two smirked at the camera.

The lieutenant governor was in the big office, and Bill had heard that the lieutenant governor was of Italian descent, so after he shook hands with Hugh Carey, he took the initiative to rub over to Lieutenant Governor Mario Cuomo.

"Mr. Cuomo, I'm also of Italian ......"

Bill began to talk about the relationship, starting with his own race and then about his community.

Hugh Carey shouldn't be in office for a few years, but the Cuomo father and son are evergreens in New York State politics and must have a good relationship.

"Oh, I look at the news, your high school principal seems to discriminate against us minorities?"

Mario comes up to the rhythm of trouble, he is a blue team warrior, and the main focus is to promote the affirmative action movement and pull the votes of minorities.

In the '80s, Italians were not yet classified as "the white" and were in the same minority as Africans, and although they were much less discriminated against than blacks, they were more likely to be European immigrants.

Bill was so happy that 1510 gave Mario the full picture of the incident.

"Sir, I was just a 1.88 or 220 pound kid at the time, and my parents died young, so I didn't know what to do with it......"

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

Mario, who was half a head shorter than Bill, patted the handsome Italian boy on the shoulder, "This is not going to happen like this." It's a pity that I've heard that you're doing very well, otherwise we would have more ways to do it...... Anyway, you just pay attention to the news at home, and I'll find someone to contact you if necessary, and it's time to let the Republican folks know what it means to respect people. ”

The most famous of the affirmative action movement that emerged in the sixties was that students were not allowed to be denied admission because of poor grades, and the hardest hit was students of Chinese descent because of their generally good grades.

If Bill also had the buff of poor grades, George Jackson would have been 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.

Mr. Ferrari genuinely hoped that George Jackson would be in bad luck.

After the show in front of the cameras, the team members were allowed to leave, but many people crowded in front of the state government building to take a group photo, and Bill also took a few group photos.

In mid-February, after a wave of TV interviews had passed a little, Bill received another honor. He shared the title of 1980 New York City High School Athlete of the Year with a baseball player.

This time, the organizer was the New York State Association of the NFHS, but in the studio of a television station in New York City. Because there were only two people, Bill was given more time to play freely.

"I lost my parents when I was a child...... If it weren't for my family, especially my uncle Masico Conte and my aunt...... It was Coach Murphy who spotted my talent in football and offered me to join the Fort Hamilton High School varsity team......"

At the center of the testimonial's difficult journey to study and play, interspersed with Mr. Ferrari's first major version of the thank-you list.

PS: The third update, there is a problem with the comment system in the past two days, and you can only see the new comments yourself, don't worry, you should be able to release it in two days. Ask for a recommended ticket and ask for a monthly pass.

(End of chapter)