Destiny's Team PDF
By:Thomas A. Glessner
Published on 2007-06 by Anomalos Pub Llc
Destiny's Team is a story that combines deep spiritual truths within the context and drama of professional football. While this story is centered around a professional NFL quarterback as its main character it cannot be seen as merely a sports novel. Central to its plot are the Christian themes of redemption, reconciliation, forgiveness and second chances. An eternal perspective is provided with glimpses of heaven or hell as the ultimate destination for each one of us. An awareness of the unseen spirit world and its impact upon our daily lives is felt throughout the story. Jason O'Connor, the main character, is an NFL quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks. After a sensational college career Jason had been a disappointment for the first eight years of his NFL career. However, he finally comes into his own as a superstar when Seattle picks him up in a trade. Within two years after coming to Seattle he ignites the Seahawks bringing them to the NFL's conference championship game with the winner going on to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. During the regular season Jason had teamed up with his old college roommate and wide receiver, Bobby Childs, to dominate the league in passing statistics and bring the Seahawks to the brink of sports immortality. During college both Jason and his friend Bobby Childs were arrogant athletes who, because of their sensational athletic achievements on the football field, ruled the roost on the campus of Washington State University. Both of them had serious girlfriends during this time. Bobby and his girlfriend, Mandy Brooks, were the wild pair who partied and socialized continuously while in school. Jason and his girlfriend, Rachel Thomlinson, were more reserved in their lifestyles but were the constant companions of Bobby and Mandy. Mandy and Rachel were best friends. Both of them become pregnant during this time. Due to pressure from Bobby Mandy, who is pregnant with twins, terminates her pregnancy. Rachel discovers her pregnancy the spring before Jason's senior year. When she tells Jason he demands that she do the right thing and take care of the problem. She breaks off her relationship with Jason. Her last communication to him is a letter sent during the summer telling him that she has taken care of the problem and that she won't be back in school in the fall. Later that fall Jason and Bobby lead their team to the PAC 10 championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl. During a party celebrating their championship Mandy approaches them with devastating news. Rachel Thomlinson had been in a serious car accident and was not expected to live. Mandy loses her composure and explodes in anger at Jason and Bobby in a highly emotionally charged scene. She breaks off her relationship with Bobby and walks out of both of their lives. Later that night Jason drives 6 hours to the hospital bed of Rachel to witness her death. Neither Jason nor Bobby is the same after this. They both play very poorly in the Rose Bowl. Their pro careers are disappointing and at best mediocre until Jason catches fire with the Seahawks eight years later. After his first year with the team Jason convinces the Seahawks to trade for Bobby and the pair catch fire together just like they did in the old days at WSU. The first chapter opens up with the NFCs championship game with the Seahawks playing the St. Louis Rams. The Seahawks suffer from unusual jitters in the first half and find themselves behind 19-0 by halftime. The last play of the first half is a particular embarrassment to Jason as he fumbles a snap from center and lets the ball go into the end zone while he falls on it giving the Rams a two-point safety. In the locker room during the halftime break Coach Paul Wagner, a key character in the story, verbally terrorizes the team and humiliates Jason in front of his teammates. Jason and the team respond with a second half comeback that ends with a sensational touchdown run by Jason on the last play of the game giving the Seahawk a 20-19 victory and a trip to the Super Bowl. The Seattle hometown crowd hysterically celebrates the victory and it takes awhile before they notice that Jason O'Connor, their superstar quarterback, is lying unconscious in the end zone. He is taken off the field in a stretcher and it is later determined that he received a very series concussion from the blow that tackled him into the end zone. His availability to play in the Super Bowl in two weeks is now questionable. After the celebration is over in the locker room Jason and Coach Wagner leave the stadium to drive to the hospital for a CAT scan to be performed. On the way to their car adoring fans and reporters wanting to know more information about Jason's injuries surrounds them. They are standing at the bottom of an unfinished parking garage talking when out of the blue a fan screams a warning and tackles Jason knocking him to the hard concrete pavement and causing another serious injury to his head. The fan's actions were motivated by a large unsecured concrete beam from the second floor of the garage falling over towards Jason. Although the tackle saved Jason's life it clearly further compounded his head injuries. The fan that made the life saving tackle is the Rev. Josiah Johnson, a local African American pastor in an inner city church. Rev Johnson, or |Joe| as he is known, is married to a Vietnamese woman, Helena. They have an adopted son who has Down Syndrome and is suffering from a very rare and fatal blood disease. They named their son Moses because when he was a newborn his mother left him at the steps of the adoption agency in a basket reminding them of the biblical account of baby Moses when he was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter. Moses' blood disease is terminal. He is scheduled for a blood transfusion the Friday before the Super Bowl. The doctors believe the transfusion will prolong his life but only if the blood donor is genetically related to the child. However, because of the circumstances surrounding his adoption there are no records as to whom might be genetically related and give the blood to make the transfusion a success. The media is caught up in the story of Joe, Helena and Moses. Joe is a former small college football player. He is a football fanatic, but as a pastor of an inner city church he cannot afford to buy season tickets to the Seahawk games. However, he, Helena and Moses attend every Seahawk home game by driving their car to the stadium and listening to the game on the radio as they sit outside the stadium in their parked car. This is why Joe was on the scene at the time of the incident at the parking garage. Because of his actions, the media run with the story making Joe a local hero who saved Jason's life. Jason begins to build a very close relationship with Joe, Helena and Moses and, as he does, one very important question begins to surface. Could Moses be Jason's child? If so, Jason would be the only known genetically related blood donor who could step in to save Moses' life. This issue begins to surface as Mandy Brooks steps back into Bobby's life. She asks to see Bobby as an old friend but she has some information to give him. Prior to her death Rachel had written a letter to Jason telling him that she had prematurely given birth the summer after their break up to a little boy who was very sick. With Mandy's help and encouragement she drove to Seattle and left the baby on the steps of an adoption agency in a basket. Rachel tells Mandy of the letter's contents and gives it to her for safekeeping, as she was not sure she wanted to send it. Rachel dies before she can decide whether to send the letter and Mandy has kept it undisturbed for over ten years. Mandy tells Bobby that she must give this letter to Jason because a local reporter has been doing some investigation and was ready to break the story that Jason had sired a child out of wedlock in college. If written in that way the ensuing scandal would ruin Jason's reputation and take away the focus and concentration of the Seahawk team in its preparation for the Super Bowl. During their meeting Mandy reveals to Bobby another critical matter. She was pregnant when she broke off her relationship with him years before and has a ten-year-old son with him. She named her son Bobby after his father. During this discussion it also becomes apparent to Bobby that Mandy has undergone a major spiritual transformation in her life and has found contentment and peace in a relationship with God. Mandy meets with Jason and he reads the letter from Rachel. Jason immediately suspects that Moses is his son but to be sure he meets with Joe and Helena. At the meeting he asks probing questions about Moses, his physical condition and the circumstances surrounding the adoption. He discovers evidence during this conversation that leads him to believe beyond a reasonable doubt that he is Moses' father. He is now confronted with the decision of whether he should be the blood donor to save the life of his son. If he does so, he will undoubtedly be unable to play in the Super Bowl as his body will still be recovering from its weakened condition in supplying the blood. Jason next has an encounter that will change him forever. After discovering his relationship with Moses he takes a long drive and ends up on a beach in Seattle's Puget Sound. It is late at night and he views the starlit sky while in deep thought. He notices a couple of shooting stars in the sky and has a memory flashback to the time he was a child when his mother told him that every time a shooting star appears it means that God is sending a guardian angel to earth to protect somebody. Suddenly a stranger appears on the beach and begins a conversation with Jason. The stranger, whose name is Josh, tells Jason that he is his biggest fan and has been to all of his games. In introducing himself to Jason Josh says the he |builds bridges| and Jason assumes he is an engineer. Jason feels totally comfortable with this stranger and believes that they may have met sometime before. Jason opens up and tells Josh everything about Rachel and Moses and all that is in his heart. Josh listens intently and simply tells Jason that he knows he will do the right thing. Josh quietly begins to leave but turns around before he departs and tells Jason that he will play in the Super Bowl and it will be his greatest game ever. After Josh's departure Jason has more flashbacks to his childhood and to a revival meeting he attended with his grandmother. He remembers experiencing as a child the spirit of God moving in his soul and through such memories he returns tearfully to the faith of his youth. He now knows that he must give his blood to save his son. He knows in doing so that he will not be playing in the Super Bowl. While Jason's physical injuries make his services questionable in the Super Bowl his decision now to be the blood donor for his son settles the issue. His coach, Paul Wagner, however, has already decided that his head injuries are too risky to have him play and risk further permanent injury. When Jason shares with Wagner about his son and the decision to be the blood donor Wagner seizes on the opportunity and lets Jason take the responsibility for not playing. The press is kept in the dark as to much of the detail about the decision but does report about the existence of Jason's son Moses and the upcoming blood transfusion. The city is stunned with the revelations and fan reaction is mixed with some expressing outrage that Jason would let his team down by making such a sentimental decision for a boy whose life expectancy was not long under the best set of circumstances. Jason remains firm in his decision. Racked with guilt over the years from how he treated Rachel Thomlinson he believes that he must do everything he can to save their son. Jason draws blood twice in order to provide enough supply for the transfusion. The first time is one week prior to the transfusion. He next gives blood the day of the transfusion. Before the first blood draw he meets Josh again at the hospital who explains to him that he volunteers at the hospital whenever he can. After the second blood draw Jason is quite weak and taken to a recovery room. The doctors have ordered bed rest for several days to enable him to regain his strength. Since the Super Bowl is just two days away it is clear that Jason O'Connor will be unavailable to lead the Seahawks in the big game. Immediately after being taken to the recovery room Jason again is visited by Josh who emphatically tells him that he will play in the big game and that it will be the greatest game of his life. As Jason dozes in and out of consciousness he asks Josh if he is some kind of miracle worker. Jason then dozes off into a deep slumber as his body attempts to recover from the loss of blood. While Jason sleeps Josh goes to work. He lays his hands on Jason and looks upward into the beyond. He smiles as his petition is answered and quietly exits the room. Jason immediately awakens with vigor and is ready to pounce out of bed to leave. Nurses and doctors try to prevent him from leaving as they claim he is too weak to move. Jason proves otherwise as he bounds out of bed, dresses and heads out the door to pack and hop a plane to meet his team in Miami for the Super Bowl. When Jason arrives in Miami he is told by Wagner that he is in no shape to play and that the coach will not risk further serious injury by allowing him to do so. During the first half of the game Jason's backup, who has suffered serious back injuries and cannot adequately pass, is totally ineffective and fails to ignite the team. The Seahawks find themselves trailing at halftime 17-0. On the last play of the first half the backup quarterback is seriously injured and has to be taken off the field on a stretcher. Coach Wagner now has no other option. He tells Jason so suit up to lead the team in the second half. Jason O'Connor's presence on the field ignites the Super Bowl crowd and the Seahawk team in a way never seen before. The emotion of his presence on the field generates a comeback by Seattle and carries them to the brink of victory. However, on the last drive of the game as Jason leads his team to a game tying score he again receives a serious blow to his head. A touchdown is scored but the point after touchdown is needed to send the game into overtime. Because of his blurred vision due to his head injuries Jason fumbles the snap from center on the extra point try and all appears to be lost. However, he recovers the ball and makes a magnificent run diving into the end zone for a two-point conversion and a dramatic Seattle victory. He once again receives a massive blow to the head in the end zone as he scores. Jason is given the Super Bowl MVP award in the post-game ceremony. However, suffering from new head injuries he collapses on the stage in front of a national television audience and is immediately rushed to the nearest hospital. He is in a coma at the hospital as his friends, Bobby, Mandy, Joe, Helena and Coach Wagner stand by his bed praying for a recovery. During this time he opens his eyes and sees Josh enter the room. Josh walks to a door at the end of the room and motions for Jason to get up and come. Jason does so but his friends around the bed do not seem to notice that he is up and walking. Josh opens the door and Jason is greeted by a blinding light and sees a stunningly beautiful land that he once visited in a dream. Jason understands that he has died and briefly returns to his bed to bid farewell to his grieving friends. Josh also goes to the bedside and with tears in his eyes hugs and comforts all of Jason's friends. He then asks Jason if he is ready for an |everlasting adventure|. Jason eagerly says that he is and the two enter the door into the world beyond. They folic like two young kids chasing each other and throwing a football as they approach their destination but they are stopped in their journey by a great divide; a bottomless abyss. On the other side of the abyss is the celestial kingdom awaiting Jason but it appears there is not way to cross. Josh reminds Jason that is builds bridges and has built a bridge to cross over. He explains it is the only bridge to get to the other side. Many attempt to cross the divide by jumping but the gap is too far for anyone to make it on their own. Only the bridge built by Josh can take one safely to the other side. As Jason begins to walk onto the bridge he is greeted by a demoniac creature that claims he cannot go across because he is not worthy to do so. Josh and the bridge briefly vanish and Jason is left alone with the hideous creature who picks Jason up, lifts him over his head and then begins to throw him into the abyss. The creature is stopped dead in his tracks as Josh reappears. Towering over the creature he demands that he put Jason down because Josh paid for him. The creature is shaking and groveling on his knees begging for mercy. Josh simply says |be gone| and the creature with blood curdling screams steps over the edge and into the abyss. Jason now understands who Josh is and the undeserved gift of eternal life he has been given. He and Josh cross over the bridge and step onto the shores of the celestial kingdom. Jason is greeted in a wonderful homecoming by many, his mother, his father, his grandmother, Timmy and Tina (the twins aborted by Mandy), and, of course, Rachel. The story ends with the memorial service for Jason O'Connor attended by many mourners. Bobby and Joe give emotional eulogies to their friend. After the service a stranger thanks the men for their words. He explains that he has known Jason since Jason was a kid and was always his biggest fan greets. When asked his name the stranger simply says, |My name is Josh and I build bridges| As he walks away all of the adults stare for a moment believing that they have met him before. Moses ends the story by simply noting: |Everyone should know that guy. His name is Josh and he builds bridges|
This Book was ranked at 16 by Google Books for keyword Sports Outdoors Football American novel.
Book ID of Destiny's Team's Books is t9QPPQAACAAJ, Book which was written byThomas A. Glessnerhave ETAG "6j4nWQPkCSQ"
Book which was published by Anomalos Pub Llc since 2007-06 have ISBNs, ISBN 13 Code is 9780978845346 and ISBN 10 Code is 097884534X
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Book which have "340 Pages" is Printed at BOOK under CategoryFiction
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