Brad Paszkiewicz
Mrs. Zurkowski
English 9/Yellow
14 January 2011
Character Sketch Essay
This book is about one of the best NFL wide receivers in history, #80 Jerry Rice. In the story Go Long by Jerry Rice with Brian Curtis, Jerry was one of those people that’s grows up not as most people would hope, but always is ready to take on a challenge and wants to prove himself. Jerry is very competitive and always wanted to work harder than the next person. One day in his sophomore year of high school at, B.L Moor, he made a decision that would change his life more than he would have thought.
Jerry rice was the sixth of eight kids and grew up poor in a little town called Crawford, Mississippi. Jerry had to share a bedroom with three of his brothers. His dad was a bricklayer and knew the value of money. He worked hard and made his kids work hard too. If any kids were out of line there was no hesitation with the belt. Jerry liked to run a lot, close to seven miles every day. For no reason in particular Jerry started to lift weights and work out to get bigger. For a reason he couldn’t say. Maybe because he wanted to attract girls, or liked the way bigger guys would look. But either way it came in handy. Since he came a poor family, he improvised, lifting tire rims.
The first major event that changed Jerry’s life was when jerry and his friend played hooky, they were right by the door until the principal, Mr. Wickes, caught them. “We snuck out of class to make our way off camps. Suddenly, the school principal, Mr. Ezell Wickes, spotted us. He and I made eye contact before we bolted” (Rice 12). It was noted that since it was a small high school so Mr. Wickes could figure out it was jerry by his face and clothes. “But Mr. Wickes witnessed how fast I had sprinted away from him, and realized my speed could be put to good use to keep me out of trouble. So he forced me to meet with Charles Davis the head football coach at B.L Moor.”(12) Jerry trained hard and long. “The only way I knew how to do anything was to outwork, outperform, and outplay everyone else”. This integrity carried him all through high school into college at Mississippi Valley State College. Most people probably never heard of this college and might ask why didn’t Jerry go to a major college like Tennessee if he could play that well? That’s because MVS had a coach that liked calling passing plays which meant more spotlight on jerry. Jerry was usually shy and wasn’t always hanging out with friends and at a party, but he gained some friends, some that played basketball and like a good friend he wanted to support them and come to as many games as possible.
This leads to the second event that changed Jerry’s life. One day at one of the basketball games he noticed a girl there. Her name was Jackie Mitchell and was part of a senior high school group touring the school. “Jackie was hot! Great hair, perfect skin, and a killer body” (27). He finally got her number and hey began to see each other more and more. Jerry would drive to Greenville a couple times a week to see Jackie. Jackie’s mother, Gloria, was none too happy to hear that her 18 year old daughter dating a senior in college and refused to let Jackie take him even though Jackie told Gloria Jerry was only 20 when he was 22. Jerry eventually won her over and things were going good from there on out.
Then a big change for jerry was being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1895 NFL draft. Getting this far leads back to Jerry having huge integrity to outdo everyone and be the best. Came from a poor family, worked hard and made something of himself. Being drafted by the NFL would change anyone’s life for sure. Become famous, make lots of money, do everything you wish you could. Wouldn’t that be just the perfect life? For Jerry, at first it was but being so far from home he missed Jackie. He convinced her to move to San Francisco with him. Then she became pregnant with their first child Jaqui after her mother. And things went the same as normal then Jackie had another child they named Jerry Jr. and they was all well and good until their third child
When Jackie was giving birth to their second beautiful baby girl Jada, Jackie had a series of problems. First her blood wouldn’t clot, and then her kidneys failed, and then had to have intestine surgery. Jackie was in a coma like state for months in the hospital, friends, family, teammates, coaches, all came to give support. When Jackie finally awoke she had no memory and it would be another 2 and half years before she was completely recovered. Jerry missed some training in the process but was able to get back into it.
Then a last thing that changed for jerry was when he finally retired from the NFL after 20 years and winning 3 super bowls. He later joined a television show called Pros vs. Joes didn’t like that so much so he later joined Dancing with the Stars which introduced him to the media world and opened a lot of other doors for him. According to the story this changed him hugely. “Competing on Dancing with the Stars was the perfect choice for me. It provided me with a new challenge that took my mind away from the only thing I had ever known. I couldn’t think about football and mope on Sundays because I focused on DWS. It made my transition from football player to media personality seamless. The show opened up so many doors for me in the next stage of my life” (143). “Twenty years ago I was way too shy to even think about a job on television but now, it’s what I want to do”. (144)
The point of this story that was tried to be made by Jerry was always go for opportunities because you will never know the impact they will have. You never want to live life with regret and what you should have done but never had the guts to do. Take risks on things that mean a lot to you. Risk things that mean a lot to you but you will gain so much more. Being competitive and doing what you love going the extra mile will make the difference between the good and the great. Train hard and make yourself stand out by being better than everyone else. Lastly, have faith. “But I am a man of faith and to me, there us a distinction between faith and religion. Faith is believing in a higher power, whatever form it may take, and using that belief to help guide you through life” (92)” that one second of that one minute can make every difference in the world all going back to childhood. So live life to the fullest. In the book Go Long by Jerry Rice with Brian Curtis, it’s about a child that grew up in a bad situation and worked hard, proved himself, made something of himself, pursued his passion and dreams went the extra mile and did it.
