Tom Sileo Read Free

“You from around here?”
    â€œYep, Owings, Maryland, and now Silver Spring,” Brendan said. “What about you?”
    â€œPhiladelphia,” Travis said. “About forty minutes away in a place called Doylestown.”
    â€œUh-oh,” Brendan said. “Eagles fan?”
    â€œYep,” Travis responded.
    â€œShit,” Brendan said as the young midshipmen shared a laugh. “’Skins all the way.”
    The die-hard Washington Redskins fan knew this Philadelphia Eagles supporter was on the wrestling team, but he couldn’t remember his name, so Brendan decided to introduce himself.
    â€œI’m Brendan Looney,” he said.
    â€œI’m Travis Manion,” said Travis. “Great to meet you.”
    â€œGood to meet you, too,” Brendan said. “I gotta get to practice.”
    â€œMe, too,” Travis said. “Football?”
    â€œYep,” Brendan answered. “You’re wrestling, right?”
    â€œYeah, I had to retire from football,” Travis said. “I knew I’d never be good enough to make the Eagles, and I didn’t want to end up on a team like the Redskins.”
    After another laugh, the varsity athletes headed to separate practices. The Naval Academy freshmen (or plebes, as members of the youngest class are called) might have played different sports and rooted for different NFL teams, but each had just made a new friend.
    Few wanted to line up across from Brendan at Navy football practices. As a slotback for the Midshipmen, who famously specialize in running the option, Brendan’s job was to blast anyone trying to tackle the ball carrier with a crushing block. He wasn’t a starter, but in practice, he was among the team’s most feared players.
    Before Navy and the Naval Academy Preparatory School (NAPS), Brendan played high school football at DeMatha Catholic High School. In the Washington, DC, area, “DeMatha” was synonymous with “powerhouse,” as the Hyattsville, Maryland, all-men’s school has been a force in high school athletics for decades. Two of its most notable football players are Brian Westbrook, who starred for many years on Travis’s Eagles, and his brother, Byron Westbrook, who went on to play for Brendan’s Redskins.
    Ben Mathews, a Navy linebacker, became friends with Brendan after observing his almost superhuman work ethic in the weight room. After introducing himself and quickly realizing that Brendan was a warm, friendly guy, Mathews wanted to see if he could keep up with his teammate’s workout regimen, which included countless squats.
    The experiment ended with Mathews throwing up on the weight room floor. Brendan was an impressive physical specimen, and few could keep up with him in any setting involving athletic challenges.
    On one particularly hot, stuffy day Mathews, exhausted after studying all night for an exam, was going through the motions during team drills. The first teammate to notice his lack of intensity was Brendan, who would never give anything less than 100 percent on the practice field. He reacted fiercely when he saw anyone not doing his part to prepare for the next game.
    As the whistle blew, Brendan, the slotback, ran straight toward Mathews, the linebacker. While Mathews trotted toward the tailback, Brendan came seemingly out of nowhere and hammered his friend, who hit the ground almost as quickly as Brendan reached out to help him up. With blood spraying from his broken nose, the confused, disoriented linebacker took the hand of the teammate who had just embarrassed him with a bone-crushing blow.
    Brendan was a man of deeds, not words, and while helping the injured player off the turf, gave him a look that Mathews interpreted as “if you want to be first team, play like it.”
    Mathews wasn’t happy about the blood streaming down his face, but he knew it was Brendan’s way of helping him become a better player. Although many