A fat boy who is often bullied at school manages to prove himself to be a world star
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 This boy is Brandon Burlesworth. That day, he had just been baptized. When they were
00:04 home, Brandon complained to his mother because people kept calling him fat, but his mother
00:08 encouraged him by saying that God had a reason to make him that way. Besides, he didn't
00:12 mean to take what people said for granted because only God knows what is best for him.
00:17 Brandon had an older brother named Marty, who was 17 years older than Brandon. One day,
00:21 Marty was fed up with his brother who never did anything but sit on the couch, watching
00:26 TV while stuffing his mouth with snacks. For a 12-year-old boy, Brandon had a bigger body
00:31 than boys his age. No matter what Marty told him, Brandon didn't budge and kept doing
00:35 what he liked. While looking at an American football player on the television, Brandon
00:39 suddenly said that he wanted to be just like them. His mother just supported whatever Brandon
00:43 wanted to do, despite not knowing whether he was serious or not. Their mother was a
00:48 mother figure that will support whatever her children want as long as it is a good thing.
00:52 At school, Brandon joined the football team. Since it was his first time playing and not
00:56 knowing the rules, Brandon was scolded by his coach after messing up the match. Marty
01:00 and his mother, who was watching at that time, were also ridiculed by other spectators. A
01:05 high school coach named Coach Tice, who happened to be watching, then approached Brandon and
01:09 encouraged him by saying that if he really intended to be a better player, then he had
01:13 to be the first to come to practice and be the last to go home. After practice, Brandon
01:17 was picked up by his father because that night he was going to stay at his father's house.
01:22 And his parents had been separated for a long time because his mother couldn't stand his
01:26 alcoholic father anymore. Before leaving, Marty warned his father not to get drunk during
01:30 Brandon's stay, but it turned out that Brandon's father's drinking habit hadn't gone away.
01:36 In the morning, when Brandon saw his father drunk, he immediately called Marty to pick
01:39 him up. When Marty got there, he told his father to never interfere with their life
01:44 anymore. A few years later, Brandon entered high school and joined the high school football
01:48 club. As Coach Tice said long ago, Brandon was always the first to come to practice,
01:52 even before the coach. Coach Tice asked why Brandon always came early, even though he
01:57 wasn't part of the main team. Brandon was confused because he was just doing what he
02:01 was told. He then asked if Coach Tice thought he was just wasting time because, different
02:05 from the others, he had to try hard first to get what he wanted. Coach Tice then told
02:10 him that when two players had the same achievement, but one of them got it after hard work, then
02:14 the one that worked harder would be easier to maintain his form.
02:18 That day, Brandon and Marty went to watch the University of Arkansas football team practice
02:22 as well as to approach Coach Bender of Arkansas University. He wanted to get the attention
02:27 of the coach. It was a dream of Brandon to join one of the NFL League teams, and in order
02:31 to do that, he had to join a college league team first to attract the attention of the
02:35 NFL team's scouts. Usually, the college will provide scholarships for talented kids they
02:40 wanted to recruit to join the college football team, and that was Brandon's reason to approach
02:44 Coach Bender. Unfortunately, because there were so many players who wanted a scholarship,
02:49 Coach Bender was not interested in helping Brandon. He said that Brandon was still the
02:52 size of a high school boy. He was still underweight to play football at university. Brandon confidently
02:58 said that he could grow even bigger. Long story short, after graduating from high school,
03:03 Brandon got a scholarship at Arkansas Tech University. His family was very happy to receive
03:07 the good news, but Brandon's face did not show a happy expression instead, he tore up
03:11 the scholarship letter. Apparently, Brandon wanted to enter the University of Arkansas,
03:16 not Arkansas Tech University. So basically, he wanted to get a scholarship at the University
03:21 of Arkansas so he could join his dream team, namely the Arkansas Razorbacks. Marty then
03:26 explained that Brandon shouldn't waste the opportunity to get a bachelor's degree for
03:29 free, even Coach Tice also said that he wouldn't waste the chance. Up until high school graduation
03:35 day, Brandon still refused to go to Arkansas Tech University. Marty was angry at Brandon
03:39 considering their family's economy was not stable enough, but Brandon insisted on enrolling
03:43 in the University of Arkansas without a scholarship. Brandon didn't even think about how to pay
03:48 semester fees and cover living expenses. At night, Brandon overheard his mother taking
03:52 care of some bills. At that time, Brandon realized maybe his ego had gone too far. He
03:57 had given up and was going to enter Arkansas Tech University, but it turned out that for
04:01 the sake of his dream, his mother made a loan to the bank to pay for a whole year for Brandon
04:06 to study at the University of Arkansas. Brandon was very happy and said that he would take
04:10 advantage of that one year to be able to get a scholarship and return his mother's money.
04:14 His mother sincerely supported Brandon as much as she could. The distance to campus
04:19 was not too far from home. It only took about 90 minutes to drive to get there. Not only
04:23 received support from his mother, but his brother also supported him by giving him a
04:27 cell phone so he could call anytime if he needed something. When he arrived at his dream
04:31 campus and was about to start attending training on the football team, Brandon became the subject
04:35 of ridicule from other new players because his body was fat. Coach Bender indeed told
04:40 him that he was underweight to join the football team, but that didn't mean he had to make
04:44 himself fatter to meet the requirement. Coach Bender said that he might not be able to play
04:48 as a starter. As per the rules there, Brandon, who is a walk-on player, only played a role
04:53 in helping with the training of the scholarship players, but he still had a chance to prove
04:57 himself capable to get a scholarship. During the training session, Brandon was the lowest
05:01 in performance which made him the jokes of the team. He had too much body fat, making
05:05 him unable to move freely.
05:07 "Can't you? You obviously can't hit a s-
05:09 [Bandit's "Hit the Road" plays]
05:11 [Bandit's "Hit the Road" plays]
05:13 [Bandit's "Hit the Road" plays]
05:15 [Bandit's "Hit the Road" plays]
05:17 [Bandit's "Hit the Road" plays]
05:19 After seeing Brandon's perseverance following training that day, Coach Bender approached
05:24 him then said that everything was not about strength and size, but the foundation of skills.
05:28 He explained to all new players that the front and back players aren't the most skilled
05:32 players, but those who put in effortless training for their gain, instead the midfield players
05:37 are the true skilled players. Coach Bender didn't differentiate between any players
05:41 even though the players were walk-on players. Brandon was still given the same instructions
05:46 and exercises as the other team members. Other coaches asked Coach Bender why he wanted to
05:50 spend time training the walk-on players even though there were only two weeks before the
05:54 season started. Coach Bender then replied that everyone had the same opportunity and
05:59 that he believed they might find hidden talent if they gave the same chance for everyone.
06:04 Some players were selected to participate in the preparation for the season that year's
06:07 game had been chosen and Brandon failed to get the opportunity to compete, which meant
06:12 he also didn't get the chance to get a scholarship that year. After practice, he approached Coach
06:16 Bender and said that at the end of that year he should be able to get a scholarship. Unfortunately,
06:22 Coach Bender couldn't help him so Brandon could only try to maintain his uniform until
06:25 the next season and if he failed the next season, he had to give up on his dream. Their
06:30 quota was small and there were still many people waiting to fill the quota. Brandon's
06:34 problem was not only that but his classmates also continued to bully him. Brandon was considered
06:39 strange with all the daily schedules he made and was also considered a mama's boy because
06:43 every week, Brandon would meet his mother. Brandon felt discouraged and guilty to his
06:48 mother. But when he told his mother that he didn't get a scholarship, his mother still
06:52 encouraged him without regret. Wayne returned to college to practice as usual, but during
06:57 practice he almost injured a player. Coach Bender was angry with him, but he still helped
07:02 Brandon when all the players were calling Brandon names. After finishing training, Coach
07:06 Bender approached Brandon. Out of sympathy for Brandon's perseverance, Coach Bender
07:11 decided to help Brandon lose weight. Since then, Brandon would start training first and
07:15 finish practice later than others. Every day, his weight continued to drop and his playing
07:19 technique was getting better, so his friends who used to bully him felt amazed by him.
07:44 He tried to one-on-one with the best players among them. No one expected him to manage
07:48 to win, even though Coach Bender didn't actually tell him to win, but just to use
07:52 his technique correctly. Everyone was surprised by Brandon's change. He was finally recognized
08:03 by the other players for the first time. That night, Brandon was invited to drink at the
08:07 bar. His friends deliberately ordered a drink containing alcohol, even though they all knew
08:12 Brandon did not drink alcohol. After finishing two glasses of drink, Brandon said that he
08:16 only had the opportunity for one year to study there and he said that he would always remember
08:20 their kindness. All of a sudden, the atmosphere turned awkward. Suddenly, a waitress came
08:25 to them and said that the alcohol had run out. Knowing he was being pranked by his friends,
08:30 he was very disappointed and left there. Feeling guilty for drinking the alcohol, Brandon decided
08:34 to take a run in the pouring rain. His friends wanted to leave him alone, but because they
08:38 felt guilty, they decided to run with him. They then made up after that.
08:48 Long story short, that season's games finally started. Their team supporters were so crowded
08:52 that their voices were able to shake the whole stadium. The night after the game, Brandon
08:57 was told by Coach Bender that he got a full scholarship from the University of Arkansas,
09:00 so that he could continue his studies and training. Brandon immediately told the happy
09:04 news to his family. His mother and brother were very happy and did not expect Brandon
09:08 to actually succeed in doing what he said. In 1997, during a match against Florida, Brandon's
09:14 vision suddenly got blurred so he could not play well. At that time, he immediately told
09:19 his coach that there was something wrong with his eyesight. That very day, Brandon was given
09:23 glasses to help his vision. Seeing Brandon's new appearance with glasses made his teammates
09:27 laugh because they felt funny. A few days later, Brandon received news that his father
09:31 was hospitalized due to lung cancer. Brandon said that he would continue the training,
09:36 but Coach Bender suggested that Brandon visit his father first. Finally, Brandon went with
09:40 Marty to the hospital to visit their father. His father expressed his regrets to Brandon
09:44 and asked him to take good care of his mother. Shortly after Marty and Brandon prayed for
09:49 their father's recovery, their father sadly passed away.
09:52 That season, the Arkansas Razorbacks were having a bad season after some losing streaks.
09:57 The Arkansas Razorbacks then changed coach and planned to reform the team. Brandon asked
10:01 Coach Bender what he could do to enter the NFL. Coach Bender told him to try his best
10:06 to be All-American and award for the best players in various sports in America. Unfortunately,
10:12 it was Brandon's last year in the team. Coach Bender wasn't even sure the new coach would
10:16 play Brandon, let alone get the All-American award. He told Brandon not to have too high
10:20 hopes as only less than 2% of college league players would be drafted into the professional
10:25 NFL players and they were talented people. Brandon thought he just needed to play well,
10:29 but Coach Bender reminded him that football is a team game. Scouts usually only paid attention
10:34 to teams that always win.
10:36 The next day, the new coach found Brandon still at the training ground until late. Brandon
10:40 said that they didn't need to reform the team because he planned to win in that year's game,
10:45 the last year Brandon could play with a team. A few years later, the revival of Arkansas
10:49 Razorbacks started with a new coach and a new program. Knowing that it was his last
10:53 year in college, he had to do his best with the team in order to achieve his dream. He
10:58 then made a summer camp to train his friends the way he trained himself and despite his
11:01 friends almost losing it at the beginning and didn't want to bother in their last year,
11:06 Brandon always encouraged and forced everyone to take part in the training. Since then,
11:18 Brandon was also made the team captain by his coach. Their effort paid hugely as they
11:22 managed to win their first match that season and surprisingly 57 walk-on players performed
11:27 amazingly as an effect of what Brandon did. Victory after victory, they continued to achieve
11:31 as their team's reputation increased. Brandon's habit began affecting his friends. Their supporters
11:37 came back even bigger than before and after going through 8 wins in 8 matches, they finally
11:41 faced the best team in America at that time.
11:44 The journey of the Arkansas Razorbacks that year became a legend for the world of sports
11:48 and Brandon became the main star who was predicted to be the best walk-on player in the history
11:52 of university football. Finally, it was time for the match that everyone had been waiting
11:57 for. The match was intense with a score difference very close. Arkansas and the supporters were
12:02 very confident that year would be their victory as the national champions, but at the last
12:06 minute Raymond accidentally tripped a friend who was carrying the ball. Sadly, thanks to
12:11 that, their team lost the ball. Their hopes were dashed immediately. In the end, they
12:15 had to accept defeat and the title of the best team in America was still held by Tennessee.
12:21 After the match, Brandon approached his friend who had stumbled to apologize. He told his
12:25 friend to say something so people wouldn't blame him. Brandon didn't want his friend
12:28 to be blamed for what he did, but his friend said it wasn't his fault. Falling is part
12:33 of the game, but it doesn't give the right to drop the ball. Still with guilt, Brandon
12:37 said the ball wouldn't have fallen if his feet weren't in the way. His friend asked
12:41 him to let him take the consequences for dropping the ball and not have to feel guilty about
12:44 it. Brandon then cried in Coach Bender's arms.
12:48 A few days later, Brandon and his family were shocked by the announcement of the All-America
12:51 Award winner as Brandon's name was announced to win the award. Brandon and his family were
12:56 extremely happy with the news because it meant that Brandon would be recruited to become
12:59 a professional NFL player and sure enough, Brandon was immediately recruited by the Indianapolis
13:04 Colts. After officially joining the team, Brandon followed the Indianapolis Colts'
13:09 minicamp activities as the youngest. Unexpectedly, Brandon was immediately appointed to be a
13:14 starter for the next season's game. He felt happy and weird at the same time because usually,
13:19 to get what he wanted, he had to work really hard first, but for the first time in his
13:23 life, something he wanted coming so easily. His coach said it wasn't easy because Brandon
13:27 had worked hard for years to get it. Sometime later, Brandon met his coach and teammates
13:32 again in Arkansas. He was invited to attend his own farewell party. He said he couldn't
13:36 come because he had an appointment with his mother that night and tomorrow, he had to
13:40 go back to Indianapolis. Brandon admitted that he always missed home when he arrived
13:44 in Arkansas. After that, he drove home and at the same time, Marty was also on his way
13:49 home. As soon as Marty arrived, he was surprised by some police cars that were parked on the
13:54 porch and his mother's hysterical voice from the house. It turned out that the police came
13:59 to inform him that Brandon had an accident that sadly claimed his life. That reality
14:03 stopped Marty's world for a moment, but his thoughts were gone after his mother screamed
14:07 his name. They never thought Brandon would go so fast at the age of only 22 when he had
14:12 just managed to fulfill his dream of joining the NFL team.
14:16 At the funeral, Marty said to his mother why Brandon, who had worked hard and was only
14:20 about to enjoy the results, was taken away so quickly by God. His mother answered that
14:24 the answer to that question was only in Brandon's life. He couldn't accept the reality that
14:29 a kind of strong-willed person like Brandon had to leave the world so fast. But then these
14:33 thoughts disappear when they realize that Brandon has succeeded in inspiring many people.
14:49 After that, the University of Arkansas gave 18 scholarships and one of them was for a
14:52 talented walk-on player. Later, the Brandon Burlesworth Foundation was built to help visually
14:58 impaired children and provide free tickets to watch football matches to motivate them.
15:02 In addition, Marty also built the Brandon Football Camp to teach Brandon's way of football.
15:06 In 2010, the Burlesworth Trophy was created which was given to the best player who started
15:10 his career as a walk-on player. Brandon's locker has been maintained since 1999 to serve
15:16 as a reminder for Arkansas Razorbacks players.
15:18 (light music)
15:20 (upbeat music)