Tyree’s big comeback

last updated 8 January 2015

David Tyree has been reborn, say Greg Bishop and Pete Thamel in The New York Times. Earlier this month, the 28-year-old wide receiver made his now-legendary “helmet-catch,” which helped propel the New York Giants to a last-minute 17–14 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots. But it wasn’t long ago that the player now being feted on national talk shows and magazine covers was at “the lowest point in my life”—drinking hard, dealing drugs, and facing criminal charges. Tyree began drinking in eighth grade; by junior year, he would routinely consume 40 ounces of malt liquor, a half-pint of Jack Daniel’s, and a fat marijuana cigar in one sitting. In college, he regularly drank until blacking out, waking up naked or covered in mud. As a Giant rookie, he was fined $10,000 for lateness and figured he’d recoup his loss by selling marijuana on the street. That stunt got him arrested in 2004. The morning after, his girlfriend told him she was pregnant and threatened to leave him. “I had no peace,’’ he says. “My life was obviously in disarray.” Then, Tyree picked up a Bible and experienced a revelation. “Things are about to change,” he said, and never drank again. Not long afterward, he went to church and cried for 25 minutes straight. Now, Tyree is clean, married, and happy. “It’s more than just a feel-good story,” he says. “It’s about destiny and purpose.”