Table Of ContentSSF
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RUSSELL WILSON vavah
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When Russell Wilson played for the n
University of Wisconsin, many people
thought he was too
short to be a starting
Amazing Athletes
quarterback in the titles:
Johan Santana
Aaron Rodgers
National Football League Justin Verlander
Abby Wambach
Kevin Durant
Adrian Peterson
(NFL). But he proved Kevin Garnett
Albert Pujols
Kevin Love
these doubters wrong. Alex Ovechkin Kobe Bryant
Alex Rodriguez
LaDainian Tomlinson
This Seattle Seahawks Andrew Luck LeBron James
Barry Bonds
Maria Sharapova
quarterback led his team Ben Roethlisberger
Mariano Rivera
Blake Griffin
Mark Sanchez
to victory in his very fi rst Brett Favre
Maya Moore
Brian Urlacher
Michael Phelps
season, winning the 2014 Brittney Griner
Michael Vick
Bryce Harper
Miguel Cabrera
Super Bowl. Football fans Calvin Johnson
Mikaela Shiffrin
Carmelo Anthony
cheer his passing power Mike Trout
Chris Paul
Peyton Manning
Clay Matthews
and leadership skills. Find Prince Fielder
Colin Kaepernick
Richard Sherman
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
out more about Russell’s Robert Griffin III
Dallas Friday
Roger Federer
Danica Patrick
journey to the top. Roy Halladay
Dave Mirra
Russell Wilson
David Beckham
Ryan Howard
David Ortiz
Sammy Sosa
Derek Jeter
Shaquille O’Neal
Derrick Rose
Shaun White
Dirk Nowitzki
Stephen Strasburg
Dwight Howard
Steve Nash
Dwyane Wade
Tiger Woods
Eli Manning
Tim Duncan
Freddy Adu
Tim Lincecum
Gabby Douglas
Tim Tebow
J. J. Watt
Tony Romo
James Stewart
Travis Pastrana
Jeff Gordon
Usain Bolt
Joe Mauer
Venus & Serena Williams
L
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THIS PAGE
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by Jon M. fishman
s
Lerner Publications Company • Minneapolis
Copyright © 2015 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing
Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.
Lerner Publications Company
A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
241 First Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA
For reading levels and more information, look up this title at www.lernerbooks.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fishman, Jon M.
Russell Wilson / by Jon M. Fishman.
pages cm. — (Amazing athletes)
Includes index.
ISBN 978–1–4677–3675–6 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978–1–4677–4589–5 (eBook)
1. Wilson, Russell, 1988– 2. Football players—United States—Biography—Juvenile literature.
3. Quarterbacks (Football)—United States—Biography—Juvenile literature. I. Title.
GV939.W545F57 2015
796.332092—dc23 [B] 2014009375
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 – BP – 7/15/14
Table of ConTenTs
super seahawk
4
Chips off the block
10
“a King in every Crowd”
15
Running with the Wolfpack
19
outplaying His size
24
selected Career Highlights 29
Glossary 30
further Reading & Websites 31
Index 32
Russell Wilson (r ight) dodges the Denver
Broncos players during the 2014 Super Bowl.
supeR seaHaWK
Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks were
crushing the Denver Broncos. The score was
29–0. Games in the National Football League
( NFL) usually aren’t so one-sided. The biggest
game of the year almost never is.
4
The two teams were playing in the 2014
Super Bowl. Seattle had scored early and
often. But Russell knew that he and his
teammates couldn’t relax. Peyton Manning
and the Broncos usually score a lot of points.
Russell planned to keep on scoring. The young
quarterback wanted to put the game away.
Russell runs the ball out of bounds
as he avoids the Broncos’ defense.
55
Thousands of fans filled MetLife Stadium in New
Jersey to cheer on the Seahawks and the Broncos.
The Seahawks had the ball midway through
the third quarter. Russell drove his team down
the field. Then he fired a pass to Jermaine
Kearse. The wide receiver caught the ball and
broke a tackle. Then he busted out of another
tackle. Denver defenders seemed to bounce off
Kearse. He ran all the way for a touchdown!
6
Seattle didn’t ease up The National
Chicken Council
when they got the ball again.
estimated that
Russell hit Doug Baldwin
in 2014, fans ate
more than one
for yet another score. Both
billion chicken
teams knew that Denver
wings on Super
wouldn’t have time to catch Bowl Sunday.
up. A few minutes later,
Russell helped dump a
bucket of Gatorade over his head coach.
It was time to celebrate!
When the game clock finally
ran out, the score
was 43–8.
Russell throws the
ball toward a Seahawks
wide receiver.
7
Russell (second from right ) and his
teammates dump Gatorade on head coach
Pete Carroll as they celebrate their victory.
Seattle had won one of the most lopsided
games in Super Bowl history. Reporters
streamed onto the field. Many of them wanted
to talk to the young quarterback—the same
quarterback who many people had thought
was too short to play in the NFL.
8
