On this cool Saturday night there was a party on 7th & Party Street. The party was going to be lit up like the Fourth of July. The party was a celebration for the school’s basketball team. Jimmy and his teammates had won the High School State Championship for their third year in a row. This was not an easy road for the team since Jimmy’s freshman year. After the Championship game, Jimmy and his friends walked inside the party and the atmosphere was incredible. The energy was very uplifting; everyone was dancing, laughing and having a good time. The coach allowed the team to take the trophy to the party. Jimmy had sat the trophy on the table with caution tape around it, so it wouldn’t get broken. Then Jimmy left the trophy unattended and went to go have an enjoyable time with his friends.  Suddenly, the lights were cut off and there was complete confusion on everyone’s face. Quickly Jimmy thought about the trophy on the table, but by time he got to the table the lights were back on and the trophy had vanished into mid air.
     Jimmy was startled and was beginning to snivel and weep like a dog. Jimmy was just in disbelief; he thought to himself why would someone want to take our trophy?  Jimmy and his teammates had stopped the party for their own investigation. Jimmy had gotten a list of everybody that attended the party. After Jimmy called everyone’s name on the list, he was still wondering, trying to figure out who was missing since the lights went out. Everyone’s name that was on the list was still at the party.
     The following day, Jimmy went to school and told the coach what had happened. Coach John exploded like a volcano when he found out what happened to the team’s trophy that they had earned with blood, sweat, and tears. He was just incredulous that this happened towards his team. The team decided not to bring this situation to a bigger authority than the coach. 
Later on, after school let out, the team and the coach all met inside the gym to discuss the missing trophy. Coach John said, “If this is a joke, please return the trophy without anyone knowing. However, if this is planned to keep the trophy away from the team, your punishment will never see the end!” Everyone was just looking at Alex. Alex had never started a game for the team but he always complained how he good he was. After the game Alex wasn’t as excited as the team when they won, he just sat there and watched the team celebrate on the victorious win.
That next morning everyone was looking at Alex with skepticism. There was a big rumor going around that Alex hid the trophy from the team. Alex was the only kid from the high school that did not show to the party that night. Alex was also into electronics, which also made him look like the suspect.
Alex continued his day. The team came up to Alex and questioned him at lunch. Jimmy gave Alex this grinning look as though he knew Alex would say he had the trophy. Alex kept denying that he stole the trophy from the team. Everyone in the school was looking at him like he was a thief. The teachers in the building were finding out what happened and were acting differently towards him.
     Next week, the entire school was still acting differently towards Alex. Alex then started to get fed up with situation, so he started to prove his point that he didn’t take the trophy. Alex talked to the rest of the team, and he showed them evidence that he had nothing to do with the trophy getting stolen. Alex showed the team that he was at home working on his latest science project for the end of the year. Jimmy then spoke by saying, “So, what really happened to are trophy then? If it wasn’t you, where is it?” Alex was just as confused as the rest of the team was. The team sat and pondered in Alex’s house about who would steal the trophy. One of the teammates said, “What if it was Brooklyn High? Naaa…never mind. I don’t think they would do such a thing.” They were still confused on who would take the trophy.
     That following week, the coaches called the whole entire team to a meeting in the gym for the second time. The assistant coach walked in and spoke to the students on their investigation on the trophy. Assistant Coach Walker said, “You all should never judge a book by its cover, my momma once told me. You all were so quick to point the finger at one person by the way they acted; that’s just pitiful.” He continued his speech. Twenty minutes later, Coach John walked inside the gym with a big cloth with something hidden under it. Coach John then took his time to take the cloth off. Bam! There was the trophy, nice and shiny, looking just how it first looked. The whole entire team mouths dropped dead like a fly. Jimmy asked, “Where was it?” Coach John said, “The coaching staff were the ones who made up to this master plan. Y’all need learn to responsibility. Yes, y’all may have won the championship, but your responsibility is very terrible.” The coaches had taken the trophy to teach the kids a valuable lesson. The students were still in shock that the coaching staff pulled a stunt off like this one. Coach John’s last and final words for the season were, “It’s never about the trophy. It’s about gaining a bond with your teammates and having passion for something you love. We can always buy a million and one trophies and cherish it. We should never be worrying about winning a trophy; this trophy and many more are always going to be here. So, let’s start off next season right. Tigers on three…1….2….3.”  “Tigers!!” they all shouted before they left the gym. The team was astounded about what had happened.

      Throughout time, the team built the biggest bond since that situation. The team was not only playing to win, as Jimmy now says, but also playing for something they love doing.