With 2:09 left in the fourth quarter of the 2014 NFC Championship game in Seattle, the Packers clung to a 19-14 lead as the Seahawks lined up for an onsides kick.
A relatively new face to the Packers “hands team”, tight end Brandon Bostick strolled onto the field and into “ready position”.
Instead of carrying out his assignment to block a hard-charging member of the Seahawks, Bostick leaped for a ball heading directly towards the waiting arms of Jordy Nelson. The ball bounced off Bostick’s helmet and was recovered by the Seahawks.
The Packers would go on to lose that game, 28-22 in stunning overtime fashion and Bostick became a punchline and the subject of social media ridicule and death threats.
“It was a hopeless moment. I felt really bad for myself and I felt like I let my team down,” Bostick explained in a phone conversation.
The overwhelming negative response to the play brought about a feeling of depression and lack of self-worth. For years, Bostick struggled to cope with the reality of his situation.
“I didn’t have any hope in my future. I didn’t know what was next for me. I had this feeling like a dark cloud over my life and I didn’t like that feeling,” Bostick continued.
Though he will never rid his mind of that one play, Bostick has rediscovered his self-worth and love for the game of football.
“I just want to be known as a guy that overcame adversity and a guy that is known for his work on and off the field.”
Rarely does a day go by that Bostick doesn’t think about that play, and would could have been for the Packers, but he’s in a much better place as a person and ready to give back through the game that gave him so much.
“It still affects me, but I think I found my purpose again.”
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