Takedown

- For as long as I can remember,

I always wanted to wrestle for Hoover.

My dad, Jason Fawcett, was a Viking.

He began taking me to matches

while I was still pooping my pants.

Yeah! Woo!

- Did we win, Dad? We won, right?

- We sure did. We beat a really good team.

- Are we gonna go down to the mat now, Dad?

Are we gonna get to talk to them again?

- You bet we are, buddy. Let's go down.

This was the first time

I had seen wrestlers up close.

They were giants, like the superheroes in my comic books.

And I finally got to meet Coach D.

Guys, this is Jason Fawcett,

heck of a wrestler- - Hey-

- back in his day- - nice to meet you.

took fifth in state.

Wow, right on, Mr. Fawcett.

- I see you got the little guy you with you today.

Is he gonna hop on the mat with us sometime?

I hope so.

Hey, kid. So, how about it?

You think you got what it takes to be a Viking?

Heck yeah, I am!

I'm gonna be a state champion just like you.

- Well, you get in the gym, work some technique,

develop a little bit of that killer instinct.

You may just have a stud on your hands after all,

Mr. Fawcett.

It was at that moment,

I knew I wanted to be a wrestler, just like that.

Seven years later, I had my first match.

And I was scared to death.

Dad, I'm scared.

- Nothing to be scared of, buddy. I'm gonna be right here.

No, it's not that.

What if I lose? What if I look stupid?

What? Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

Look, it's not about winning or losing, okay?

It's about the lessons that you learn

and the kind of man it helps you become.

Do you understand?

As long as you give it 100% every time, I'm good with that.

No big deal.

Yeah, it's no big deal to you.

You're not about to get your butt kicked

by someone apparently named Rico.

Wise guy, huh?

Okay, let's go. Let's go.

Ready? Get in there.

- Dude, this Rico kid's never lost a match.

Ah, Jack's in trouble.

You got this, buddy.

You got it. You got it.

Let's go, Jacky! Let's go, Jacky!

- Pride, that's what I was feeling.

Self-esteem, confidence.

I had done something good.

I started to become known and feared.

I was referred to as tough and tenacious.

I had found my thing. I had found my tribe.

I started winning. A lot.

- A local high school superintendent

was arrested over the weekend

while hanging his assets off the Hall of Fame Bridge.

Janus Brockdale is facing charges of indecent exposure

after he left a local bar Friday night.

In an intoxicated state, Brockdale climbed the bridge

and mooned to passing motorist

on Route 77.

The local sheriff...

- What's so funny. What's mooning?

- No one wants to see your anus, Janus.

- Well, it's when someone pulls down their pants

and shows their butt.

Why do people do that?

Because it's funny.

Oh.

Because it's funny?

Well, that's all I needed to hear,

as I spent a great deal of my time trying to be funny.

Mostly for my mom.

Now that was funny.

My school, on the other hand, didn't find it funny at all.

- Okay, that was a good guess. Anybody else?

Oh, okay.

- Mr. Fawcett, come with me, please.

- I was terrified of Sister Mary Margaret,

and when she came for me, which was often,

it never ended well.

- I wanna ask you what happened after school yesterday?

- Oh, is this about the goldfish cracker

I threw across the classroom?

- No. Now, I'll ask you again, what happened yesterday?

Or more specifically, after you got off the school bus?

- Oh, um, after I got off the bus,

I did this thing.

This thing?

Well, I, I mooned the bus.

You did what?

I mooned the bus.

And what exactly is that?

Well, it's like this.

- No, no, sit back down. You don't have to show me.

Why on earth would you do something like that?

Well, I thought it was funny.

- Well, well, it's not funny. It's disgusting.

And I won't tolerate that type of behavior.

So, what school will you be going to now?

- What, what school I'd be going to?

- Yes, I will be moving you out of St. Christopher's.

Today is Friday and I expect you

to inform your parents of what you did.

And on Monday, I want you to come

and I want you to apologize to every student

that was on that bus and to their parents.

Do you understand me?

Yes, Sister Mary Margaret.

- úSister Mary Margaret] You may go.

- Like I said, it never ended well.

That weekend,

all I could think about was how to tell my parents.

Hey buddy, you not hungry?

You haven't, you haven't touched your food.

I mooned the bus.

I mooned the bus, and they wanna kick me out of school.

Sister Mary Margaret said I was disgusting.

And you and mom have to come to school with me

tomorrow morning.

Okay.

I am sorry. I'm sorry.

I'm really sorry for what I've done.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I'm really sorry. I'm very sorry.

I'm sorry for what I've done.

I apologize for what I've done.

I'm, I'm sorry, Kim,

but this seems like a little much to me.

Okay, I, I say if they want him out, we take him out.

- My dad never really wanted to send me

to parochial school, but my mom insisted.

My mom's family was deeply Catholic.

And before she met my dad,

her parents were grooming her to become a nun.

- I, I, I just, I don't see things changing

for the better here.

You know, he's, he's always been a busy kid.

- My dad was right. I was a busy kid.

And I became a big hit around the neighborhood

when I took up streaking.

Go Jack, you crazy little guy!

of course, this came after I learned

my dad had streaked my mom's ladies group

at the country club.

Hello!

Woo! Woo!

Woo!

Off I go! - Woo!

My dad, like me,

was always just trying to make my mom smile.

Jason, he has to learn

that he can't go around doing whatever he wants

whenever he wants, just because he thinks it's funny.

He needs rules.

Sister Mary Margaret has a few ideas,

and I think we should just give it some time.

- Yeah, Sister Mary Margaret had some deals,

all right.

And they all involved humiliating me in one way or another.

There was the "put me in the box" idea, which sucked.

This is Jack Fawcett.

I want him sitting at the front seat

for the rest of the year.

He's being disciplined.

- Then there was the "stick me in front of the bus

so the kids could make fun of me" idea, which also sucked.

And the final humiliation came

when they convinced my mom to put me on meditation.

which I never really got the hang of.

I had this dream. I was a knight fighting a massive dragon.

I had a big sword. I stabbed him right in the throat.

And I was in my underwear.

Mr. Fawcett, did you forget

to take your hyper pills today?

My hyper pills?

- Go! In your seat! - Ouch.

Look, I wasn't trying- - Put your feet-

- to get in trouble. - underneath.

- I just like making people laugh,

which of course got me put back in the box.

- Hello, Mrs. McBride. I'm Dr. Lisa Martin.

- Oh, yes, Dr. Martin, I have been expecting you.

I have reintegrated Jack

with the rest of the class for today.

So you can move among all the students more discreetly.

Great. That sounds perfect.

And how has his behavior been so far today?

- Well, he was a bit of a distraction this morning