He received the e-mail only a few weeks ago, but already Christopher Caulfield has big plans for the missive.
"I'm going to keep it for the rest of my life,'' the 14-year-old said.
Chances are you've never heard of the author.
Michael Lizarraga isn't famous. He isn't an All-America candidate or future NBA draft pick, and he isn't dating a supermodel.
He plays for the third-place team in the Big West, Cal State Northridge. Bonus points if you know the school nickname is the Matadors. He is the team's sixth-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder.
In other words, just another guy toiling in the Division I ranks, far removed from the world of one-and-dones, Top 25 rankings and Bracketology debates.
Yet to a kid who lives 2,000 miles away in Illinois, Michael Lizarraga is a hero. Caulfield watches Cal State Northridge games faithfully on his computer, and on the rare occasion he can't, he pores through the box scores the next day to see how Michael played.
"I want to be like Michael,'' Caulfield says, without a hint of irony, failing altogether to realize he's just echoed one of the most famous basketball catchphrases about the world's most famous basketball player to talk about a guy no one has heard of.
To Christopher Caulfield, Michael Lizarraga is Michael Jordan.
He's a superstar, doing things Caulfield never thought possible.
He's living the dream, playing Division I basketball, just like Caulfield always imagines.
And just like Christopher Caulfield, Michael Lizarraga is deaf.
Click here to read the rest of the story from ESPN.com.
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