If you travel the streets of Sydney, hidden between Bankstown and Punchbowl, you'll find Ruse Park, a junior rugby league field that looks no different to any other, jagged white lines and slightly overgrown grass.
The only thing separating it from any other field in the entire region was a Super Bowl dream, born between those blades of grass. Even if Jordan Mailata didn't realise it yet.
A monster offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles, the 166kg, 203cm behemoth wasn't always the biggest man in the room, or the biggest story at that.
No, Mailata was once just another kid on the streets of Belmore, dreaming of lifting an NRL trophy aloft in the blue-and-white of Canterbury, however the rugby league gods had bigger dreams for him, if they were rugby league gods at all.
If you walk into the Bankstown Bulls clubhouse, you'll see some famous modern day NRL stars with their names carved into the walls: Daniel Tupou, Ryan Matterson, the four Mata'utia brothers, and the list continues.
Now, Jordan Mailata is set to etch his name into history, not just a wall in Bankstown.
The supersized star's real first name is actually Lafoga, Jordan being the middle name bestowed on him by his sister, named after arguably the NBA's greatest ever - Michael Jordan.
While they didn't know it yet, Mailata would grow into his own, and step onto a world stage just as large as MJ's, albeit with a minuscule fraction of the recognition.
The phrase 'too big for your boots' is synonymous with egomaniacs or someone biting off more than they can chew, however 'too big for a rugby league field' is a saying reserved for Mailata.
The former front-rower scored eight tries in 12 games for the South Sydney Rabbitohs Under 20s outfit, simply too big to stop, but if it wasn't for a serious health issue discovered as a teenager, he never would've donned the cardinal and myrtle.
Mailata was training with Canterbury's SG Ball side in 2015 as an 18-year-old when the prop passed out at training just a week before their first match, requiring immediate surgery to fix the upper and lower chambers of Mailata's heart.
Philadelphia Eagle and former Rabbitohs' prop Jordan Mailata plying his trade for the Bankstown Bulls - as a 15-year-old!
Absolute monster.#SuperBowlLVII pic.twitter.com/Mj3l2Kj3Jh
— Jack Blyth (@jblesfooty224) February 12, 2023
It sidelined him for almost an entire year.
The front-rower made a slow return, playing alongside his brothers at Five Dock RSL JRL, before being approached by the Bunnies with a Holden Cup deal.
The forward ballooned almost 20kgs during his time away from the game, nearly reaching the 170kg mark when the Rabbitohs offered him a one-year deal with their NSW Cup side following an Under 20s stint in 2017, a contract worth just $5,000.
While his initial NFL contract with the Eagles was a $2.5 million, four-year rookie agreement, he re-signed with Philadelphia on a mammoth four-year, $64 million deal midway through last year.
At $16,000,000 per year with Philly, it takes Mailata just under three hours to earn over $5,000.
Every night when the offensive tackle goes to sleep, he wakes having earned almost three times what his potential South Sydney deal was worth. Every night.
Not that he harbours bad blood for the contract offer.
"They gave me a chance. Without them, I wouldn't be here".
Congratulations to this 156kg wrecking ball and former Rabbitohs Under 20s player, @jordan_mailata who made his long awaited NFL debut for the Philadelphia Eagles! 🐇❤️💚🏉🦅🏈#OldestProudestLoudest #GoRabbitohs pic.twitter.com/6cCxOY4f6j
— South Sydney Rabbitohs 🐰 (@SSFCRABBITOHS) September 14, 2020
People told Jordan to play a sport that appreciates his size, not condemns it, and when NFL executives invited him for a workout after seeing video clips of the hulking figure, Mailata decided he wanted to be an offensive tackle because he knew it from the Hollywood blockbuster film 'The Blind Side'.
It didn't give him much time to learn the rules of American Football, they don't review the entire playbook in the Sandra Bullock film.
But while 'Big Mike' was 98th percentile in defensive instincts, Mailata had his own strengths, running the 40-yard dash in 5.12 seconds, a phenomenal effort for a man his size.
A nervous wait ensued Mailata on draft night, entering the seventh round and still no phone call, his dreams appeared dashed until the Philadelphia Eagles selected the two-metre beast from Belmore with the 233rd pick.
It was just two years after Jarryd Hayne left the rugby league world to try his hand with the San Francisco 49ers, and a season before Valentine Holmes left to try have a go himself.
Yet here was Mailata, an Australian since birth, quietly carving out his name while the two Origin stars plastered themselves on back pages across Australia.
Despite looking at the Eagles' playbook as if it was written in mandarin, deciphering it as best he could, four months after the draft Mailata was included in Philadelphia's 53-man squad, and then the real slog began.
Injuries and setbacks slowly crept their way in, threatening to derail the rookie's journey before it ever really got going.
A stress fracture in his back put the then 21-year-old on the injury reserve list, before baing placed on the same list again the following season after missing the opening rounds with a back issue, and was stuck on the Eagle's reserve/COVID list in 2020.
Finally, after each gruelling setback, and more than two years after making the initial 53-man roster, Mailata finally had his first career start against the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth week of the 2020 season.
Just a year and a half later, he signed his eight-figure deal.
While individually he's achieved his own success, named an alternate in the NFC Pro Bowl (the equivalent of an All Star Game) side in December, now a dream born on Ruse Park will eventuate at the Super Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, its near 80,000 capacity a tad more than some park benches and a canteen in Bankstown.
The 25-year-old, donning jersey No. 68, will even wear the Australian flag on the back of his helmet for the clash, which is expected to viewed by up to 50 million people.
"It's an honour to wear the Australian flag on my helmet. I am proud to represent my family, friends and fans from back home and I hope that my journey can serve as an inspiration to other young athletes to chase their dreams."
Philadelphia, one of the most passionate sporting fanbases in the world, start as favourites against the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs, and if Lafoga Jordan Mailata has it his way, the former Bankstown Bull will be sliding some shiny new bling onto his fourth finger this Super Bowl Sunday.
Super Bowl LVII will kick-off at 10:30am Monday AEDT, and can be viewed live on ESPN.
