He Drove a Beer Truck

Happy Sunday! Two important things:

1.) My latest YouTube mini-doc is out now, and it’s criminally underrated. In my (biased) opinion, it’s the best video I’ve published so far.

Please, if you do nothing else today, please spend 6 minutes watching this and leave a comment if you like it 👇

2.) Friday marked 8 years since I launched Joker Mag – the home of the underdog 🎉 

In the past eight years, we’ve published 615 articles and have reached millions of people across the world.

Today, we are the world’s #1 media platform for underdog stories in sports.

It has been the single hardest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life.

Yet, this is just the beginning.

We are only in the first decade of what I plan to be a lifelong journey to inspire as many people as possible with our stories.

Each year has been better than the last.  And 2025 has been our biggest breakthrough yet.

• Published 40+ new underdog stories on the website, driving an all-time high of 624,918 pageviews so far this year.

• More than doubled our social following – from 25,000 to 54,000 – through daily short-form videos, driving more than 19,000,000 organic views across Instagram and Facebook. 

• Posted 10 mini-documentaries on YouTube, driving 540,000+ views and nearing the 1,000-subscriber mark to qualify for monetization.

• Published my first book, The Underdog Mentality: Sports Stories That Will Change How You See the Game (and Yourself).  It sold way better than I ever imagined, and I’m excited to get it into the hands of even more people this holiday season.

But what I’m most proud of is our impact.  This year, we inspired and motivated more people than ever.

Here are a few of my favorite comments from our audience:

• “Love this story!  I tell my son this all the time!  Size means nothing, buddy, don’t let anyone tell you different.”

• “I needed this today. Thank you.”

• “Easiest click follow I’ve ever made.”

• “Love your stories!  Keep telling them!”

• “Thank you so much for sharing all of these underdog stories. It is incredible how the human spirit can overcome physical disabilities or inadequacies.”

There is so much more I can say, but most of all, thank you.

Whether you’ve been here since day one or just joined us today, thank you for liking, commenting, and sharing our stories.  With your help, we can inspire even more people in 2026 and beyond.

One story at a time.

In today’s edition…

He was a Budweiser delivery driver playing semi-pro football in his spare time.

Every day during work, he drove past the New Orleans Saints' Superdome.

Little did he know, one day he’d be playing there.

Let’s dive in 👇

_{TODAY’S STORY IS POWERED BY The Underdog Mentality}

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Michael “Beer Man” Lewis: The Budweiser Truck Driver Who Became an NFL All-Pro

No time to read now? Click here to save it for later 🐶

This couldn't be happening.

The words didn't feel real.

"We're going to release you."

He was so close. And now his dream was over.

Or so he thought.

Michael Lewis was born in New Orleans.

Like most kids his age, he grew up rooting for his hometown Saints. And he always dreamed of playing pro football.

But he only played for one season in high school.

After becoming a father during his senior year, he chose to focus on supporting his newborn child rather than continuing to pursue football or going to college.

Instead, he got a job as a Budweiser delivery driver, where he worked 12-hour shifts delivering kegs of beer to bars and house parties.

His truck route was only half a mile from the Saints' Superdome.

He saw the stadium every time he clocked in and out.

Close in proximity, but far in reality from the dream he always had.

“I never really gave up on football after I got out of high school," Lewis said. "The love was always there.”

He used every ounce of free time to play for local semi-pro teams.

But those leagues didn't pay the bills, so he took several breaks from the grind and played flag football to stay in shape.

Michael Lewis wasn't your average truck driver moonlighting as an amateur football player.

Despite his limited experience, lack of formal training, and small frame, he dominated every time he touched the ball.

What he lacked in size, he made up for in speed.

4.3 speed, to be exact.

One day, he heard that the Louisiana Bayou Beast – a new upstart team in the Professional Indoor Football League – was looking for players.

By that point, he was 26 years old – eight years removed from high school.

But he decided to go for it.

"I thought it sounded like it would be fun,” he said.

Lewis didn't just make the team. He became one of the best players in the entire league.

In their first game, the Bayou Beast won by a score of 36–28 in front of a crowd of just 4,283 people.

It may have been a small stage, but Lewis made the most of it.

He was named to the 1998 PIFL All-Star First-team, helping lead the Bayou Beast to a 13-1 record and a league championship title.

Between playing games, practicing, and working long shifts delivering beer, Lewis sent his highlight tape to every team he could find.

After two years in the PIFL – where he scored 23 touchdowns in 24 games – he got what he was looking for.

A promotion to the Arena Football League with the New Jersey Red Dogs.

His salary increased from $200 to $900 per game.

It wasn’t enough to give up his day job while supporting a family, but it was progress.

After amassing impressive stats there, and being named to the 2000 AFL All-Rookie Team, he got a call that changed everything.

An offer to try out for the Philadelphia Eagles.

It was a remarkable ascension. Semi-pro, flag football, indoor leagues, and now an NFL tryout.

He joined the Eagles on July 15th, 2000, and played in his first preseason game.

37 days later, they cut him.

Most guys would've crumbled after hearing that news. But not Michael Lewis.

On the drive home, he called his friend and expressed his gratitude for the opportunity.

"If I don't play another game, I lived my dream," he said at the time.

"I played the one NFL game, I'm satisfied."

It could’ve ended right then and there.

While the 2000 NFL season was kicking off, Lewis was back home driving his delivery truck.

The dream was all but over.

But fate had other plans.

Word of Michael Lewis started to spread. And eventually, it caught the ear of Saints GM Randy Mueller.

He heard about Lewis' accomplishments in indoor football and his tryout with the Eagles and decided to take a chance.

In November of 2000, at the tail end of the regular season, the New Orleans Saints signed Michael Lewis to their practice squad.

“It was like heaven to me, cause now I’m like ‘you know what, I’m on the practice squad but I’m playing with my home team’…I was real happy.”

That spring, the Saints sent him overseas to play for their NFL Europe affiliate, the Rhine Fire.

With the Fire, he averaged 20.56 yards per kick return and put up 262 yards as a wide receiver.

When he returned to the U.S. for Saints training camp, he refused to let this second chance go to waste.

"I just wanted to give myself an opportunity to see if I could make it," Lewis said.

"I didn't want to sell myself short. I think I'm hungrier than some other guys because of the route I took to get here. I didn't want to ask myself later in life, 'What if I had tried?'"

During one open practice, a woman in the stands pointed to Lewis and asked, "Who's that little player? He looks like a kid."

At 5'8" and 175 pounds, he was the smallest player in training camp. But it didn't deter him.

"Teams put a lot of emphasis on size, but I don't let that get to me," Lewis said then.

"If you're not big, you have to use your speed to your advantage – especially on special teams. At my size, it's hard for the other guy to get his hands on me. And I can use my speed to get around him and up the field."

And that's exactly what he did.

In the 2001 preseason, Michael Lewis averaged 28.5 yards per kick return while showcasing his blazing 4.3 speed.

"He's certainly not just another training camp guy," said receivers coach Hubbard Alexander.

Seizing the opportunity, Lewis made the final 53-man roster as a return specialist.

His first payday was $20,000 – a long way from his hourly wage as a truck driver.

Michael Lewis entered the NFL as a 29-year-old – a solid eight years older than many of his fellow rookies.

But like all things, he didn't see it the way most people would.

“My age doesn’t matter,” he told the New York Times.

“By not playing four years of high school and four years of college, I’m not beat up like most other guys. I haven’t taken all those hits.”

After playing 8 games as a rookie, he became a star in 2002.

In his age-31 season, he set an NFL record for combined kick-punt return yardage with 2,432 yards total, leading the league in punt return yards, kick return yards, and all-purpose yards.

He was a Pro Bowler, first-team All-Pro, and Special Teams Player of the Year.

The following season, he won the Saints' Man of the Year award for his active involvement in the community.

"I'm a long shot, but I feel like I'm supposed to be here. I'm not a fly-by-night story," Lewis told Nola.com.

"I don't just want to be in the league a few years and then just fade away. I wanted to leave my mark. That's why I worked so hard to put in the extra hours of work because I wanted to leave a mark behind me when I got there."

Rudy Ruettiger played one college snap.

Vince Papale caught one NFL pass.

Michael Lewis played seven years in the NFL.

Known among Saints fans as "Beer Man", Lewis went from delivering kegs to becoming a hometown hero.

"Everybody looks at me like a regular guy because I had a 9-5 and didn't go to college. It was like, 'This guy was one of us. He worked every single day. He drove a beer truck.'"

"That's what keeps me grounded and in touch with the fans, because they know that I knew what it was like to get up every morning and punch in a time clock."

During the early 2000s, "Beer Man" ranked among the NFL’s most dangerous return specialists.

After a seven-year career, Michael Lewis still holds the Saints’ all-time record for punt return yardage (1,482 yards) and was inducted into the franchise's Hall of Fame in 2015.

After retirement, he took a role as a team ambassador and received a Super Bowl ring after the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV.

“Everything I have done has been totally different than what everyone else has done,” Lewis said.

“I sometimes can’t believe it all worked out.”

🐶 

Today’s story was written by yours truly. And it’s actually one of 25 chapters in my book, The Underdog Mentality.

If you enjoyed it and know someone else who might find it inspiring, please share it and encourage them to subscribe:

And remember, there are 300+ underdog stories over on my website, Joker Mag. Here are a few you might’ve missed:

• Another Truck Driver Who Beat the Odds to Land in the NFL

• How Al Bumbry Went From Fighting in Vietnam to Winning the World Series

• Davis Warren Survived Leukemia, Then Walked On at a College Football Powerhouse

Thanks for reading 🤝 

Your positive replies and kind words keep me going!

If you ever want to share feedback, a new story suggestion, or let me know what you think of the Sunday email, just hit reply. My inbox is always open to readers like you.

Til next time,
Tyler

Extra Innings…

🌟 Trivia Answer: C) 1,800 people. It took more than 3 years for us to break 10,000 monthly readers. Many ups and downs. Building this media brand is an underdog story in itself. Maybe one day I’ll share more behind-the-scenes stories with you.

👀 In case you missed it: How Allan Wylie turned blindness into his biggest strength & became a pro sports broadcaster.

🏈 On this day in 1984: Boston College’s undersized QB, Doug Flutie, threw a game-winning Hail Mary TD pass to Gerard Phelan (a Radnor, PA native) to topple Miami 47-45. Here’s the clip.

🏒 You won’t regret watching this insane goal from Ryker Lee.