Mac Mulhern is a longtime friend of Stan Switek and the father of star quarterback Kevin Mulhern. Mac has raised his son to be a star athlete, having been one himself until injuries ended his career prematurely, and has a very low tolerance of failure, to the point Switek admonishes his friend for being too hard on his son. In 1989 Kevin is involved with an agent, Jerome Horowitz, and gambling, to the point of a $200,000 debt, with muscle from mobster Marvin Goodman bearing down on him, forcing him (to save his, his father's, and Switek's lives) to throw a big playoff game to clear his debts, and to "encourage" him, Goodman's muscle kidnaps Mac and takes him to the former location of Chi-Chi's (now deceased) gambling operation. Switek manages to wring where Mac is being held out of Horowit