As a dreamer and a visionary, Max Emfinger decided that he needed to put together an All-American Bowl Game so that college football coaches could view the highlight tape of the game and then evaluate these players who were flying under the recruiting radar.

For all of 2004, Emfinger worked on getting his first 2005 All-American Bowl Game off of the ground. He said his Father Seelos Prayer for a Miracle every day and the miracle happened on January 13, 2005.

There were 80 active players in that first game in Shreveport in the Independence Bowl. About 50 of those players had already committed to their favorite college, but in that game, there were 26 players, that got a college scholarship offer and got their college education paid for from the game highlights of the game.

“There are so many great things that can be done in an All-American Bowl Game,” Emfinger said. “Our 2006 All-American Bowl Game had 113 players in it and we got over 100 different scholarship offers from college coaches at practice on Tuesday before the game. Many players got multi offers from college coaches who watched them in practice. We had 117 college coaches at those two Tuesday practices.

“I was able to get some really great players into the 2006 game. Many of them had already committed to play for teams like Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, LSU, Tennessee, Florida, and Florida State. Those players made up about 60% of the total players and those players helped the other 40% of the players to get a scholarship,” Emfinger further stated.

“All of our prayers were answered, because the 2006 All-American Bowl Game was one of the greatest miracles that I have ever experienced,” said Emfinger as he remembered the Polynesian lady that gave him that Prayer for a Miracle. “I expected a miracle from the start and it certainly happened and we had six Polynesian players in our 2006 All-American Bowl Game and you know that it was not by chance that they were invited to play in that game. Twenty-Three players did not have a scholarship offer before the All-American Bowl Game Classic, but they did get one either at practice on Tuesday or after the game.”

The 2005 and 2006 All-American Bowl Games were huge miracles, but the 2007 All-American Bowl Game will go down in history as one of the greatest miracles of All-Time in the Universe. “In short, we had the game fully sponsored until October 19, when our major sponsor called me and demanded that I cut 25 players from my game who were in their terms ‘unrecognizable players’ to them,” said Emfinger.

“My mission in having the All-American Bowl Game Classic was to find great football players who were “flying under the recruiting radar” and invite them to play in our game so that they could be found. This demand from our sponsor was in direct conflict with my mission statement for the game and for my Foundation and so I had to politely walk away from that sponsor, because it was morally wrong to cut those players.”

“In sixty days, before the game, there were no sponsors who had any money left in the 2006 fiscal year. We thought we were close on a couple sponsors, but it did not work out,” said Emfinger.

“On Wednesday, before the players were to report-in at the hotel in Shreveport, Ginger and I had to make a decision. With absolutely no sponsors, and with only our money, we had to decide whether we were going to cancel the 2007 All-American Bowl Game Classic or pray for one of the greatest of all Miracles and play the game. After a couple hours of Prayer, The Universe told Ginger and me not to cancel the game.”

“The Miracles that happened from this point were incredible. There were miracles happening in every hour of the day for seven days. The Holy Spirit touched every player and every parent and coach. It got to where, even the players, were touched by the multitude of miracles that took place. It also changed a lot of lives in the one week that we spent together.

There were 102 players that played in our 2007 All-American Bowl Game Classic and out of the 102 players who played in the All-American Bowl Game, there were 63 players who came to the game without a single scholarship offer. On National Signing Day, one of the greatest of all miracles happened when 42 of those 63 players signed a National Letter of Intent to play football in college as a freshman in 2007. In the coming months, another 21 players received a scholarship.

“I actually got a call on the 4^th of July from Ben Bruneau of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, California telling me that he had just signed a National Letter of Intent with UCLA. Bruneau was a phenomenon that had gotten lost in a Coast-to-Coast transfer. He played at Miami Pace as a freshman and sophomore, but he had to move to California to live with his sister when his mom got sick. The California CIF ruled that he transferred for athletic reasons and made him sit out of football for his entire junior season. Ben was a Combine Freak as he recorded a 4.25 in the forty and a 4.12 clocking in the pro-agility shuttle, but because of the transfer and then having to sit out his junior season, college coaches lost track of him and then there was no film to watch. Bruneau never made it to a college recruiting list, until UCLA watched his All-American Bowl Game highlight film in which he caught a touchdown pass for the West Team and then they offered,” said Emfinger.

“The Universe helped all of those young players and it happened only with The Grace of God and The Holy Spirit,” said Emfinger.

"The 2008 All-American Bowl Game Classic also did not have a major sponsor, but with the help of a lot of prayers, we still were able to have a very successful event in Jackson, Mississippi at Jackson Memorial Stadium," said Emfinger.