SANTA CLARA: For every believer there's a cynic.
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From a housing commission estate in Minto to the NFL via rugby league.
That's the Jarryd Hayne story in a nutshell.
But the cynics keep asking why is the Australian media making such a big deal of Hayne's US adventure?
Why now are Australians suddenly so interested in the NFL that has seen a 43 per cent spike in game pass subscribers Down Under?
The detractors are quick to note that Hayne isn't the first person to cross codes to American football.
The AFL have had a few - Sav Rocca, Darren Bennett and Ben Graham - all transitioning successfully as NFL punters.
So why now are we so excited? Why now is there so much noise surrounding Hayne and the 49ers?
Well, as one of Fairfax Media's readers so succinctly put it to one of the detractors: "That's like being the triangle player in an orchestra. Hayne is on guitar".
In the words of 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula: ZING!
There it is.
Everybody loves the guitar hero.
And at the moment Hayne, who left the NRL as one of the best players in the game, is smashing them all over the stage like Pete Townshend.
To put this even more into perspective for those trying to understand why there is such hype around the 27-year-old Australian, not only is Hayne on guitar, but he's just taken over having spent his entire music career on drums.
And while there's no taking away the significance of what Rocca and company achieved, the reality is they have taken the fundamental skills of their sport and applied it to another.
They've achieved the unlikely.
Hayne, on the other hand - he has achieved the improbable.
He has virtually learnt a new language in five months.
He has transformed his body.
He has accomplished what millions of Americans playing the sport all their lives have failed to do.
He has taken everything that once came natural to him and manipulated it to adapt to the rigours of a sport he'd never played (except on PlayStation).
His mind is telling him one thing, his body has to react differently.
Which is why Hayne is on the front and back pages of newspapers and the lead stories on websites around the country as he prepares for his NFL debut against the Minnesota Vikings (Tuesday, 12.15pm AEST).
Australians love the underdog.
That is why "Delly", Cleveland Cavaliers' Matthew Dellavedova, caused such a stir during last year's NBA finals, stealing the show from LeBron James at times during this year's finals series against the Golden State Warriors.
That is why when the Western Sydney Wanderers stunned the world when they conquered multi-million dollar football clubs on their way to being crowned the champions of Asia last year.
It's why we admire the success of Ellyse Perry in two international sports. The comeback by Anna Meares and the transformation of Lisa De Vanna from wild child to Australian captain.
That's why we tuned in to watch Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau to see if they could succeed in the AFL, and once again when Folau made his mark in rugby union.
The American sporting landscape has long been viewed as the ultimate in the eyes of Australian sporting fans.
While it's frowned upon back home, there's something about turning on ESPN and watching a grown man celebrate one tackle like he'd just won State of Origin that speaks to the core of every sports tragic.
There's something about seeing Jarryd Hayne 38 on a NFL jersey that speaks to every man and woman following their dreams.
There's something about hearing commentators saying 'this guy is the story of the pre-season in pro-football right now' that gets the adrenalin pumping in those following his every move.
And if we're lucky enough to hear "Touchdown Hayne" and get another glimpse of "the plane", they'll be partying in the streets of Parramatta like its 1986.
