Brackett survives tough road from walk-on to Super Bowl

MIAMI -- There are stories here, so many stories. The Super Bowl is taut with tales of heroes and hope, tantalizing moments and terrific turds. So much greatness, goodness and goofiness.

Then there is the story of a real life Rocky, the stereotypical underdog who made it to the Super Bowl despite tragedy that might have slowly tugged others into a deep state of darkness.

Gary Brackett won his spot with the Colts the same way he did at Rutgers. (AP)

His name is Gary Brackett. You may not know him. You may not know what he has been through. What you need to know is Brackett is one of the game's great survivors and the Super Bowl's best stories.

You see, while playing for a championship is a terrific honor, and to most players, extraordinarily pressure filled, it is likely even this grand stage will not cause Brackett to breathe deeply. That is because the linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts has experienced real pressure.

The pressure of losing family and trying to accomplish goals when few people believe you can.

"My faith," is how Brackett responded when asked how he dealt with so much heartache, "and just realizing that everything happens for a reason. Just staying humble and staying hungry and going about my business."

Brackett's story begins on the campus of Rutgers University in New Jersey. He wanted to play football there, but because he was undersized Brackett was not initially offered a scholarship.

So Brackett's mother, Sandra, and his father, Granville, decided to refinance their home, taking out a second mortgage, to pay for the Rutgers tuition.

Brackett was barely 5 feet 11 inches and weighed some 210 pounds. Yet he caused havoc for opponents as if he was much more physically imposing.

Words like heart and drive have become overused in sports, but in Brackett's case they cannot be used enough. He eventually got his scholarship at Rutgers and went on to become the team's two-time most valuable player.

It turns out making a college football team was the easy part.

Brackett would go undrafted by the NFL and make the Colts team basically the same way he made Rutgers -- by impressing the Indianapolis coaches with his quickness and toughness.

Along the way, his father, who had been fighting heart ailments, finally succumbed, dying in 2003.