Super Bowl champ shares story
A former NFL linebacker and Super Bowl XLIX champion shared his inspiring journey from Chicago to the NFL during Wednesday’s Great Futures Breakfast in Pontiac to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Livingston County.
Darius Fleming, a standout at Notre Dame, was later selected by the 49ers in the fifth round of the NFL draft in 2012. He was signed by the New England Patriots in 2014, experiencing a playoff run and Super Bowl championship.
“The impact you have on our youth is priceless,” Fleming told those attending the local breakfast.
The youngest of five boys from the south side of Chicago never had a dream to go to the NFL or even Notre Dame.
“Those just weren’t on my bucket list.”
One thing Fleming always knew was that he wanted to be the best at what he did.
“Whatever was placed in front of me, I attacked it with the same goal,” he said.
Fleming was a bowler, swimmer and rodeo participant. He won three gold medals in Chicago for youth swimming and the rodeo was a fun activity to keep him out of trouble on the weekends. When he was just 13, Fleming was selected for the junior Olympics in London for bowling.
“I try my best every day to not let the one behind catch me,” Fleming explained.
The current high school football coach on Chicago’s south side wants to help youth accomplish their goals.
“The work in between is what makes the difference.”
Fleming used the people around him as motivation to work the hardest. He was a big fan of short-term goals.
In those NFL years, Fleming was a game away or in the Super Bowl every season.
“If you attack things you hate like you love them, opportunities are endless,” Fleming observed.
For those lucky moments, Fleming did not shy away from the task at hand and did the right thing, resulting in great things happening. He always found himself making the right decisions like doing homework and going to practice.
His goal now is to help his high school players understand the steps it takes to reach their dreams.
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