By now, you’ve heard of Super Bowl MVP Von Miller. But you probably haven't heard about this of the Broncos baller. You're going to love it. Check it inside...
Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller Jr. nabbed the Super Bowl MVP award after the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers (who also had an amazing season) at Super Bowl 50 earlier this month. Now, everyone who didn’t already know wants to know who is Von Miller?
In one word: Nerd! In the best way possible.
No, we’re not calling him names. The 26-year-old is a self-proclaimed nerd who wears large “nerdy” glasses and loves watching the National Geographic channel.
“I was a nerd," Von wrote in an article on The Players’ Tribune. “You think I’m joking. I’m not joking. I’m talking nerd. I still watch NatGeo. I love NatGeo.”
So what’s with the glasses he's always seen wearing? “These glasses are not a fashion statement," said Von."I’ve been blind without them since I was a kid. Now it’s cool. In ’99, it wasn’t cool.”
Talk about not letting obstacles stop your greatness!
Not only is he a nerd, but he's a farmer too! He has a chicken farm in his hometown of DeSoto, TX, and you can grab a few organic eggs if you'd like. How cool is that?
Before he became this year’s Super Bowl MVP, the Texas A&M alum was a scrawny 5th grader living in Texas who begged his parents to play peewee football. At the time, his dad felt he wasn’t ready, telling him he was too skinny to play. He gave up on asking his dad after he kept turning him down, so he started begging his mom. She eventually got tired of him asking and signed him up (and hid it from his dad until his team won the championship). The rest was football history.
Growing up, he had three close friends who, ironically, also all now play in the NFL. San Francisco 49ers defensive end Tony Jerod-Eddie, Miami Dolphins defensive end Damontre Moore and Denver Broncos running back Cyrus Gray all went from the sandbox to the National Footbal League. The guys joined Von in his written piece where they reflected on the time they tried to sneak out of the house to see some girls, or as Tony recalled “Von’s girlfriend.”
Von and Tony lived together while they were in high school after Tony’s mom decided to move from DeSoto, TX. While they aren’t blood brothers, blood couldn’t make them any closer.
One night, Von snuck in Tony’s room to persuade him to sneak out with him. Von, Tony and Von’s little brother all snuck out of the house, but Von didn’t disarm the security alarm like he thought he did. They get outside, put Von’s mom’s car in neutral and pushed it down the driveway until they got far enough away to start the engine without Von’s mom (Gloria) hearing.
As they started their late night stroll, all of their cell phones started ringing and that’s when they realized they were caught!
Tony explained:
"Our phones were supposed to be off. We were on some pay-as-you-go thing. Von’s mom was supposed to re-up the phones a few days later. And now they were popping off. That’s when we knew."
Totally busted!
They said when they got back to the house, all of the lights were off, like a scene straight out of a horror flick. When they walked in, Von’s dad was sitting in the dark. Soon after, Tony revealed they all got their asses handed to them. Ha!
Von further reflected on the moment and their longtime friendship saying:
"Band of brothers. We were in it together. From DeSoto to Texas A&M to the NFL. Me, Tony, Cyrus and Damontre. All went to A&M. All made it to the NFL. Think about that. Four friends who played on the same hot, crunchy grass field in DeSoto, made it all the way to the League."
Sweet!
We love seeing this side of pro-athletes and celebs. Inspirational, but still just like us.
Photo: Getty
