KANSAS CITY, MO– The French playwright, Moliere, once said that “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” All athletes undergo challenges in their careers. But it is their innate ability to translate adversity into motivation that elevates their status and legacy as an athlete.
Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry is one of those athletes. Many consider it a miracle he still can play football after being diagnosed and overcoming Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. This season, he had to overcome another challenge. A heel injury has prevented him from playing the majority of the season. Now, with his Chiefs squad one win away from going to the Super Bowl, Berry is poised to lace up the cleats and help his team Sunday evening in the AFC Championship Game.
“Given the history of the Chiefs, it is such an important opportunity to be playing for the Lamar Hunt Trophy,” said Berry. “It will mean a lot to me and my family to have the chance to play in the Super Bowl.”
Eric Berry Destined for Greatness
Super Bowl 53 is taking place in Atlanta, Georgia. 20 miles southwest of Atlanta is the small town of Fairburn, where Eric Berry was raised. Football has forever been intrinsically linked in Berry’s life. On his second birthday, young Eric got a football-themed birthday cake. By the age of 5, he was running back and forth in the hallways of his home, with the Monday Night Football theme at full blast. These were the everyday realities that Carol and James Berry (Eric’s parents) began to embrace.
“We’d just get out of the way,” said James, “He would just run through stuff.”
That athleticism and energy would translate when Berry was old enough to play on a football field. His zealous enthusiasm was contagious, evidenced in Berry’s ability to cultivate relationships with football personnel. But according to James, it was Eric’s work ethic at a young age that made him a sought after target.
“I’ve never seen anybody work as hard as him to master his craft,” James said. “He said when new ideas come to engineers, they embrace them … in their craft. ‘Now I take care of my body; that’s what I do because I want to master my craft.”
Berry attended Creekside High School, where he was 37-5 as a starting quarterback and cornerback. When he clocked a 4.38-4.41 second 40-yard dash, it was clear that being a defensive back was his calling. His success at corner garnered attention from many schools in the South. But young Eric settled on the University of Tennessee, where he shined from the moment he stepped onto the field.
In his tenure with the Volunteers, Berry would be a two-time All-American and SEC Defensive Player of the Year. His 487 interception return yards would be an SEC record. With his ability to create takeaways, no wonder the Kansas City Chiefs selected Berry with the fifth overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Greatness would follow Berry into the NFL.
Berry’s Biggest Challenge to Greatness
Sometimes, a challenge for an athlete comes in the most inopportune of moments. Berry earned three trips to the Pro Bowl in his first four seasons. But at the start of the 2014 season, the safety would begin to experience chest pain. After further investigation and testing, Eric Berry would be diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
This isn’t your normal ankle sprain. Cancer not only may spell the end of a football career but can threaten a life. This would be Eric Berry’s biggest hurdle he would have to overcome.
Cancer doesn’t just impact the individual with the disease but the surrounding loved ones too. But the Berry’s aren’t your normal family. Their thick skin is palpitating and as Eric explains, years of adverse moments prepared them for dealing with the news of cancer.
“It was always, ‘Something else, something else, something else,’” Eric said. “To where you couldn’t really focus on the little stuff, because if you focused on the little stuff, the big thing would eat you alive. Our family just comes from survivors.”
Against difficult odds, Berry would beat cancer. Thanks to effective medical care, support from family, friends, teammates and devout faith, Eric would return to the Chiefs the following season. In his first game back, he would record four solo tackles against the Denver Broncos. He would earn a trip back to the Pro Bowl and receive Comeback Player of the Year honors, recording two interceptions and 61 combined tackles. A remarkable feat of strength when adversity was at an all-time high.
“He’s not looking for tomorrow. He’s trying to be the best he can be. And just live off of that,” says James.
Difficult Challenges, Grander Opportunities
If conquering cancer wasn’t enough, Eric Berry would have to deal with yet another physical setback. At the end of the 2017 season, he would tear his Achilles, forcing him to be out for the majority of 2018.
But this is no normal athlete. Berry’s fortitude is stronger than most. Through hard work and persistent determination, the safety is going to be healthy enough to compete in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. The last time the Chiefs were in a Conference Championship was 1969. There has never been an AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium. This is an opportunity that Berry wasn’t going to pass up.
“You don’t get these opportunities often,” says Berry. “This is my ninth year in the league and this is my first shot at it. I’m going to cherish every moment.”
When the Kansas City Chiefs took on the New England Patriots earlier in the season, they did not have Eric Berry in the lineup. The Patriots won 43-40, but Kansas City took a lot of positives out of their Week 6 matchup. With Eric Berry now in the lineup, the secondary can now put more pressure covering the Patriots receiving corps.
“He has great speed and range,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said. “I think he’s our most physical football player. The one thing about speed on defense is that it isn’t always the plays you make, it’s sometimes the plays you prevent. He has that ability in him. The other part of it that he brings is the players respond to him. They appreciate all he’s been through and what he’s done here and what kind of player he is.”
In a year where the Chiefs have been defined by offense, don’t count out their ability to make plays on defense. With Eric Berry back in the lineup, he has a tremendous opportunity to use those adverse experiences from the past into motivations to achieve success.
One thing is certain…never give up on Eric Berry.
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