In some ways, the memoir Gary Brackett penned eight years ago says it all: "Winning: From Walk-On to Captain, in Football and Life."
Because it's hard to find a more heroic rags-to-riches story than that of the 39-year-old Brackett, the former Indianapolis Colts captain and Super Bowl winner who'll be sharing his triumphs and tragedies with all who attend the Mountain View Auto Group Luncheon at the McCallie/Dr Pepper Classic on Friday, Jan. 31.
"Gary's overcome a lot of adversity, both personal and in football," said Ricky Thomas, the former Alabama standout and current McCallie School faculty member who was a Colts assistant coach when Brackett first made the team as an undrafted free agent in 2003. "He's smart, makes good decisions and he's a guy you can trust."
You want adversity? Most of us could never get past the adversities he's overcome.
For instance, despite a storied prep career at Glassboro (New Jersey) High School, Brackett was deemed too small (5-foot-10) and pudgy (220 pounds) for major college football. But his parents were willing to sacrifice everything they had to give him a chance.
So Brackett walked on at Rutgers and his parents, Granville and Sandra, despite limited means, twice refinanced the family home to cover the school's $14,000 annual fee.
Even then, by the end of his sophomore year he still hadn't earned a scholarship and the money was gone. He would have to quit. But Brackett never had quit anything. He went to then-Rutgers coach Greg Schiano - who is once again the Scarlet Knights coach - and told him of his predicament.
According to Brackett, Schiano replied, "I just want you to know that we're going to recruit people that are better than Gary Brackett - but you work hard, you're disciplined, you're persistent and we can count on you. So because of that, I'm going to give you a scholarship."
But it's not what Schiano told him that probably changed his life forever. It's what teammate Wesley Robinson told him upon learning he'd been put on scholarship.
"He came up to me and he said, 'You're worried about getting a scholarship - you should worry about starting,'" Brackett recalled. "I couldn't sleep that night. Why shouldn't I try to start? Why should I settle for just getting a scholarship?"
He became the first one in the weightroom. The last to leave practice. He not only became a starter and team captain, he won back-to-back team MVP awards and became the Big East's second-leading tackler as a senior.
Still, NFL scouts often look at size and speed more than college productivity. Now 5-11 and 230, Brackett was a Volkswagen Beetle in a draft full of Mack trucks. He knew the Colts were impressed with his work ethic, but come the 2003 draft his name was never called.
They invited him to camp, however. He made the Colts roster as a rookie.
But adversity was about to hit him like never before. In a span of 17 months he would lose his father, mother and his brother.
Asked last week how he got through it, he replied, "It was a challenge. You question everything. But I had to live a life that would make them proud. My mother and father were humble Christians. They taught me that it's not all about you. It's about being a servant leader. Helping others."
In those glory years for the Colts over the first decade of the new millennium, Brackett would help Peyton Manning lead Indy to one Super Bowl crown and play for another, both them serving as the Colts' captains.
"They set the tone," Thomas said. "They both wanted to win so badly."
Said Brackett of Manning: "He inspired me to study. He believed you play the game from the neck up. Nobody's ever loved football more than Peyton. He loved everything about it. Diet. Preparation. Film study. He was always the most prepared player on the field."
But when Brackett's career came to a close he realized he had to prepare for life after football. By then his wife Ragan was a doctor. Their family would soon grow to include three kids: Gabrielle, Gary Jr. and Georgia Reese. One day after a round of golf, Gary Jr. asked him, "Daddy, what do you want to do when you grow up?"
It stung him. He went back to school to get a master's degee in business administration. He now owns a chain of 10 restaurants called the Stacked Pickle. He wrote his memoir, which is being made into a movie.
His favorite meal at the Stacked Pickle?
"It depends on what the scale says," he said with a chuckle. "If I'm up a few pounds, it's salad or a rice bowl. If not, it's probably our Cajun tater tots and a barbecue bacon burger."
But it's always about doing what's right and what's smart, or as Brackett likes to say, "Be a good steward of the money and talent that's been afforded you."
Which just might be why Thomas said of the McCallie/Dr Pepper Classic's fifth motivational speaker: "Gary's always taken advantage of every opportunity that's been given to him. And he's as authentic as all get-out. He's made a difference in a lot of lives."
Anyone interested in purchasing tickets for the luncheon or for the five games played Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 involving nationally ranked Sunrise Christian out of Kansas and our town's Hamilton Heights, plus Webb (Bell Buckle), Howard, Memphis East and McCallie can do so by going to mccallie.org/athletics/drpepper. Though the Saturday morning kids clinic is free, McCallie strongly encourages those who wish to attend to reserve a spot through that site.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.