Eric Berry: A True Hero in Kansas City
Kansas City Chiefs strong safety Eric Berry knows a thing or two about comebacks. Yesterday, with the Atlanta Falcons on the verge of a crucial three-point lead late in the fourth quarter, all they had to do was convert for two. Instead Eric Berry intercepted Matt Ryan’s pass and took it back a hundred yards, tacking on two for the Chiefs to give them the go ahead. Kansas City ended up winning the game 29-28. Two quarters earlier—with the clock ticking down to halftime and the game tied at 13—Berry spied a pass from Ryan over the middle, snatched it out of the air, dodged a would-be tackle and ran it back for six. It was a heroic day for the strong safety, and not just because of his on-field performance.
Eric Berry returned an interception of the Falcons’ 2-point try in the fourth quarter to provide the Chiefs with their winning margin. AP Photo/Chuck Burton
You see, almost two years ago to the day, Berry was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Many thought his career was over. Following the diagnosis, Berry returned to Atlanta, where he was born, to seek treatment at Emory University and spend those trying days in the presence of his family. Until Sunday, he hadn’t played a single game in his hometown.
“The last time I came home during the season, it was to get chemotherapy, and then this time it was actually to play the game,” Berry said during the postgame. “I was just thankful for the opportunity. I take pride in a lot of things people take for granted, so when opportunities come my way, I cherish them and try to make the most of them.”
Amidst his diagnosis, an NFL comeback seemed impossible. But for a man like Eric Berry, a man with such titanic resolve, nothing is impossible. The following year, news broke that he’d beaten the cancer. And he came back. He fought through it, and returned to the Chiefs stronger than ever.
Following his 37-yard pick six, Berry ran behind the Chiefs’ bench and handed his mother the ball. During the post-game press conference, he said with a serious tone, “I can try to give her whatever. It won’t amount to the things she’s given me, and my dad as well.” It seems even when he’d lost faith, when the absurdity of his situation had really taken hold, his parents held him up, kept insisting he would make it through.
“So many nights I was crying on their shoulder trying to make sense of everything that was going on, and they just kept telling me, ‘Keep pressing and keep pressing and you’ll be back, you’ll be able to play the game the way you want to play the game.”
And if Sunday was any indication, Berry wants to play the game like a Hall-of-Famer—like a leader who lifts his team, who raises the play of every man around him. In the annals of sports history, the ones who do that are the ones people remember long after their jerseys are retired.
All year long, Berry has played at his usual shutdown caliber. In week 10 against the Carolina Panthers, he intercepted a pass from Cam Newton in the fourth quarter, helping the Chiefs a 17-point deficit on their way to a crucial victory. Through twelve games, he’s recorded three interceptions—two of which he’s returned for touchdowns. Right now, he’s tied for first in defensive touchdowns with Denver’s Bradley Roby. Simply put, he’s a forced to be reckoned with—which might explain why quarterbacks have been hesitant to reckon with him at all. Not that that does them any good since throwing to the opposite side of the field means targeting Marcus Peters, one of the league leaders in interceptions.
The fact is, Eric Berry may just be the best safety in the game. And for the Chiefs, he’s truly an inspiration. Following their win against Atlanta, QB Alex Smith called Berry the “heart and soul” of the team, and “the embodiment of what [they’re] about. And that’s selflessness. That’s hard work, giving it up for the guy next to you. And that’s all Eric talks about. And it’s real. It’s sincere.”
He went on to say, “That really does echo throughout the locker room, because of who he is, the way he plays.”
This week, Berry and the Chiefs face their most important matchup of the season—a Thursday night showdown in Arrowhead against Division rival, the Oakland Raiders, who currently hold a one-win lead over KC in the race for the division title. If the Chiefs can pull through on their home turf, perhaps with a bit of that Very Scary-Eric Berry magic, they’ll jump into the top spot in the AFC West. And the way they’re playing right now, they won’t look back.
