The history of sports is supported by stories of great dynasties. Dominant teams that managed to elevate a certain discipline to excellence and marked an era. However, sport also reserves a special place for those individual narratives that stand out within large structures.
The last of them in American football is that of Brock Purdy (24 years old, Arizona), the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers that has the franchise on the verge of winning its first Super Bowl title in 29 years, despite the fact that no one was betting on it at first. If it comes to fruition, the Californian entity would equal the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers as the top winners in the history of the NFL, with six championships.
Before landing in the elite, the young quarterback had to enroll in draft annual event organized by the NFL, as do all college football talents who seek to make the leap to professionalism. In it draft In 2022, Purdy became eligible and had to wait until the 262nd pick to be chosen. It was the last place of all. In this way, the until then quarterback from the University of Iowa earned the title of Mr Irrelevantas the last player selected in the draftemphasizing the little significance that the professional career of the last in line usually has.
Purdy joined the 49ers roster as the third quarterback, something that could be comparable, in terms of the opportunity to see playing time, with being the third goalkeeper on a soccer team. Months later, the injuries of Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, number one and two in his position, opened the doors of ownership for him, which he has not let go of since then.
With little experience, but with a lot of personality, the quarterback The rookie took control of the team in the last games of that season and, with his help, San Francisco reached the final of the National Conference, the round prior to the Super Bowl. There, Purdy had to leave the field due to an injury and watched from the bench as his team fell to the Philadelphia Eagles.
This year he would seek revenge for that bitter pill and, in what was his first full year as a starter, he led the 49ers to be the best team in their conference (12-5), just one victory behind the Baltimore Ravens (13 -4), the team with the best record in the regular season. They arrived playoffs and San Francisco continued to overcome rivals until settling into the final match against the Kansas City Chiefs of the almighty Patrick Mahomes, the final test.
A compliant 'quarterback'
Without being a quarterback With extraordinary qualities, Purdy is a very accomplished player. That is one of the adjectives that has accompanied him most in his short career in the NFL, for better and for worse. His detractors consider him a player with average talent, who has benefited from a winning system and environment, put together by Kyle Shanahan, one of the most outstanding coaches in the entire NFL. While his supporters see him as someone who knows how to get the job done.
Purdy is not number one in any category. He doesn't have the passing repertoire of Patrick Mahomes, the running game of Lamar Jackson or the strength of someone like Josh Allen, but he has proven to be well-rounded and consistent. He is not the quarterback who goes beyond the script and wins the game, but the one who adopts a system and takes it to the limit.
Playing with the number 13 on his shirt because of the fanaticism that his father instilled in him towards the legendary Dan Marino, Purdy has also managed to earn the respect of a locker room with many stars. In a sport as hierarchical as American football, where the quarterback is at the top of the pyramid, it is not easy to go from being Mr Irrelevant to be the player that everyone, veterans and rookies, listens to before every play.
After qualifying for the Super Bowl, a locker room conversation between Purdy and Nick Bosa went viral, in which the team's star defensive back expressed his surprise at what his teammate had achieved in such a short time. “What you're doing blows my mind. I was number two in the draft and, even so, sometimes I lacked confidence in myself,” he told her. “That's how it is, it's part of the game,” responded number 262.
Initially considered to play a minor role, Purdy is not among the thirty highest-paid players on the roster. His base salary of just under a million dollars a year contrasts with the twenty million a year earned, for example, by receiver Deboo Samuel, whose offensive production depends entirely on the passes of the quarterback.
With a low profile and friendly brow, Purdy made it clear in the pre-match press conference that he wants to stop being just a pretty story and become champion this Sunday in Las Vegas. “They have always passed me by, in some way that is the story of my life. At school, at the university and also here [en la NFL], after having been the last selection. But the only thing I've ever needed was an opportunity,” said Purdy, a supporting actor turned leading man, but who has yet to perform well on the biggest stage of them all.
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