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The Daily OrangeSchonbrun: Goodbye, Curtis
Curtis Brinkley erased three years of setbacks with one incredible season
By Zach Schonbrun
Posted: 11/20/08, 1:48 AM EST Section: Sports
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The kids know who he is because almost everybody in Philadelphia knows who he is: "Boonah" Brinkley, perhaps the greatest high school football player ever to come out of a city that loves its football. They still follow him around his neighborhood, kicking at his heels, blissfully ignorant of the adversity Brinkley's met since he left town five years ago.
No, adversity means nothing anymore to Curtis Brinkley, which is why he can stand in front of the cameras and not appear cocky when asked last week if he thought the applause he would receive on Senior Day in the Carrier Dome will be particularly loud.
"I deserve it," he said. "I earned it."
Brinkley has been quick all season long to compliment Syracuse's offensive line; they're the ones, he has said, that paved the way and opened the holes to his breakout senior year, already eclipsing 1,000 yards and setting a school record with five consecutive 100-yard games.
But a blind fool can see beyond that. The story has never been about the offensive line. It's been about the 5-foot-9 running back crashing through the barriers of self-doubt and disrespect, sprinting past the gaping jaws of those who never saw it coming.
It's why soon there will be a documentary released chronicling the last four years of his life. Made by a Philadelphia filmmaker, it's titled "Against All Odds."
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Perhaps what makes Brinkley's season so compelling is that it gives a vibrant reaffirmation of an archetypical sports success story: the overlooked, thought-to-be-washed-up ex-star emerges with a surprising last hurrah, carried off into the sunset as a nod to cliché lovers everywhere. Championships (and other spoils) to be followed.
Of course, Brinkley's season will end without any championship, and he will walk off the field to a soft applause in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He never really walked into Syracuse though, rather, he floated in as paradigm of the 19-year-old celebrity, high-stepping past the learning curve that would soon derail his future. He would quickly have to discover his virtues.
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