Super Bowl XLVIII Jamaican Orlando Franklin

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Jamaican, Orlando Franklin was born in Kingston, he will be in Super Bowl XLVIII

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One of the concessionaires? As a player? An official? A coach? A ticket taker?

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Jamaican-born Bronco living a dream come true
Published: Sunday | January 26, 2014 2 Comments

Leighton Levy, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Come next Sunday when the Denver Broncos march into the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to face the Seattle Seahawks in Superbowl 48, Jamaica-born Orlando Franklin will be fulfilling a career objective most players in the National Football League (NFL) would have aspired to but only a few would have accomplished.

The six-foot seven-inch, 320lb right tackle will be expected to play a critical role in protecting 37-year-old veteran quarterback Peyton Manning from the pass rush of the Seattle Seahawks. That's a lot of pressure for the 26-year-old University of Miami alum. It is pressure that Franklin welcomes because he is realising a dream.

"It's absolutely a dream come true," he told The Sunday Gleaner. "It's something not a lot of people could say that they have accomplished in their lives. A lot of my teammates have played in the NFL 10/11 years and not a lot of them have gone to the Super Bowl. It's kind of surreal for the simple fact that it's not an easy accomplishment. There are 32 teams, there are over 1,700 people in the NFL and everybody goes in with a common goal but out of that number, only 106 people make it."

Going in, he acknowledges that the responsibility he and his fellow linemen face will be great as they seek to ensure that Manning, who has undergone several neck and nerve surgeries in the past few years, will be able to lead them to the Vince Lombardi trophy.

"There is a little more pressure (protecting Manning) but with any quarterback at that age, you are not going to be able to take the hits like when you were in your 20s. So that's a big factor," Franklin said while adding that playing well in the Super Bowl is less about protecting Manning and more about leaving behind a great legacy.

"You want to be the best at your position. With Peyton, the only difference is there is a lot of verbiage, he's talking a lot throughout the game, so you have to tune in for the entire game, but as far as just going out there and being great; everybody wants to leave a legacy behind and in order to leave a legacy, you have to go out there each and every week and perform to the best of your ability."

Grateful to his mom

However, Franklin would not be living this dream had his mother Sylvia Allen not had him sign perhaps the most important contract of his life when he was just 15 years old. It is one she still holds him to.

Born in Montego Bay, Franklin migrated to Canada when he was only three years old. Growing up in Scarborough in Toronto, he started running with the wrong crowd.

"I was a product of my environment, hanging around with the wrong people, started doing bad things with my friends and my peers," Franklin said.

He was arrested for robbery and after he was bailed out, Allen had him sign that important piece of paper in which he promised to fly straight. That contract, he said, was "definitely important to my career. It helped me be more accountable to myself."

Allen is extremely proud of her boy, whom she said she allowed to play football when he was a tall, skinny seven-year-old because he would cry for hours because she wouldn't allow him to play. He has now filled out his tall, skinny frame and lived up to his contract with her and his US$4 million contract with the Denver Broncos who drafted him in 2011.

"I feel extremely blessed and I am so humbled to know that Orlando was born in Jamaica. We have had our ups and downs and now I go the stadium and to everybody I am like a queen in the stadium. I am really thankful to God for everything He has brought to us and to our family," she said.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/2...s/sports3.html

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Franklin