• Brandon Leonard •
• Originally published January 26, 2009 at 5:31 p.m., updated January 26, 2009 at 5:31 p.m.

Nine days ago, Rhonda Hooper and Molly Urban were making snow angels in the confetti that covered the field where the Arizona Cardinals had just beaten Philadelphia to become the NFC champions.

On Sunday, Jerheme Urban’s mother and sister will be joined by his father and brother and the 65,000-plus fans who will watch Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa Bay.

It’s been quite a run to the Super Bowl as well for the family of the Cardinals wide receiver, special teams player and Victoria native.

“It was probably the most electrifying thing I’ve ever been to,” Jerheme’s mother, Rhonda Hooper, said of attending the NFC championship game in Tempe. “It was like a storybook thing for me to be there.”

For Jerheme’s younger sister, Molly, the game was an overwhelming experience that is still difficult to comprehend.

“I can’t really describe it,” she said Friday while taking a break from teaching her kindergarten class at New Braunfels. “I was asking myself ‘is this really happening.’ It was so surreal.”

Wayne Urban, a Victoria County rancher, will be attending his second Super Bowl on Sunday. He traveled to Detroit to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers beat Seattle 21-10 in 2006 even though his son was on the Seahawks’ injured reserve list for the game. That injury, he said, did not diminish his excitement for Jerheme’s first Super Bowl appearance.

“I’m going to feel the same way Sunday as I did when he was with the Seahawks,” Wayne said. “He was on the IR, but he came out of the tunnel with the team.”

Wayne has attended a number of his son’s game in the professional ranks, which included stops in Seattle and Dallas before Jerheme signed with the Cardinals in 2007. He has had the chance to meet a number of players and coaches like Mike Holmgren, who was Jerheme’s head coach in Seattle.

But it was a scout who Wayne met while watching Jerheme play in his senior season at Trinity University in San Antonio that brings back one of the more pleasing memories.

“This guy was sitting in front of me at a game and he turned around and asked ‘are you Jerheme’s father?’ When I said I was he said ‘I’ve been watching your boy.”

John Peterson, a pro scout working in San Antonio at the time, would be instrumental in bringing Jerheme to Seattle, where he started his professional career.

Jerheme, 28, now has a brother who is literally following in his footsteps at Trinity University. Caleb, a wide receiver for the Tigers, broke his brother’s school record for the longest kickoff return when he ran one back for 100 yards this season, eight yards farther than big brother traveled when he set the record.

Caleb has watched his brother play professionally before, but he said he saw unforgettable sights after the Cardinals beat the Eagles.

“I’ve never seen so many people, men in their 60s and 70s, crying because they were so happy,” said Caleb, who was spending his Saturday afternoon talking to recruits and their parents at Trinity.

Caleb, who says his brother talks to him before and after each football game he plays at Trinity, believes the Cardinals can upset the Steelers on Sunday.

He points out that Cardinals beat Pittsburgh 21-14 last season in Arizona. In that comeback win, Jerheme caught the Cardinals first touchdown pass, a 6-yarder from Kurt Warner in the third quarter.

“I think it’s going to be a really good game, but the Cardinals are on a hot streak right now,” Caleb said. “There shouldn’t be any reason why they can’t beat them.”

• Print
• •
• Share
  • Share this item

    Send this to a friend

    Share on FaceBook

  • Grab the link

    Copy and paste the link:

  • Blog about it

    Blog about this page.

  • Close
• •
• Post a Comment
• •
• Favorite
• •
• Report error
  • Thank you for your submission.
    Error report or correction

    Contact name (optional) Contact phone/e-mail (optional)  

    
  • Close
• •