When we were young, we all had fandoms that made us feel apart of a team bigger than ourselves. These fandoms often range from NFL teams to movie series or to a famous singer. For me, my inspiration was close to home, and even closer to my heart. My brother, 7 years older than me, and his friends were who I️ wanted to become. Not because their 22-0 record to start their senior year in basketball but because who they were as people. From the humor and respect to the athleticism and hometown honor, I watched every move they made to better myself. I became apart of them. I was a shy kid, but outright their biggest fan. In a close game, I couldn’t watch. That 10 year old me, hid in the bathroom hoping I would walk out to a win, which always seemed to happen.
All those wins meant a team gathering at my house. In other words, it meant a broken basement door.
Let me introduce to you, Harold Brantley III.
The pride and joy of Hershey, who’s 280 pounds happened to plow through my basement door like is was cardboard. Hershey, not known for their football, was gifted a once in a generation athlete. On the football field, it took a whole team to bring him down. Off the field, it took nothing to wipe a smile off his face. Harold always seemed to have a great time.
During a pregame stretch at State College High School, his music rang through the hallways.
Ticket Worker: “Please turn the music down.”
Harold: *looks at the lady, smiles, slowly turns up the music louder.”
His smile was contagious just as much as his power on the field was jaw dropping. Whenever Harold was around, it was a gift. That gift went from HersheyPark stadium on Friday nights to being broadcasted on Saturday nights on ESPN.
Yes, a kid from Hershey was playing football at a SEC school. You may not understand, Hershey is not known for their football, other than their recent average of two wins a year.
Harold a 2012 high school graduate was thriving for the Missouri Tigers. During his sophomore year at Missouri, Brantley recorded 54 tackles and 5 sacks while becoming a vocal leader. His junior year play propelled his projection as a third round pick to a first round pick. Harold was inches from his dreams of becoming a NFL superstar.
In June 2015, he was upside down. Just a moment ago he was cruising down the highway with his girlfriend. Now he was unconscious. His mother, Shanith Dean, received a call that her son might not make it through the night.
Harold survived along with his now finance, Maddie, but had an uphill battle. He was place in a wheelchair for 4 months and had to miss his Junior season. To ease the pain, he became addicted to pills and marijuana which in turn made him academically ineligible.
After attending rehab Harold decided to enroll at Northwest Missouri State University to regain his football abilities. His strength was never the same as he lost 80 pounds. He attracted interest from NFL teams but was unable to make a roster spot. Today he is a newly crowned Arena Football League champion with the Albany Empire.
Harold felt like a failure. His dreams of making the NFL roster vanished within seconds, but little does he know that his impact has traveled far. For him to get back up after a life threatening circumstance, is winning.
I will never forget how he inspired me to be the hardest worker in the gym, and the nicest person in the hallways. He has inspired me to fight pain with persistent belief while surrounding himself with people who make him a better person. Most importantly, he exemplified that success isn’t determined by your endpoint, it’s about what you overcome.