IRVING –
When the Orlando Predators came to visit the Dallas Desperados
in 2005, the Sanders clan was perched in Ross Perot's suite,
set by happenstance adjacent to Jerry Jones' box at American
Airlines Center.
Debbie Sanders' eldest son, Chris, an Orlando backup quarterback
and Flower Mound Marcus alum, played in a mop-up role. As
the game was ending with a solid finish from Sanders, his
mom turned into a salewoman and approached the Cowboys and
Desperados owner.
"You should've signed him a long time ago," she
told Jones.
Finally, in November, the Desperados did. And tonight,
Sanders takes center stage when he starts in place of the
injured Clint Dolezel as Dallas hosts Columbus.
"This is something I've wanted ever since Dallas has
gotten a team, to be in Dallas and to play in Dallas and
to play in American Airlines Center," Sanders, 30,
said. "I just hope I can get enough tickets for this
weekend."
On Tuesday, that number hovered around 50. By Thursday
night, it had bulged to more than 300.
And his mom knows why. "People just gravitate to him."
Talk to those around the kid, and there's no need for an
explanation.
Start with the fans, who saw him break state passing records
during a 15-1 senior year at Marcus, while defying those
who looked at his stocky 5-11 frame and dismissed him as
something other than a top-notch quarterback.
Then, go to the people who saw how much more Sanders was
than just a football player.
He's the kid who considered giving up his senior year to
take of his mother, who had Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He's the
guy who has served in a brother/father role for his four
younger siblings. He's an athlete determined enough to live
an itinerant life to play the game he loves. And he's come
home.
What a big day for this kid, this is a dream come true,"
Debbie Sanders said. "To play in Dallas, and have all
his friends coming, 300 or 400 people there, this is his
dream."
It took a while for it to happen. After a record-breaking
career at Tennessee-Chattanooga, where he transferred to
after starting at SMU, Sanders had two shots at the NFL,
actually playing in the 2001 preseason for the Tennessee
Titans. He moved to the Arena League in 2003 with Buffalo.
From there, he had stints with Orlando (2005), Kansas City
('06) and Arizona ('07)
All indications were Sanders would return to Arizona this
fall. But a change in the coaching staff meant the 195-pound
quarterback was on the move again. It also gave him the
opening to come home.
The timing couldn't be better. His brother Chad, 25, just
returned from Iraq. His 21-year-old brother Chase is home
for a semester from Vanderbilt. They'll be at the game tonight.
So will so many others.
Sanders will be the starter for the next four weeks as
Dolezel recovers from a separated shoulder.
After that, there's uncertainty, which has been the case
with much of his football life. So he's going to enjoy this
one, and try to show the Joneses and his teammates, just
what his mother was talking about.
When you go from an All-Arena player to a guy who's never
been a full-time starter, I'm sure they have a little bit
of doubt," Sanders said. "Once they see how much
I love the game and how hard I play, they'll rally around
me. Definitely." |
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