02-17-2020, 09:19 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-17-2020, 09:25 AM by EarsoftheWolf.)
Written by Furio Junta of Gazzetta Dello Sport
Rome, Italy - 16 February 2020
"Snap Krackle Pop, Baby!" Denarius Krackle, Defensive Tackle, is full of energy today. The 20-year-old DSFL and NSFL prospect might weigh a hefty 310 lbs, but he does everything fast - including conversation. It's hard for this reporter to keep up with him as he jumps from subject to subject, eyes ablaze with excitement as he talks to me about his storied past.
"I can't wait to get in the mix with the big boys, get down into the trenches and prove I'm the best. It's my dream, you know? I've always wanted to play sports, ever since I was born. The doctor had to wrestle me out of the womb, 'cos I wasn't gonna let him beat me without a fight!"
Krackle has had a long journey just to get to this stage - born on a little-known Pacific Island, raised with 9 brothers and sisters in a cramped apartment, he's known struggle ever since he was born.
You won't find many professional football stars who can point out the 607 islands of the Federated States of Micronesia on a map. For Krackle, though, it was the country he first called home, and a country he's proud to represent in everything he does.
"We were pretty well-off for Micronesians, but we still came up poor since we had a big family" says Krackle, 20, recalling his early years spent with 9 brothers and sisters on the streets of Palikir. "We had very little to share between 12 of us in that house, but mama always made sure we got to eat something every day, even if it was just a scrap."
Being the sixth child of ten, Krackle could easily have been just another poor kid in a backwater country, hardly noticed by the world at large. But, as his mother tells me on the phone from the family home in Micronesia, he was always different.
"Denarius was the loudest child I ever raised, right from minute one", recalls Ariana Krackle, a cheerful lady with laughter in her voice. "He was never gonna be ignored by the world. He wanted to prove he was the best at everything. When his oldest two brothers would wrestle, he'd beg to be tagged in so he could try to take down a sibling twice his size. He didn't care if he'd lose, he'd always come back and try again. By the time he was 16 he weighed more than any of his brothers and he was by far the strongest of them. He was eating 30 bananas a day just to keep his potassium and energy levels high."
When Denarius turned 17, he had never played football. His first love, like many Polynesian boys, was rugby. "I wanted to be the biggest, the fastest, the best ball carrier. I played almost every position. I was everywhere on the field, wantin' to be in every play. I even tried kicking penalties, even though I wasn't no good at it. 'your legs are strictly for runnin' and liftin'', the coach would tell me. I guess he was right."
The young Denarius moved to Italy to be with his uncle - who is himself a passionate rugby fan and former player - and gained a place at the American University of Rome, where in between practice sessions with the local rugby club, he studied Fine Arts. It was only by chance that he stumbled upon the university's football team, the Fighting Grappas, who play in the little-known amateur Italian Football League (IFL), practicing one day. He knew immediately that football was what he wanted to do.
"Rugby was great but you have to have great cardio, keep moving all the time, recover so quick. Because I've always been big, I needed those extra few seconds, and I knew I'd always have a problem with that. With football, it's different. You can be in every play, give maximum effort, stop, eat a chicken wing, and still have the time to get your breath back. It suits me perfect."
Denarius stood head and shoulders above most of the players in the league - literally and figuratively - and despite only playing the sport for 2 years, he's now considered to be a red-hot prospect for the pros. This reporter has been told that talent scouts from several NSFL teams have repeatedly flown out to Italy to watch Krackle play, sitting in the small university stands while sampling Rome's antipasti selections and the club's house vino rosso.
Despite the relatively low standards of play in Italy, Denarius is sure he's up to the standard of the NSFL. "I'm a freak athlete," he says in between boiled eggs, which he carries everywhere in a jar and eats in one bite. "I need to play in that top league, prove myself in the pros. I'm gonna come out of nowhere and be on people's lips everywhere."
Time will tell if his physical gifts and big appetites for success will be enough, but in this reporter's opinion, Denarius will be one to watch in the Season 22 draft.
Rome, Italy - 16 February 2020
"Snap Krackle Pop, Baby!" Denarius Krackle, Defensive Tackle, is full of energy today. The 20-year-old DSFL and NSFL prospect might weigh a hefty 310 lbs, but he does everything fast - including conversation. It's hard for this reporter to keep up with him as he jumps from subject to subject, eyes ablaze with excitement as he talks to me about his storied past.
"I can't wait to get in the mix with the big boys, get down into the trenches and prove I'm the best. It's my dream, you know? I've always wanted to play sports, ever since I was born. The doctor had to wrestle me out of the womb, 'cos I wasn't gonna let him beat me without a fight!"
Krackle has had a long journey just to get to this stage - born on a little-known Pacific Island, raised with 9 brothers and sisters in a cramped apartment, he's known struggle ever since he was born.
You won't find many professional football stars who can point out the 607 islands of the Federated States of Micronesia on a map. For Krackle, though, it was the country he first called home, and a country he's proud to represent in everything he does.
"We were pretty well-off for Micronesians, but we still came up poor since we had a big family" says Krackle, 20, recalling his early years spent with 9 brothers and sisters on the streets of Palikir. "We had very little to share between 12 of us in that house, but mama always made sure we got to eat something every day, even if it was just a scrap."
Being the sixth child of ten, Krackle could easily have been just another poor kid in a backwater country, hardly noticed by the world at large. But, as his mother tells me on the phone from the family home in Micronesia, he was always different.
"Denarius was the loudest child I ever raised, right from minute one", recalls Ariana Krackle, a cheerful lady with laughter in her voice. "He was never gonna be ignored by the world. He wanted to prove he was the best at everything. When his oldest two brothers would wrestle, he'd beg to be tagged in so he could try to take down a sibling twice his size. He didn't care if he'd lose, he'd always come back and try again. By the time he was 16 he weighed more than any of his brothers and he was by far the strongest of them. He was eating 30 bananas a day just to keep his potassium and energy levels high."
When Denarius turned 17, he had never played football. His first love, like many Polynesian boys, was rugby. "I wanted to be the biggest, the fastest, the best ball carrier. I played almost every position. I was everywhere on the field, wantin' to be in every play. I even tried kicking penalties, even though I wasn't no good at it. 'your legs are strictly for runnin' and liftin'', the coach would tell me. I guess he was right."
The young Denarius moved to Italy to be with his uncle - who is himself a passionate rugby fan and former player - and gained a place at the American University of Rome, where in between practice sessions with the local rugby club, he studied Fine Arts. It was only by chance that he stumbled upon the university's football team, the Fighting Grappas, who play in the little-known amateur Italian Football League (IFL), practicing one day. He knew immediately that football was what he wanted to do.
"Rugby was great but you have to have great cardio, keep moving all the time, recover so quick. Because I've always been big, I needed those extra few seconds, and I knew I'd always have a problem with that. With football, it's different. You can be in every play, give maximum effort, stop, eat a chicken wing, and still have the time to get your breath back. It suits me perfect."
Denarius stood head and shoulders above most of the players in the league - literally and figuratively - and despite only playing the sport for 2 years, he's now considered to be a red-hot prospect for the pros. This reporter has been told that talent scouts from several NSFL teams have repeatedly flown out to Italy to watch Krackle play, sitting in the small university stands while sampling Rome's antipasti selections and the club's house vino rosso.
Despite the relatively low standards of play in Italy, Denarius is sure he's up to the standard of the NSFL. "I'm a freak athlete," he says in between boiled eggs, which he carries everywhere in a jar and eats in one bite. "I need to play in that top league, prove myself in the pros. I'm gonna come out of nowhere and be on people's lips everywhere."
Time will tell if his physical gifts and big appetites for success will be enough, but in this reporter's opinion, Denarius will be one to watch in the Season 22 draft.
Snap, Krackle, Pop, Baby!
![[Image: ijoWfCQ.png]](https://i.imgur.com/ijoWfCQ.png)
