(New User 2x)
From Rags to Rich, A Story of Two Brothers
Well, now that the draft is done, it’s official. Remus and Romulus Roman have had one of the greatest Cinderella stories in all of sports. It was fairly cemented after their performance as Purdue’s elite Safety duo, but now that we know where the cards have fallen, it’s truly amazing looking back at the path from which they came.
Growing up in Gary, Indiana, both boys knew a loving home and a great upbringing. Tragedy struck when they were six years old, though as their father, Caesar Roman was tragically killed in a workplace accident at a local steel mill. This left their mother, Octavia Roman, to care for the boys herself. She worked as hard as she could to get them through school and keep them out of trouble, often working two to three jobs just to cover the expenses.
Despite the many challenges, the Roman Brothers excelled both academically and athletically. They were three sport athletes, playing Football in the fall, Hockey in the winter, and Lacrosse in the spring. Naturally gifted, they were varsity athletes in all sports for each of their four years. They were heavily recruited for their Lacrosse skills, but Football proved to be the more lucrative opportunity if they continued training and made it to the NSFL.
Remus and Romulus played both sides of the ball in high school. Romulus played Quarterback and Remus played Running Back. Remus averaged 8.3 yards per carry over four years, finishing with Notre Dame High School’s rushing yards record and winning Indiana’s Mister Football award in 2034. Romulus was more of a rushing quarterback than a passer, and broke the high school records for both touchdowns in a game (8) and touchdowns in a season (51) in 2035. He too won Mister Football in 2035 for the state of Indiana. The boys’ success throughout school made them standout athletes, as well as standout students. Both graduated high school with above 3.8 GPAs and were heavily recruited by FBS Schools.
Tragedy struck again in the Roman Brothers’ senior year of high school as their mother, Octavia fell ill with Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease. With the acceleration of her symptoms, Remus and Romulus elected to go to college at nearby Purdue so they could continue to care for her in her remaining days. Most were surprised to hear about two four star recruits attending Purdue rather than the Power 5 schools that had recruited them. Little did those critics know that Remus, Romulus, and brand new teammate. Gritt Gurdur would work to reinvent the program and inject life into an otherwise average team. Octavia passed shortly after Purdue’s Fiesta Bowl win in 2036. When asked about her passing, Romulus remarked: “I’m just glad she could see us going to school and playing football one last time. She wouldn’t care if we went pro as long as we graduated with a degree.”
Two years later the Roman Brothers would lead the Purdue Boilermakers to their first program national title, each playing a pivotal role in what many call the greatest defense in the history of college football. Each had their opportunities to win the Jim Thorpe award for the top Defensive Backs in the FBS, with Remus being a finalist in 2037 and Romulus winning in 2038. Many consider their crowning achievement to be the title they won with Purdue, but both Roman brothers say that they are most proud of the degrees they earned. Remus and Romulus graduated early as three year Academic All Americans, with Remus pursuing a degree in Aerospace Sciences and Women’s Studies, and Romulus graduating with a degree in Medieval History and Fine Arts. They declared for the NSFL draft shortly after their Junior year, saying they had “Gave everything they had to the program and achieved their goals,” continuing by saying that it was “time to move on and pursue our dreams of professional play.” It wasn’t clear at the end of their championship season if they would continue to stay and go for a repeat, but this signaled professional teams to start their scouting process. Shortly afterwards, Gritt Gurdur declared for the draft as well, thus ending the reign of the “Big Three” over the Big 10. Head Coach Drew Brees gave a glowing endorsement of all three, saying “I have never worked with more outstanding young men than these three, and while I am sad that they are leaving, I know that they will be successful in the NSFL. Any team that takes a shot on these three, I assure you, will not regret it.”
In an interview earlier this year Remus commented that after they left the comforts of West Lafayette, that’s when it started to get surreal. They started receiving messages from other high draftees as well as current pros, even meeting with Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu for training and development purposes pre-draft. Over this time they connected with fellow Big 10 standout Xavier Walls, developing a closer relationship than in their college days.
As the draft came up, analysts were all over the place in their mock drafts, having both brothers drafted anywhere from early first round to late third. This lack of consistency may have contributed to their slightly later than expected drafting in this years DSFL draft day. Remus Roman was drafted 15th overall by the Portland Pythons, and Romulus was taken at 18th overall by the Tijuana Luchadores, officially cementing their rags to riches story. This coming Monday Remus and Romulus are expected to sign their rookie contracts, just north of 20 million dollars for three years apiece.
Immediately after their draft both Remus and Romulus announced that they would be donating half of this year’s salary to start a foundation to research Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease, naming the foundation after their mother, the Octavia Roman Foundation. It’s always great to bring new talent into the league, but it’s even greater that it happened to such inspirational people. This writer wishes them luck in their professional careers, but it’s clear they have already accomplished a lot.
From Rags to Rich, A Story of Two Brothers
Well, now that the draft is done, it’s official. Remus and Romulus Roman have had one of the greatest Cinderella stories in all of sports. It was fairly cemented after their performance as Purdue’s elite Safety duo, but now that we know where the cards have fallen, it’s truly amazing looking back at the path from which they came.
Growing up in Gary, Indiana, both boys knew a loving home and a great upbringing. Tragedy struck when they were six years old, though as their father, Caesar Roman was tragically killed in a workplace accident at a local steel mill. This left their mother, Octavia Roman, to care for the boys herself. She worked as hard as she could to get them through school and keep them out of trouble, often working two to three jobs just to cover the expenses.
Despite the many challenges, the Roman Brothers excelled both academically and athletically. They were three sport athletes, playing Football in the fall, Hockey in the winter, and Lacrosse in the spring. Naturally gifted, they were varsity athletes in all sports for each of their four years. They were heavily recruited for their Lacrosse skills, but Football proved to be the more lucrative opportunity if they continued training and made it to the NSFL.
Remus and Romulus played both sides of the ball in high school. Romulus played Quarterback and Remus played Running Back. Remus averaged 8.3 yards per carry over four years, finishing with Notre Dame High School’s rushing yards record and winning Indiana’s Mister Football award in 2034. Romulus was more of a rushing quarterback than a passer, and broke the high school records for both touchdowns in a game (8) and touchdowns in a season (51) in 2035. He too won Mister Football in 2035 for the state of Indiana. The boys’ success throughout school made them standout athletes, as well as standout students. Both graduated high school with above 3.8 GPAs and were heavily recruited by FBS Schools.
Tragedy struck again in the Roman Brothers’ senior year of high school as their mother, Octavia fell ill with Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease. With the acceleration of her symptoms, Remus and Romulus elected to go to college at nearby Purdue so they could continue to care for her in her remaining days. Most were surprised to hear about two four star recruits attending Purdue rather than the Power 5 schools that had recruited them. Little did those critics know that Remus, Romulus, and brand new teammate. Gritt Gurdur would work to reinvent the program and inject life into an otherwise average team. Octavia passed shortly after Purdue’s Fiesta Bowl win in 2036. When asked about her passing, Romulus remarked: “I’m just glad she could see us going to school and playing football one last time. She wouldn’t care if we went pro as long as we graduated with a degree.”
Two years later the Roman Brothers would lead the Purdue Boilermakers to their first program national title, each playing a pivotal role in what many call the greatest defense in the history of college football. Each had their opportunities to win the Jim Thorpe award for the top Defensive Backs in the FBS, with Remus being a finalist in 2037 and Romulus winning in 2038. Many consider their crowning achievement to be the title they won with Purdue, but both Roman brothers say that they are most proud of the degrees they earned. Remus and Romulus graduated early as three year Academic All Americans, with Remus pursuing a degree in Aerospace Sciences and Women’s Studies, and Romulus graduating with a degree in Medieval History and Fine Arts. They declared for the NSFL draft shortly after their Junior year, saying they had “Gave everything they had to the program and achieved their goals,” continuing by saying that it was “time to move on and pursue our dreams of professional play.” It wasn’t clear at the end of their championship season if they would continue to stay and go for a repeat, but this signaled professional teams to start their scouting process. Shortly afterwards, Gritt Gurdur declared for the draft as well, thus ending the reign of the “Big Three” over the Big 10. Head Coach Drew Brees gave a glowing endorsement of all three, saying “I have never worked with more outstanding young men than these three, and while I am sad that they are leaving, I know that they will be successful in the NSFL. Any team that takes a shot on these three, I assure you, will not regret it.”
In an interview earlier this year Remus commented that after they left the comforts of West Lafayette, that’s when it started to get surreal. They started receiving messages from other high draftees as well as current pros, even meeting with Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu for training and development purposes pre-draft. Over this time they connected with fellow Big 10 standout Xavier Walls, developing a closer relationship than in their college days.
As the draft came up, analysts were all over the place in their mock drafts, having both brothers drafted anywhere from early first round to late third. This lack of consistency may have contributed to their slightly later than expected drafting in this years DSFL draft day. Remus Roman was drafted 15th overall by the Portland Pythons, and Romulus was taken at 18th overall by the Tijuana Luchadores, officially cementing their rags to riches story. This coming Monday Remus and Romulus are expected to sign their rookie contracts, just north of 20 million dollars for three years apiece.
Immediately after their draft both Remus and Romulus announced that they would be donating half of this year’s salary to start a foundation to research Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease, naming the foundation after their mother, the Octavia Roman Foundation. It’s always great to bring new talent into the league, but it’s even greater that it happened to such inspirational people. This writer wishes them luck in their professional careers, but it’s clear they have already accomplished a lot.
![[Image: roman_brothers.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/174730327724523521/799727975682539520/roman_brothers.png)
