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Chicago's Super Bowl Champion Darius Fleming: 'It's Unbelievable for Sure'

By Justin Breen | February 2, 2015 12:50pm
 Darius Fleming, a St. Rita graduate and Auburn Gresham native, is a Super Bowl champion.
Darius Fleming
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THE LOOP — Darius Fleming, the first St. Rita graduate to play and win a Super Bowl, was almost at a loss for words less than 24 hours after his New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 Sunday in Super Bowl XLIX.

"It's unbelievable for sure; I don't know man, it's crazy," Fleming told DNAinfo Chicago Monday afternoon. "I can't even say how good it feels to get to this point. Just to get to this game itself is amazing to me, but to win it — to be a champion — after everything I've been through, it's great."

After injuries to his left knee cost the Auburn Gresham native two consecutive NFL seasons, the 2008 St. Rita alum was a key special teams player for the New England Patriots, who rallied from 10 points down to beat the defending champion Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

Justin Breen chatted with Fleming:

Fleming didn't get to sleep until 6 a.m. Monday after hanging out with teammates at an after-party featuring rappers Pitbull and Rick Ross and singer Darius Rucker.

"It was a good time," Fleming said.

Fleming said he's been bombarded with congratulatory text messages, tweets and Facebook posts from his fans in Chicago since Sunday's victory.

"Especially a lot of the current St. Rita students and the players there I played with," Fleming said. "A lot of Chicago has reached out to me, and I've gotten a lot of support from everybody."

Fleming, who was drafted by the 49ers in 2012 but missed that season and 2013's campaign due to knee injuries, was signed by the Patriots before this season. He was on the practice squad until New England promoted him to the 53-man roster on Nov. 29. He was a special teams contributor on kickoffs, punts and field goals for the remainder of the season.

Fleming led St. Rita's Mustangs to the 2006 Class 7A state crown as a junior before a standout career as an outside linebacker at the University of Notre Dame.

Fleming was actually a better bowler than football player, and as a St. Rita sophomore, he almost transferred to nearby Brother Rice, which had a better bowling squad.

In the next few months, Fleming said he's planning a bowling fundraiser to help underprivileged children in Chicago. He said the event, which will take place at a Chicago bowling facility, will likely include Patriots teammates, with profits going toward the purchase of school supplies or winter clothing.

Fleming, who has an offseason condo in Streeterville, said he'll be returning to Chicago within a week and is working to schedule a trip to his high school alma mater.

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