NIAGARA FALLS —
It doesn’t seem that long ago we were cheering on Niagara Falls High School football star James Starks as he piled up yardage in our very own backyard — Sal Maglie Stadium.
A few years later, the backyard moved a bit, but Starks crowned his college years by setting a University at Buffalo career rushing record with 3,140 yards.
The community winced when Starks — then projected to be a possible second- or third-round pick in the NFL Draft — went down with a shoulder tear and missed his entire senior year at UB.
Suddenly, his future in football seemed in jeopardy.
But the man affectionately known in his hometown as “Buck” persevered and refused to give up on his dream.
The end result is something Hollywood couldn’t have scripted any better.
The Green Bay Packers took a chance on Starks in the sixth round and, after the 24-year-old spent most of his rookie season out with a torn hamstring, he scored a breakout performance in a Dec. 5 game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Then came the playoffs and Starks really started to shine.
Today, the kid from Niagara Falls will have finished his transition from our backyard to the greatest national stage as the starting running back in Super Bowl XLV when his Packers battle the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Win or lose, Starks is a champion in our view. He’s given this city something it sorely needed — a gridiron hero and something positive to cheer for again.
Whether you’re a football fan or not, you can’t help but smile thinking about Starks’ story. Not only has “Young Buck” overcome every obstacle thrown his way, but he’s done so with a poise and maturity that’s beyond his years.
In an interview with the Niagara Gazette before the NFC Championship game, Starks sheepishly admitted he’s become a source of pride here in his hometown.
“It shows you’re doing something more than playing football,” he said. “You’re touching people’s lives, giving people hope.
“People that don’t believe you can go to the NFL, I came from the same place you are, and I’m living my dream. As long as you put your mind to it, you can do anything.”
We’re all wishing “Buck” the best of luck.
Opinion
February 5, 2011
Starks is Super
- Opinion
-
-
LETTERS FROM THE ISLAND: Memorial added breath of life
We've observed Memorial Day already, we just didn't realize it.
-
HAMILTON: Mona - that little old woman who could
Wrotniak's Highland restaurant was consumed in flames not long ago. Witnesses say that it was young children. Now all that remain is a charred hulk of brick and mortar that is fit for nothing more than the wrecker's ball. It not only reflects too many of the once vibrant buildings that lined the streets of a once-vibrant city that is now trading businesses and owner-occupied homes for subsidized government housing, wherein now lies the dreams of prosperity that are just as dark and bleak as the remains of Wrotniak's.
-
GUEST VIEW: Background on the Boston Marathon tragedy
We have had massive coverage of and innumerable opinions proffered on the recent, riveting Boston Marathon tragedy; but it seems to me that the long historical view can provide added illumination concerning this horrendous drama of April 2013.
-
GLYNN: Poll shows public upset with Albany scandals
Area state lawmakers including a few Republicans who like to bask in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's reflected glory should take a closer look at the latest Siena College Poll results. Those coattails may not help in the next election, unless there's a dramatic reversal in the way state government operates. While Cuomo is hardly to blame for all the embarrassing mess on Capitol Hill, he still is the state Chief Executive of the system becoming more dysfunctional every day, according to the Siena findings. (In the words of a famous American, shouldn't the buck stop at the governor's desk?)
- EDITORIAL: Give our visitors something to write home about Company is coming and we're not ready. But we can take comfort in the fact that hardly anyone is ever ready.
-
BRADBERRY: Peaceful place to learn, to think
More famous as the birthplace of "I Love Lucy's" Lucille Ball, and NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, Jamestown, New York is a well preserved vestige of rural Americana.
-
DELUCA: Poetry, in motion
Bob Baxter sent me his new book of poems the other day and I promised to read them. But, when I tried to open the book, I couldn't. I've always been prejudiced against poetry.
He knew of my dislike, but as a retired creative writing professor, had hoped the poems from “Niagara Lost and Found” might soften me toward one of his favorite art forms.
Sadly, my disdain was set in place long ago, in reaction to teachers who could not help me understand.
-
CONFER: When will the college bubble burst?
The bursting of the housing bubble was the unquestioned cause of the Great Recession. After years of unprecedented growth in the housing market that saw home ownership and home values rise dramatically, the collective bad decisions of homebuyers, banks, and government finally caught up to the economy at large.
-
CITY DESK: Buffalo bears, oh my!
It's bad enough those "secretive" Buffalo interests are always trying to co-op our city and our good name with all their grant money and what not.
-
HIGGS: Still in high school
Local Architect Clinton Brown recently described the style of the 168,000-square-foot building housing the Niagara Falls High School at the corner of Portage Road and Pine Avenue as "a three-story structure with concrete and steel structure, cut stone and masonry façade and classical inspired details. These include the hierarchical and symmetrical main and secondary facades, a central porch with six two-story engaged columns and the balustrade main staircase to the front doors and upper porch. The original four-over-four hung windows have been replaced with shorter aluminum sliding windows with
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Mayor: Person Killed in San Antonio Flooding
Raw: Apple 1 Computer Sells for More Than $650k
Hagel Urges Cadets to End Scourge of Sex Assault
Raw: Gay Rights Activists March in Ukraine
Bus Fire Kills 16 Children, Teacher in Pakistan
Raw: Pakistan Election Results Protested
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
Officials: Tsarnaev Friend Linked to Slaying
Obama:Sexual Assault Threatens Trust in Military
Bridge Collapse Survivor: 'Rough Day'
Jersey Shore Open for Business
Raw: Memorial Day Flags Placed at Arlington
New Wheelchair Lift Promises More Access
First Person: Mom Discusses Famous Tornado Photo
Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse
