Von Miller admits parents didn't want him playing football

Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller is one of the preeminent defenders of his generation, but he wasn't always slated for football stardom.

Although it seems preposterous now, Miller worked tirelessly to coax his parents into playing football, with his father Von Sr. adamantly believing that he wasn't ready.

Miller, and three childhood friends, all of whom made it to the NFL, recounted his path to gridiron stardom in a piece titled "Nerd" for The Players' Tribune.

"My mom and dad have been together for 27 years. They tell each other everything. So this had to be a CIA operation," Miller said of his mother's decision to let him play football. "I couldn't even have my pads in the house. I'd get undressed in the back of her Suburban after practice and then we'd leave the pads in the back seat with a blanket over them."

Miller, who captured Super Bowl MVP honors, described his postgame elation in detail.

Why the Broncos? How did we do it? We were boys. We were brothers. We took it.

When the confetti was coming down, it didn't feel real. I wanted to stay on that field for a while and throw the ball around. I didn't want the football to end.

Afterward, to see my mom as a Super Bowl champion. Man …

She's never missed one game. She hid my pads in the back of the Suburban. She opened her house to Tony (Jerod-Eddie) and so many of my brothers. She put up with us sneaking around, trying to be Jackasses.

Miami Dolphins defensive end Damontre Moore also revealed that Miller holds a chicken farm, and sports a tattoo of a rooster.

"The Super Bowl MVP has a real chicken farm. A legitimate farm. That he maintains himself. He's even got roosters. If you go down to DeSoto, Texas, you can stop by Von's farm and get yourself a dozen organic eggs. This is real," Moore said.

Miller is a multifaceted talent and it would've been a shame if Gloria and Von Sr. stuck to their original resolution.