OMAHA, Neb. (AP) 鈥 In the farm town where Cooper DeJean drew up football plays in elementary school and taught classmates to run them at recess, residents plan a huge party to watch the town鈥檚 native son in the Super Bowl.
The Philadelphia Eagles defensive back has lifted spirits in Odebolt, Iowa, a town of 920 people once known as the Popcorn Capital of the World.
Residents say he鈥檚 also inspired children in the four towns that make up the local school district in this remote region of Western Iowa, where he played quarterback in stadiums carved out of cornfields.
On Sunday they鈥檒l gather in the Odebolt Community Building for a Super Bowl watch party they鈥檙e calling the 鈥淐ooper Bowl.鈥 Many plan to wear special Eagles green T-shirts printed up for the occasion that feature DeJean鈥檚 No. 33. It's also a birthday party for DeJean, who turns 22 on Super Bowl Sunday.
鈥淭he whole town is just ecstatic,鈥 said Cory Duff, who owns The Bolt Drive-In, a local restaurant.
鈥淚 would say it has brought a renewed energy back to the community,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t has definitely uplifted everybody around here.鈥
Duff said he鈥檚 a die-hard Denver Broncos fan 鈥渁nd I even bought his jersey.鈥
鈥淓verybody around here has their own team, but whenever the Eagles are playing, everyone鈥檚 watching,鈥 Duff said.
DeJean鈥檚 father, Jason, said he was touched by a video that school employees made featuring dozens of children and teachers wishing his son the best in the Super Bowl.
鈥淭hey all got on the playground and spelled out 鈥楥ooper,鈥欌 Jason DeJean said. The is infused with cuteness, with one scene showing elementary school students making hand motions to imitate birds as they sing the team's fight song, 鈥淔ly Eagles Fly.鈥
Ever since DeJean began flying around the football field at , 鈥渢he support around this community has been just crazy,鈥 Jason DeJean said. 鈥淣ow you see Eagle jerseys and 33 and all that stuff. It鈥檚 great to see, and you couldn鈥檛 ask for any more support than what this community gives.鈥
After winning back-to-back state football championships in his final two years of high school, DeJean went on to a stellar career at the University of Iowa where he was named an All-American. In , the Eagles selected him in the second round.
Only a handful of athletes from the small towns of the Western Valley Activities Conference go on to compete in any sport at a major university, making DeJean鈥檚 path from Odebolt to the Iowa Hawkeyes and now the Philadelphia Eagles one of the most improbable ever taken in this part of Western Iowa.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not very often a kid from a town of less than 1,000 people gets to go to the Super Bowl,鈥 Duff said.
DeJean's intense work ethic is a common thread that ties him to legendary athletes from other parts of the state such as former Iowa Hawkeye and WNBA star , from West Des Moines, and Pro Football Hall of Famer , from Burlington, who played in high school in Cedar Rapids.
DeJean's path to the Super Bowl has cast a spotlight on Odebolt, but it was the dirt he played on that helped put the town and its surrounding farmland on the map.
A two-lane highway winds down from the Loess Hills on Iowa鈥檚 western edge, past giant wind turbines and fields of corn and soybeans to get to Odebolt.
A 20-mile (32-kilometer) stretch of the road, Iowa Highway 175, connects the towns that send students to DeJean鈥檚 old high school: Battle Creek, Ida Grove, Odebolt and blink-and-you-miss-it Arthur, population 222.
In this wide-open area, farm animals outnumber people by a wide margin. The county that includes Odebolt is home to about 46,000 cattle 鈥 more than four times the human population of 9,800, according to numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The rich, black soil surrounding Odebolt was seen as ideal for growing popcorn and led Chicago's Cracker Jack Co. to choose it to supply the popcorn for its Cracker Jack snacks.
Cracker Jack Co. Executive Vice President E.R. Shields praised Odebolt鈥檚 early pioneers, who created the town from wilderness. And their descendants were 鈥渟hining examples of strength, fortitude and foresight that has made your community 鈥楾he Popcorn Center of the World,鈥欌 he wrote in 1938 in the Odebolt Chronicle.
Residents who know DeJean say they see that same strength and fortitude in him. They speak highly of his work ethic in sports, but also his personality traits in life.
鈥淭he kid is insanely humble, and he鈥檚 not going to forget where he comes from,鈥 Duff said.
