Von is seen here with his mother Gloria Miller after the Broncos Super Bowl victory in 2016 Von’s mom has been very supportive of his football career A Star in the Making His mother finally gave in on one condition Von’s father could never find out Operation Top Secret had begun Von could not keep his shoulder pads in the house Gloria would drive him to and from practice He would get undressed in the car and keep his pads in the back seat under a blanket She would wash his jersey in the garage late at night Von helped his youth team go undefeated He played every position The battles on the gridiron were rough Sometimes he would return home with bruises His father would ask him where he had been Von would reply that he got hurt playing baseball Dad was suspicious But neither Von nor his mother would reveal the truth The young boy wanted to be honest He longed to talk to QUICK FACT Miller has suffered from asthma since childhood His mother used to give him treatments during his youth football games 9
his father about every victory He finally did before a battle for the fifth grade championship against the DeSoto Hurricanes His team had just 11 players The Hurricanes boasted a roster of 24 But Miller helped his team win by a touchdown One Happy Kid Miller wrote about his feelings after that triumph in the article for the Players Tribune He compared it to winning the biggest game of the NFL season That feeling is indescribable he wrote I don’t care if it’s peewee or the Super Bowl When you’re the last team standing in football it’s the craziest feeling Von was spoiled by his parents who ran a power supply company in DeSoto He could fish and hunt on the family’s property Gloria catered to her son’s every whim She created his science fair Von admits that he loves Pokémon and played Pokémon games during his youth His favorite Pokémon character Blastoise is seen here as a stuffed toy 10 VON MILLER ALL-PRO LINEBACKER
projects She splurged on a 500 Pokémon card that became part of a collection he still preserves in a case She bought him fancy sunglasses and spikes for running track Miller fostered friendships in junior high that he has maintained ever since His childhood buddies even flew with him to New York for the 2011 NFL Draft He admits that he does not like to be alone He slept in the same bed with younger brother Vins until eighth grade Von spent much of his youth outdoors His passions extended beyond the football field and onto the track He ran in meets A Star in the Making QUICK FACT Von Miller’s favorite Pokémon character is Blastoise It is a blue tortoise that is an evolved form of another turtlelike Pokémon character called Squirtle Von Miller poses with family after being drafted by the Broncos in April 2011 His brother Vins is standing at the far right 11
