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Despite facing countless struggles and setbacks off the field since birth, and even before it, Earl Thomas has shown remarkable persistence and determination in conquering every challenge he’s faced.

Now, his never-quit attitude has found a home in Seattle, where ET III is helping to mold the Seahawks in his likeness—an effort that has landed the franchise a second consecutive NFL championship opportunity, and they’ll play in Super Bowl XLIX this Sunday to defend their crown.

The Hawks had to overcome tremendous adversity in the NFC Championship game on January 18 in Seattle just to reach this point, facing a 16-0 third quarter deficit that stacked the odds against them. But making the impossible happen is nothing new to Earl. He’s been doing it since the day he came into the world.

In 1987, Earl’s mother Debbie Thomas was diagnosed with cervical cancer and told she would never be have kids. But less than two years later Debbie found out she would give birth to a son and on May 7, 1989, Earl began the habit of overcoming immense odds simply by being born.

But No. 29 was only able to reach the highest levels of success on the field because of the suffering and struggles he fought through early on.

During his senior year of high school, Hurricane Rita ravaged Earl’s hometown of Orange, Texas, where thousands of homes were destroyed. Earl and his family escaped in the mass evacuation before Rita arrived, but their house and many of their belongings were destroyed in the storm’s wake.

In the aftermath of the storm, the Thomas family bounced around from place to place, first living in a motel for a few months, then a mobile home, then moving into Earl’s grandfather’s house.

While some would have used this tragedy as a reason to give up on their dreams, ET III refused to accept defeat in the face of adversity. He went on to star during his senior season at West Orange Star High School and earn a scholarship offer to play football the University of Texas, where he became a star safety, first team All-American and eventually a first round NFL draft pick.

Earl’s miracle story has already added a championship chapter after he and his Seahawks teammates proved doubters wrong once again on February 2 of last year by shutting down the Denver Broncos’ historically-great offense in Super Bowl XLVIII en route to a 43-8 crowning achievement.

Five-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning was held to just 280 yards and one touchdown despite throwing 49 times, and the Hawks intercepted him twice as part of their four takeaways. ET III had seven tackles, including one for a loss, and broke up a pass while not allowing a play longer than 23 yards all game. Afterward Earl called Seattle’s championship effort “a dominant performance from top to bottom.”

Following the convincing Super Bowl victory, expectations were enormous for the Seahawks heading into the 2014 NFL season, and they won three of their first four games of the season, but after back-to-back losses to the Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Rams dropped Seattle to 3-3, questions started to arise about whether they had what it takes to repeat as champions.

Earl and the Hawks responded by rattling off three wins in a row, but in Week 11, their rise hit a speed bump on the road in Kansas City, where they lost 24-20 to the Chiefs i.

After the loss, ET III took it upon himself as one of the team’s leaders to take charge of the situation and right the ship. During practice the following week, he noticed some of his teammates on defense sharing sunflower seeds and joking, which he interpreted as a lack of focus, and Earl went on a tirade.

“It started with some remarks, and it turned into something beautiful, man,” Earl said of his outburst. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. I kinda challenged some guys. Maybe it was a little harsh, but I apologized, and it led to something great—us understanding each other more, and love and togetherness and playing for our brothers.”

The Seahawks responded with a win that Sunday, Nov. 23, thanks primarily to suffocating defense by Earl and the Legion Of Boom. More than two months have gone by since that incident, and Seattle hasn’t lost yet.

ET III is often looked at as the voice of leadership on the vaunted Seahawks defense in part because of his championship experience and winning ways. Though he was instrumental to the Super Bowl victory a year ago, that was not his first brush with a title.

When he was a freshman at the University of Texas, he and the Longhorns went 12-1 and won the Fiesta Bowl, with only a last-second touchdown by Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech keeping them from an opportunity to play for a National Championship.

As a sophomore, Earl went out bent on doing whatever he could to help his team take that final step and earn a championship opportunity. His 65 tackles, 24 pass breakups, eight interceptions and two touchdowns earned him first-team All American honors and he led the Longhorns to the National Championship Game they came so close to reaching a year prior.

However, the exhilarating feeling that filled Earl and his Texas teammates as they played for a championship at the Rose Bowl was dealt a serious setback just moments after kickoff when UT starting quarterback Colt McCoy was knocked out of the game with injury on the Longhorns’ fifth offensive play.

Backup Garrett Gilbert came in and tossed a pair of touchdowns to bring the Horns back within three, but the freshman also threw four interceptions and the UT attack couldn’t complete the comeback, as the Alabama Crimson Tide rolled on to a 37-21 win.

Five years and 11 days later, on January 18 of this year, Earl and his Seahawks were faced with a similar scenario: In an uncharacteristic performance, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson had thrown four interceptions and the offense was stalling. Like that night in Pasadena, Earl’s season was about to come to an end, and there wasn’t much he could do about it.

But in that moment of distress, it became perfectly clear that Seattle is where Earl belongs.

The Seahawks, as they have done so many times in recent history, kept fighting and mounted a spectacular comeback against the Green Bay Packers to keep their season alive.

Rallying from a 19-7 deficit to salvage the game, and ultimately the season, seemed an especially daunting task considering the likely MVP, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, had the ball in his hands. To make matters worse, Earl and star cornerback Richard Sherman were each flying with a clipped wing; No. 29 separated his shoulder in the first half, forcing him to miss just the second defensive series of his career, and Sherman suffered an elbow sprain.

But Earl is one player who refuses to make excuses, and he’s found a home on a team full of players who feel the same way.

“When you watch us play, [it’s] love over fear,” he said late in the season. “I think when guys kind of get by themselves and get distracted, anything can creep in. But we’re so close. We’re so connected. … This team is so different from everything that’s going on around this league. I think that’s why we’re having so much success, cause we take a different approach.”

“We expect to dominate every time we step out.”

Driven by their bond and desire to perform at the highest level for one another, the Hawks put together one of the most impressive sequences in postseason history and scored 15 points in a span of just 44 seconds to take the lead.

Rodgers was able to lead the Packers down the field for a game-tying field goal that forced overtime, but it was too late for Green Bay. Earl and the Seahawks had already overcome the odds and cleared the final barrier that swung the momentum to their side. Seattle started overtime with possession and Russell Wilson recovered from his poor performance early on to lead the offense on a game-winning, six-play, 87-yard touchdown drive.

Earl was headed back to the Super Bowl, and despite the unlikelihood of it all, it seemed the most appropriate result. ET III has always had a never-say-die approach to everything he’s done, so it only made sense that his team would adopt the same philosophy.

“We never gave up,” he said after the game, struggling to find the words to describe his emotions in the immediate aftermath. “We fought. Playing football, it’s awesome. God is so good. It don’t get no better than this.”

Now as Super Bowl Sunday and a meeting with the AFC’s No. 1 seed the New England Patriots looms, ET is focused on finishing the task and defending his team’s throne.

In his most recent blog post, Earl revealed that the way he approaches the game is similar to the way he approaches life: Keep working, keep learning and keep striving to be the best Earl Thomas he can be.

“You always have to keep working at everything. At the game of football. At being a good dad. Everything. That’s life, and I don’t want to get caught up in anything else.

I’m going to enjoy these next two weeks with my daughter and my family. I’m going to have fun and not put any pressure on anything. That’s my key to success, especially at this moment and this time in my life.

For us to finish this, I just have to play my part and be me. That’s it. Own my role.”

RELATED LINKS

• Earl Thomas wins Male Sports Star of the Year in Seattle (The Seattle Times, January 21, 2015)
• Thomas and Sherman show grit in playing hurt (710 ESPN Seattle, January 19, 2015)
• Donte Whitner to replace Earl Thomas in Pro Bowl (ESPN, January 19, 2015)
• Pete Carroll praises toughness of Thomas and Sherman (ESPN, January 19, 2015)
• Pete Carroll says Earl Thomas is healed (NFL.com, January 24, 2015)
• Earl Thomas to remain “fearless” despite dislocated shoulder (The Seattle Times, January 25, 2015)
• Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman go crazy watching Golden Tate in Pro Bowl (The Washington post, January 25, 2015)