The San Francisco 49ers head to the NFC Championship game in Philadelphia winners of 12 straight games, the last eight led by former Gilbert Perry High School star Brock Purdy, who has taken the nation - and the community in which he grew up - by storm.
"This community has just exploded with the excitement of what a young man can do if he works hard and has dreams," said Gilbert resident Mark Arellano.
You don't have to be a 49ers fan or an Arizona resident to appreciate the Brock Purdy story, the quintessential underdog.
But there's a special sense of pride Gilbert residents feel each Sunday when they come together for a 'Brock Party' just a few miles from where Purdy's football story began at Perry High School.
"It's kind of like that small-town feel," said Gilbert resident Kevin Burgess. "You got everybody coming around one guy and just rallying around them. Even if they're not a 49ers fan, they're Brock fans. They're loving that kid, he's tearing it up. He's got so much poise and confidence out there, it's hard not to love him. It's like a Rudy."
Not even Hollywood could have scripted something like this.
The last pick in April's NFL Draft, Purdy joined Tom Brady, Kurt Warner and Dieter Brock as the only quarterbacks drafted in the 6th round or later to reach the conference championship in their first season as the starter.
But none of them were rookies like Purdy, though it sure doesn't look like he is either.
"Brock wasn't getting distraught. There's no like jitteriness to him. He was just Brock Purdy, walking in the huddle, calling the play and delivering," said 49ers tight end George Kittle after the 19-12 win over the Dallas Cowboys. "Confident the whole time, it was awesome."
"To pull off a win like that against a great team like Dallas and now go into the NFC Championship, it means a lot to us," said Purdy. "And for myself, when I think back, it's pretty cool. Very thankful."
Purdy has done nothing but take care of the football, make plays, and rattle off wins in his seven NFL starts.
Now he just needs one more to come back home and etch his name in the history books forever.
"It's just a really great time right now for the city of Gilbert, the Niner Nation, and our Brock parties," said Arellano, who organized the events since Purdy took over as the 49ers starter. "You can't ask for a more Cinderella story than this."
