Warriors in the Pros: Travis Laboy('s Mom)

Dave Albee of the Marin Independent Journal profiles Angela Curley, mother of Travis LaBoy.

Curley backed Travis when, as a 9-year-old who was big for his age, he was banned from Dixie Little League by parents who decided he was a physical threat to other players after a competitor's leg was broken by a sliding LaBoy.

"He was crushed - devastated," Curley said. "I told him, 'One day all those people are going to be calling your name.'"

Who knew then that LaBoy would someday make the starting lineup of a Super Bowl team? It wasn't easy. Travis was not a starter on the Marin Catholic High squad as a junior until his older brother, a defensive tackle, convinced his coach, Mark Haering, that Travis would do well if he lined him up next to him at defensive end. Travis was not a model student or a teacher's pet either so, after he flunked out of Utah State, Curley literally marched him over to College of Marin to take summer classes to get his grades up so he could walk on and play football at the University of Hawaii.