Ain't nothing finer than to be a 49er
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
If love means sacrifice, then few could doubt the romance between Jeff Ulbrich and football.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Ulbrich, a former University of Hawai'i linebacker, has played on sore ankles and strained hamstrings. Less than a month after an injury turned the ligaments in his left knee into fettuccine, he was back on the field. Last year, he tried to play with a sore right shoulder that made it painful to comb his hair.
Former UH linebacker Jeff Ulbrich, right, still has "goosebumps" about being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. Here, Ulbrich helps Lincoln Linkee of King Kekaulike High.
"Football means everything to me," Ulbrich said at yesterday's Maverick Football Clinic for high school players at Iolani School.
But three months ago, while assisting his wife as she gave birth to their daughter, Ulbrich found a new perspective.
"You realize how little football means to you when you see that baby come out," Ulbrich said. "It was amazing, just awesome."
Becoming a father, he said, "was the best thing that ever happened to me."
Until then, his most wondrous moments included UH's turnaround season in 1999 and his selection, by the San Francisco 49ers, in the 2000 draft.
Ulbrich's mother was once a 49er cheerleader, and he said, "As a family, we've always been 49er fans." He was raised a 30-minute drive from Candlestick Park (now 3Com Park).
"Just imagine as a kid growing up emulating those guys, worshipping them, and then to become a 49er," he said. "To be picked by the 49ers was such a thrill. I still have goosebumps."
In turn, the 49ers were giddy to have a linebacker with Ulbrich's speed, strength and WWF nastiness. Last summer, Ulbrich started two exhibition games and earned Sports Illustrated's praise as a projected breakout player.
"It looked like the coaches were giving me an opportunity," he said. "I thought I was playing really well. I definitely thought I had a shot."
But during one exhibition, he suffered a dislocated right shoulder while trying to tackle a fullback. In another game, he suffered a separation in that shoulder. "Then it was torn ligaments," he said.
"I never have not been able to play through something," Ulbrich said. "I kept trying to play through it, but it kept getting worse. It was frustrating."
Finally, he admitted, he could no longer play.
Ulbrich underwent a surgical procedure to decrease the size of the shoulder capsule, which allowed the surrounding scar tissue to create padding. After a few months of rest, he began stretching exercises and, eventually, weight training.
"It feels good," he said. "I haven't had any setbacks."
He even has emerged as the No. 1 inside linebacker on the depth chart.
"I don't think, by any means, it's anyone's job at this point," Ulbrich said. "I'm going to try and compete and see if I can do the job."
For now, he is enjoying his expanded family and the San Francisco Bay area house he bought during the offseason.
"Things haven't always gone the way I planned," he said, "but it does make it sweeter when you do succeed."
