Family goes extra mile to root for Kyle

Colts guard Kyle DeVan can always count on his father Ralph and mother Sherene Chandler.

Watching Super XLIV will be a challenge for Dustin DeVan, unless there is a poker table at Sun Life Stadium in Miami when his little brother and the Indianapolis Colts battle the New Orleans Saints.

Dustin is accustomed to playing cards when he watches Kyle play. His time in Las Vegas, where he is working as an engineer on the $9.1 billion CityCenter project, has allowed him to hit the casinos.

A perfect Sunday for Dustin is finding a Texas Hold’em table within view of a television so he can keep an eye on Kyle. He admits he has lost a chunk of chips when the game grabs his attention.

 “I have thrown away a few decent hands when the Colts get into the red zone,” Dustin said. “I think they’re going to run the ball and I want to see what Kyle does. I love watching him play.”

Dustin DeVan

There have been times, however, when Dustin has had a conflict of interest. “I’ve missed a few touchdowns when I have pocket aces,” he said. “There’s no way I’m going to fold that hand.”

Dustin would have bet on his brother playing in the NFL even after Kyle was let go by two teams last year. His father, Ralph, made that wager when Kyle was just a toddler.

Kyle was 2 and Dustin 4 when their father bought them bicycles. As Ralph attached the training wheels to Dustin’s bike, Kyle zipped past his father and brother on his bike. He had no need for extra wheels or training.

That was the first time that Ralph realized Kyle’s potential. All the Union Pacific engineer had to do then was convince his son.  “He always told me,” Kyle said, ”to never let go of my dream.”

“Ever since I was a little kid, he has told me that I’m special,” he added. “When that gets repeated for so long, you start to think you’re special. It was always special to hear that from my dad.”

This banner hangs in Sherene Chandler's office.

Kyle’s father and mother, Sherene Chandler, separated when he was 6 and divorced when he was 10. The family was hardly fractured, however. Kyle thought of it as the best of two worlds.

His father fueled his competitive fire.  His mother taught him compassion and steered clear of discussing sports. “Kyle and I don’t talk football,” Chandler said. “He doesn’t think I understand the game that much.”

Kyle appreciates his mother for being there through thick and thin. He will never forget what she did for him when he had shoulder surgery in 2006 after his sophomore season at Oregon State.

Chandler “called off her life” as a Realtor, according to Kyle, and drove to Corvallis.

“The neatest thing for me is not what games she goes to or what trips she goes on,” Kyle said. “She took care of me. It’s things like that that mean the most to me.”

Chandler and her son talk about three times a day, even this week when Kyle has been in Miami preparing for the Super Bowl. She looks forward to seeing him after the game and giving him a hug.

“Kyle’s a momma’s boy,” she said. “We’re attached at the hip.”