KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Eric Berry received the loudest ovation of any Kansas City Chiefs player during pregame introductions for last week’s home opener against the Denver Broncos but he’ll have to accept that on faith. Berry seemed to revel in the moment, but said he isn’t sure whether he did or not.
“I don’t know," Berry said as the Chiefs began their preparations for Monday night’s game against the Packers in Green Bay. “I blacked out. I don’t even remember it. There were just so many emotions."
The game was Berry’s first in the regular season at Arrowhead Stadium since he was diagnosed with lymphoma last fall. It provided Berry another milestone, or checkpoint as he prefers to call it, in his return to football and the Chiefs.
To honor the occasion, several nurses from Emory University Hospital in Atlanta made the trip to Kansas City. Berry had his cancer treatment at Emory.
“They actually surprised me," Berry said. “I didn’t know they were coming. Before the game my parents told me there was a surprise for me. They weren’t going to tell me but I ended up going to see my family the night before and found out they were here."
Another checkpoint comes for Berry on Monday night. That will be his first career game against the Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Chiefs played against Green Bay once during Berry’s career, in 2011, but Berry was out of the lineup for that game after tearing his ACL early in the season.
He said under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be anything special to get an interception off Rodgers. Since he’s back from his bout with lymphoma, these are hardly normal circumstances.
“Everything is out of the ordinary at this point," Berry said. “Everything that surrounds the game and everything that’s a part of the game, I appreciate it a lot more.
“I just take everything in and enjoy it, the good, the bad and everything that comes along with the game."