Official 2013 NFL Season Thread

Richard Sherman explains the Crabtree incident and postgame interview | The MMQB with Peter King


Richard Sherman's take on the postgame interview.

Sadly, the part about the throwing food is true, you can see it in a few videos that are now floating around the internet.

I still think he was a bit looney tunes in that interview, but at least it adds some background to it.

 

Harbaugh is King Whiner.
--- merged: Jan 20, 2014 at 2:30 PM ---

Yeah. Thanks for sharing this, @Borla. The food throwing is terrible and unnecessary. I understand the 49ers are our rivals. That doesn't make it acceptable to act like total dicks.

 

I will admit Harbough had me chuckling at HIS post game interview.

He went with "a man can be destroyed but not defeated" (line from The Old Man and the Sea) as an answer to Pam Oliver on if his team was devastated with the result.

She seemed dumbfounded by the line and said "Is that a quote?"

To which he followed up with congratulating the Seahawks for playing a "whale" of a game.

 

That cracked me up too.

 

Interesting piece on Sherman on Deadspin.:

Richard Sherman And The Plight Of The Conquering Negro

 

I personally feel that the response to Sherman has less to do with his race as it does the fact that most fans don't realize how intelligent and intellectual he is. Those few seconds didn't capture who he is as a person very well.

This is a man who grew up in one of the worst neighborhoods in North America, got straight A's while taking advanced placement classes in school, graduated 2nd in his class, bypassed scholarships from several athletic juggernauts to go to a highly rated academic school (albeit still a solid athletic choice), excelled at Stanford while being asked to switch from being an offensive star to a brand new position on defense, has been very active with children and the community, and now is being identified by 5 seconds of emotion charged commentary on live television.

Sure it was his own choice to say what he said in the manner he did. But if you educate yourself on what he has done as a person otherwise you see a much more complex picture, and I'd argue a much more positive picture. It is on him to make sure (assuming he desires to do so, I believe he does) he projects himself in a more positive way in the future. And I think he will.

But I'd argue it is a cop out to just proclaim this is mostly (or largely) a race issue. Are there a few ignorant racists who are vocal in attacking him? Sure, but unfortunately those people would still be stupid and racist even if he hadn't given us that angry and excited rant. I'd argue that this is more about people not knowing much about Richard Sherman off the field.

That, and people who don't get football players, don't know the particular background with Crabtree, and don't understand the incredible confidence (even arrogance) that it takes to excel as a CB in the NFL.

 

I agree with all of your points, @Borla.

I had the weirdest conversation with my mother yesterday. I say weird simply because it was unexpected. She called because she wanted to talk about football. I expect that from my dad, but my mom? Anyway, she knows I'm a huge Richard Sherman fan, and she wanted to give me her take on what happened--she brought up all of the issues you mentioned, and we talked them over. It was a good conversation, though. It wasn't something I could really discuss well with my friends when we watched the game on Sunday, as none of them were particularly familiar with Sherman, so they came to some rapid conclusions based on the interview alone, which I think is a mistake.

 

I'm torn.

Football is supposed to be a tough sport, played outdoors, and a little rain, wind, snow, or cold shouldn't stop it.

HOWEVER, it would be a shame if the championship was decided by some sloppy poor play on a sheet of ice while it was sleeting outside. Also, the Super Bowl is as much a TV event as it is a game. All of the other stuff that goes along with the game would be worse. And let's face it, not many hardcore fans get to go, most of the SB crowd is corporate stuffed shirts, sports stars, and celebs. The stands would probably empty halfway through the game if the weather was as bad as it was for a game like the SF/GB one. That would be embarrassing. Though I care a lot less about this part, it would also make the entire weekend a hassle for all the media and supporting people involved in all the activities and parties leading up to the game.

So the bottom line is that I hope the weather is decent (over 30*, no snow/rain, not horrible winds), it gives everyone something to talk about, and I don't expect it to be the huge deal some fear it will be. But I think it is a foolish idea for the future.

 

I'd suggest that anyone who really doesn't think they like Peyton Manning to read the 12/23/13 issue of Sports Illustrated.

After reading that, I can understand why someone might root against him on the field due to team loyalties or whatever, but it makes me guess that if they root against him as a human they probably don't know many details of the type of guy he is. Yes, I get that most of what we read is generated through the lens of a particular writer or what that player wants to be said about them. But what struck me about that issue is that, in the half dozen or more articles on Peyton by that many different writers, every writer commented on how Peyton and his family treated them with great respect, kindness, and as a person. Several writers commented how the first time they met him it was early in his career (for some when he was in college or even HS), and they didn't see him again for several years, yet he immediately remembered their name, when he talked to them last, and asked about their families or other personal details.

It also greatly impressed me how Peyton treats everyone else behind the scenes. Yes, he is tough on his teammates and expects excellence. But when he left Indy, guess who he spent his last day with, and who he wanted to ride to the airport with him so they could reminisce and have an emotional moment with? The equipment managers. Those guys raved about how Peyton was the nicest player they'd ever dealt with (one of the guys dated back to the B'more Colts days, so that says a lot), and how he'd do little things like find out what their favorite beer was and stock their fridge with it. He gets about 50 pieces of fan mail every day. He spends his lunch hour sorting through it with the help of two staff members. He keeps a list of EVERY one he gets, and picks the most touching to respond to personally. Peyton's post-practice routine for his drive home? Cold calling fans who have written him with emotional stories, teenagers who are injured and need encouragement, folks who are battling cancer or who lost a loved one. Seriously, he spends 20-25 minutes many days randomly calling fans to cheer them up, tell them to keep fighting, or to cry with them. His bed time routine? He has one of those hospital-bed type rolling shelves next to his bed. Many nights before going to sleep he uses it to sort through the fan mail and hand writes notes to the same sort of fans he sometimes calls. Often, when the letters or calls are from people going through medical problems, he uses his contacts with trainers and doctors to find a doctor in their area that is highly regarded in treating their problem. To me that is pretty incredible. Every teammate, every member of the coaching staff, every person who works for the team and interacts with him says that when they've lost a loved one, gotten cut from the team, or being going through a hard time, they get a hand written note or letter from Peyton.

I'll admit, I've always kind of liked Peyton. But after reading all of those articles, from many different writers, several of whom had Peyton and his family invite them into his home for days at a time, and seeing how every single one of them found him to be remarkably kind and caring as a human, giving so much of his time (which no matter how rich or famous or successful anyone is, they can't get more of) to encourage and be positive for others, I ended up being even more impressed.

/soapbox