In case you haven’t heard, there are some teams who are not doing so well in the NFL this season. That team in Washington, D.C., is in crisis and surrounded by instability. The Cleveland Browns are, well, ummm….well they’re dealing with the H1N1 flu virus right now. The Kansas City Chiefs and The St. Louis Rams have left the state of Missouri in a state of misery so far this season. And then, there’s the Oakland Raiders.
The Raiders’ coach, Tom Cable, was facing potential assault charges for attacking and breaking assistant coach Randy Hanson’s jaw during a meeting in August and just found out the Napa County (CA) district attorney’s office did not file charges against him.
Their fans, arguably the most loyal and fanatical in the NFL, have been suffering for several years since the team’s Super Bowl run in the early part of this decade.
But today, TODAY people, All-Pro Defensive End, Richard Seymour (who was acquired from the Patriots right before the season), put a stake in the ground in an effort to change his new team’s losing ways. During a radio interview this morning, Seymour said,
“Being a champion is a mentality that you have to have. You have to be a champion in everything that you do, not just in football but in life as well.”
Then, when asked about whether the Raiders will go to the playoffs (and I love this part!) Seymour goes on to say,
“You can mark it down, the Raiders are going to the playoffs. The Raiders are going to the playoffs.”
Playoffs?!? PLAYOFFS?!? (as we all channel the old Colts’ Head Coach Jim Mora here, Jim Mora, people)!
Laugh all you want, but you know what? I LOVE his comments! This guy is a winner! Why?
Because he is right on with his approach and his attitude! You cannot be or do anything in life if you do not believe you can do it yourself. He is a champion.
Think about it. You’re Richard Seymour. You won in college at Georgia. You’re a multiple Super Bowl Champion with the New England Patriots. You’re a veteran All-Pro and one of the NFL’s all-time greats. Then, right before the 2009 season, you get traded. To the Raiders. You are headed from one of the NFL’s best to one of its worst. Yes, the NFL is a business, and as a professional you understand that. Trades happen. But still, your circumstances have changed.
You’re losing games now, three of the first four by at least 20 points. My beloved NY Giants blow your team out in the swamps of Jersey and then Giants’ Linebacker Antonio Pierce refers to that beat down you took in the Meadowlands in the worst way possible. He says the game “felt like a scrimmage” and there was virtually no fight in the Raiders. Wow.
But Seymour is still a champion. He gets knocked down. And then, he gets up. He focuses. He wants to and knows how to win. His team has won one game and lost four at this point. But something happens in that locker room and he inspires his teammates to get up and fight. Then, they go out the following week and they beat the Philadelphia Eagles at home in front of the Raider Nation! They play their collective a$$*s off and defeat a good team. Donovan McNabb’s team.
Can the Raiders make the playoffs? Anything can happen. It’s sports. Teams get hot. If this team in Oakland rallies around Seymour, adopts his attitude and commits to being champions both on and off the field, they may not make the playoffs, but they will turn their franchise around.
Every team needs a player like Richard Seymour and if everybody on the Raiders plays like he has been playing, they may have a chance. An outside chance, but hey, that’s why you play the game!
The Raiders host the Jets this week and I think we are going to head over to the Coliseum and check ‘em out.
Good work Rich! Lead your team baby!
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