As most of you know the Super
Bowl is this Sunday. I am betting (not literally of course since I don't make
enough money to lose any) that the Seattle Seahawks will defeat the New England
Patriots. If Seattle does win there's no doubt that their starting running back
Marshawn Lynch will be key to their victory. If Seattle loses or
gets blown out (assuming New England didn't cheat) there's a pretty good chance
that Marshawn Lynch either didn't have a good game, was hurt, or otherwise
removed from the game plan. He's that dominant. Known as Beast Mode, Lynch has a very aggressive commanding running style. There's a
few times I've seen him dragging defenders down the field, simply refusing to
be tackled. He's a very exciting player in a time where the passing game has tended to
outshine the running game. But Mr.
Lynch has become just as well known for his dislike for talking in public, or rather, his dislike for talking in public to reporters. His teammates
have consistently said that he's a great guy. One of the most extroverted and
verbally demonstrative Seahawks, cornerback Richard Sherman, has said
(paraphrasing) that asking Lynch to go out and answer interview questions
and/or verbally banter with reporters is akin to asking a reporter to play
linebacker and tackle Adrian Peterson. Nonetheless, the NFL is adamant about
ensuring that the media has access to star players. The NFL has fined players,
including Marshawn Lynch, for avoiding interviews or cutting them short.
Although I suppose a $10,000 fine won't hurt someone who's making millions
those fines can add up.
So Lynch stopped skipping interviews. Though he
attended interviews he limited himself STRICTLY to what the NFL required. He
answered reporters' questions but used the exact same phrase over and over
("Thank you for asking") no matter what. The NFL said he had to
answer questions for at least five minutes so he set an alarm on his phone and
"answered" questions for exactly five minutes and not one second longer. You
would think people would get the hint but this just continued a game
of "Let's ask Lynch a question today just because" and showed the
limits of the NFL's or the media's power to compel someone to engage verbally. On sports radio shows arguments have raged about whether the NFL is right
to attempt to make star players speak (it's good for business and was
apparently negotiated in the collective bargaining agreement) or if this is
just a pushy, entitled and uncaring NFL/media complex trying to force an
individual to do something he's not good at and has no interest in doing. As
someone who is introverted and generally only opens up verbally to people I
know very well or like a great deal I tend to support Lynch. On the other hand
he's paid a lot of money so what is so bad about answering some, admittedly
mostly silly, questions. Well yesterday Lynch did have a little more to say besides "Have a blessed
day" or "That's a great question". Check it out below and share your thoughts.
