July 3, 2024 • 24 mins
Richard Sherman's viral "sorry receiver like Crabtree" callout after the NFC Championship game and Marshawn Lynch saying "I'm here so I won't get fined" 27 times during Super Bowl Media Day are famous for completely different reasons.
And yet, they both occurred within a year of each other, coming from future hall of famers on the Seattle Seahawks right before impending Super Bowl games... Join me as I explore how two of football's most memorable, and entirely different, sounds came just a year apart, from two teammates on two opposite sides of the ball.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
I've been watching a lot of sports documentaries recently, and
these have ranged in the years they were made, the
sports and athletes they cover, and even the languages they're
produced in, but one concept always seems to pop up
in one way or another. Duality. The theme of duality,
or an instance of two contrasting concepts or aspects of
(00:32):
something has existed for thousands of years, light and dark,
good and evil, hot and cold, and it also exists
in sports. You see, duality, in some ways is actually
a core part of what makes sports so special, what
makes it so emotionally rewarding or devastating. In order to
(00:55):
have a special Cinderella story, you have to have a
super team to pit them up against. Part of what
makes an underdog run so special is that overpowered opposition.
I can go on, but you get the idea. We
love the concept of duality, of juxtaposing two things against
one another in sports media and in life. The massive
(01:18):
brutish man with a kind heart, the super quiet and
gregarious best friends. And so I've been thinking about famous
and iconic sounds from sports with this concept of duality
in mind. Looking back at the dozens of lists of
sounds from sports, I've made for episode ideas in search
of two that seemed comparable or completely different. But there
(01:42):
is just one major issue. Sports most famous sounds can
be split up and categorized in way too many ways.
And trust me, I've been researching and listening to them
for hours on end and not to flex, but my
AirPods keep giving me an audio decibel level sound warning.
So do with that info what you want. But back
(02:03):
to the categorization thing. You can compare sounds by the
type of sport. If a coach or player or fans
said the thing, if the quote is motivational, legendary, or
controversial when the quote was said, if it was in
a game or an interview, if the way they said
it was funny or weird or memorable. If it was
loud or quiet, if it was on radio or TV.
(02:27):
And in this research, a few categories definitely stand out,
like trash talk. I mean, there are a lot of
iconic sounds where someone is slandering or trashing or roasting
someone else, and it makes sense, I mean, who doesn't
love to hear some of that? But almost paradoxically, a
(02:47):
few sounds from sports stood out for the opposite reason
because they're purposefully not controversial or newsworthy, or at least
they weren't supposed to be. If I'm confusing you a bit,
you're probably not alone. So let me clarify. When a
player hits a game winning shot, the buzzer sounds, the
ball goes in, the crowd roars, and a player might
(03:09):
yell or shout something, and the commentator well, commentates, And
those are all loud sounds. They all fight to grab
your attention, melding together and creating a moment you can't
really replicate after the fact. But the sound right before
the buzzer goes off, or the silence when the golf
ball rolls towards the pin, is equally captivating. I mean,
(03:34):
if anything, those sounds, the quiet ones, magnify the louder ones,
and that duality a haha. See it was a long gramble,
but we got there. The duality between the loud and
the quiet, the hush and the roar of the crowd
brings us to the topic of today's episode of Sports
(03:55):
Dot MP three, which you should definitely follow right now
on whatever platform you're listening on. But yes, we're talking
about two of football's most memorable soundbites Richard Sherman's infamous
Crabtree trash talk and Marshawn Lynch's famous I'm just here
(04:16):
so I won't get fined. The two future NFL Hall
of Fame players are responsible for two of the best
sports sounds of all time, two sounds that came just
a year apart from two teammates, nonetheless, one on offense,
the other on defense. One sound famous for its sheer, emotion,
(04:39):
volume and brashness, the other famous for entirely opposite reasons,
and yet both came from places of honesty, and both
will be remembered forever, and both, as it turns out,
and I kind of already said, are the topic of
today's episode. So without further ado, I'm willgatchul. This is
(05:01):
Sports seven three, and this is the Transition. Marshawn Lynch
was a four sport athlete at Oakland Tech High School,
starring in basketball, football, track, and wrestling. He was the
(05:25):
number two running back in the nation behind Adrian Peterson,
and Lynch decided to commit to play football for the
Golden Bears of the University of California at Berkeley in
two thousand and four. Lynch was a backup his freshman year,
but he still amassed ten total touchdowns and more importantly,
earned the starting role than next year, with JJ Arrington
(05:48):
the player he replaced having graduated. Lynch had a great
career with the Bears the Golden Bears, not Chicago, and
he remained a starter throughout his sophomore and junior seasons.
He actually still holds the record for the most one
hundred yard rushing games in school history with seventeen, But
in two thousand and seven, after finishing up his junior year,
(06:10):
Lynch decided to forego his senior season and entered the
two thousand and seven NFL Draft. Richard Sherman graduated as salutatorian,
which is the second highest GPA, from Dominges High School
in Compton, California, in two thousand and six, playing football
(06:31):
as a wide receiver and defensive back, while also dominating
in track and field, even winning the California state triple
jump title. Even so, he committed to football, first committing
to UCLA before eventually joining Stanford University after receiving an
athletic scholarship. But here's the twist. Sherman began his collegiate
career as a wide receiver. He played pretty well his
(06:54):
first two years on the team. After an injury during
his junior year in two thousand and eight which led
him to only play five games that season, he redshirted,
meaning that he was ineligible to play the rest of
the season, but it gave him an extra year of eligibility,
and that led him to make a career altering decision
switching to defensive back, and as luck would have it,
(07:17):
he had a defensive minded head coach that was willing
to let him, Jim Harbaugh. Sherman would play exceptionally well
in his new defensive role in the two thousand and
nine and twenty ten seasons for the Stanford Cardinals, making
over one hundred tackles and recording six interceptions while starting
all twenty six games in those two seasons. At the
end of it all, he finished his final season with
(07:40):
Stanford and declared for the twenty eleven NFL Draft. Marshawn
Lynch was a highly touted prospect entering the two thousand
and seven NFL Draft, and he was selected by the
Buffalo Bills with the twelfth overall pick, the second running
(08:01):
back selected. Once again, he was behind Adrian Peterson, in
this regard. He started his career as a starter, and
for good reason, earning a spot on the NFL All
Rookie team, amassing one and fifteen yards and scoring seven touchdowns,
which is more than I've scored in my entire career,
just to put that in perspective. Lynch followed that up
(08:24):
by amassing more than a thousand rushing yards the following
season and making his first Pro Bowl despite battling injuries.
The two thousand and nine season, his third in the NFL, however,
wouldn't go so well. Lynch missed the first three games
of the season due to a spension regarding gun possession charge,
and although he'd make a return, he lost his starting
(08:46):
spot to Fred Jackson. Lynch's fortunes would change for the
better the next year. He played three games in twenty
ten for the Bills, and then he was traded to
the Seattle Seahawks. Same season, Lynch would make the playoffs
for the first time in his career, and he would
make sure no one would forget that game against the
(09:08):
New Orleans Saints, Lynch would take a handoff sixty seven
yards for a touchdown, bringing nine tackles and throwing an
opposing player to the ground like a rag doll in
the process. The play is the perfect showcase of Lynch's
play style, and it's also been labeled the Beast Quake
for good reason. You see fans during the play, which
(09:30):
was at a home playoff game, registered on a seismograph
near the stadium during the run. Unfortunately, they would lose
the next round to the Bears, the Chicago Bears, not
the Golden Bears, and Lynch would rush for less than
ten yards, so not his greatest game, and that brings
(09:50):
us to the offseason. Seattle was entering it as a
team right on the precipice of making it all the
way to the Super Bowl, and that leads us to
a certain cornerback from California that would help the franchise
achieve its highest aspirations. Richard Sherman entered the NFL draft
(10:12):
combine with a wide range of projections. He clearly had
great skills and talent, but his late position switch left
some teams hesitant. He was generally projected somewhere between the
third and sixth round of the twenty eleven NFL Draft.
Cam Newton was selected with the first overall pick of
the NFL Draft one hundred and fifty three picks later,
(10:35):
Richard Sherman was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the
fifth round. He was the twenty fifth cornerback drafted. He
was reportedly incensed to have fallen that far, and that
chip on his shoulder attitude would stay with him for
the rest of his career. Sherman began his rookie season
as the fourth cornerback on the team's roster, but after
(10:57):
season ending injuries to Marcus Trufont Walter Thurmond, he soon
found himself starting, and he didn't waste the opportunity. Sherman
finished his rookie season with fifty five tackles in four
interceptions in ten starts in sixteen games total. That same
season was Marshawn Lynch's first full season on the Seahawks,
(11:18):
and he was having his best season yet, scoring in
ten straight games and setting career bests in rushing yards
and touchdowns for the season. The Seahawks finished the year
with a seven and nine record, barely missing out on
a playoff berth wh and during that offseason, Lynch would
sign a four year contract with the Seahawks. Sherman would
(11:40):
retain his starting role at the beginning of the twenty
twelve season, starting all sixteen games and earning first team
All Pro honers. Lynch would mirror those achievements, starting sixteen
games and earning first team All Pro honners while rushing
for ninety nine and a half yards per game. That
season would see the team finish eleven and five and
make the playoffs, winning the wild Card but losing the
(12:01):
next round to the Falcons, and although they didn't know
it at the time, it would be the last Seahawks
playoff loss for a while, because the next two seasons
would lead to two Super Bowl berths and more importantly,
set the stage for two iconic sounds. By the twenty
(12:28):
thirteen season, Sherman was a key starter for the Seahawks
and he was about to have his best season yet.
Starting sixteen games, he would record eight interceptions, a touchdown
and receive a first team All Pro selection for a
second consecutive season. And the Seahawks defense during these years
actually earned the name the Legion of Boom or LB
(12:52):
for short, and it referred to the hard hitting backfield
of Cam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, by Maxwell and
a few others. The Seahawks were one of the best
defensive teams of the decade, and Sherman was definitely the
most outspoken of that team. And for as much as
defensive players could boom, so to speak, Marshawn Lynch was
(13:15):
booming defenders on his side of the field, rushing for
twelve hundred and fifty seven yards and twelve touchdowns while
earning his third straight Pro Bowl selection, and that leads
us to the twenty thirteen playoffs. The Seahawks won thirteen
games and earned a bye for the first week of
the playoffs, and then they beat the Saints in the
(13:37):
divisional round and setting them up for an NFC championship
against their bitter rivals, the San Francisco forty nine Ers.
The Seahawks were winning the game twenty three to seventeen.
There were thirty seconds left, but the forty nine Ers
(13:59):
had the ball. The forty nine Ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick
dropped back for a pass and launched the ball towards
Michael Crabtree, the team's wide receiver, But Kaepernick under threw
the ball and in came Richard Sherman. He rose up,
tipped the ball to his teammate Malcolm Smith, and Smith
(14:22):
caught the ball, causing an interception and sealing the game,
sending the Seahawks to the Super Bowl. Sherman's deflection, also
called the Immaculate Deflection, a homage to the Steeler's immaculate
reception versus the Raiders, was spectacular, but his annex after
the play were equally jaw dropping. Sherman runs up to Crabtree,
(14:45):
the wide receiver he was just playing against, and offers
a handshake while shouting hell of a game, to which
Crabtree responds by shoving Sherman in the helmet. Sherman then
turns around, makes a choking gesture towards QB, who had
choked the game according to Sherman, and walks off the field.
(15:06):
All of that after the play a pretty legendary sequence,
but that wasn't even the start of it. Following up
that amazing defensive play, Sherman would then speak on the
field in a postgame interview with reporter Aaron Andrews, capping
off a great play with one of the most iconic
(15:26):
soundbites in NFL history.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
So thank you so much, Richard. Let me ask you
the final play. Take me through it well on the
best corner of the game.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
When you try me with a star who saved like Cracktrey,
that's the results you an't get.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Don't you that we're talking about me? Who was talking
about you?
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Craty? Don't you help me?
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Your mouth up? Beth? Why are you almost set it
for you? Real quick? Hello? Be now.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Sherman's post game trash talk, Crabtree call out, whatever you
want to call it, instantly went viral, and not everyone
felt the same way about it. Sherman penned an article
shortly afterwards, in part defending himself from being called a
thug for his outburst, which is definitely not a thing
people need to refer to any human being as. But
(16:20):
he also alluded to the fact that his issue with
Crabtree went back to a charity match in Arizona earlier
that offseason, and while neither have spoken much on the topic,
it seems like the two were not very amiable when
they first met each other during a charity softball game,
with one apparently refusing to shake the other's hand upon
(16:40):
an introduction at the event, and while that remains probably
forever somewhat of a mystery, we do know one other fact,
Earl Thomas, the Seahawks safety, part of the Legion of
Boom and teammate of Sherman, had actually played against Michael
Crabtree in college v Tree was an absolute monster at
(17:02):
Texas Tech, and when he went off in their upset
victory over their bitter rivals Texas years before, Earl Thomas
was the safety getting torched, and Sherman has said since
that Thomas and him actually talked about Crabtree a few
times before that game, with Thomas saying to watch out
for him and Sherman getting pretty offended by Thomas claiming
(17:24):
that Crabtree was anywhere near Sherman's level, which definitely fits
if you've heard Sherman talk at all, and Sherman would
have the last laugh. The next game, the Super Bowl,
the Seahawks crushed the Broncos forty three to eight, and
Sherman would sign a four year, fifty six million dollar
extension the following off season, making him the highest paid
(17:45):
cornerback in the league. And that brings us to the
other end of the spectrum, a few decibels lower to
Marshawn Lynch, who, by the way, had been having the
greatest stretch of his career on the field with the
Seahawks and scored a touchdown in that Super Bowl win.
The following postseason, Yes, the season after the Seahawks had
(18:09):
just won the Super Bowl and Sherman had roasted Crabtree,
the team found itself at the Super Bowl once again.
Marshawn Lynch, a key player for the Seahawks, was just
coming off his career postseason high in rushing yards, having
ran for one hundred and fifty seven in the last
overtime win against the Green Bay Packers. And while Sherman
(18:31):
had dominated headlines immediately after the NFC Championship game the
year before, this year, it would be Marshon Lynch's turn.
And unlike Sherman, who actually won the PFWA Good Guy
Award for his quote willingness to work with and provide
insightful information to the media unquote, Lynch didn't have as
(18:52):
great of a record with the media or the NFL
for that matter. You see, Lynch had been fined over
a million dollar in his career. Leading up to that presser.
Earlier that season, he had refused to talk to the
press after a game, and that had resulted in a
one hundred thousand dollars fine, and as media day approached,
(19:14):
it was clear to all parties that something had to
change because even millionaires hate one hundred thousand dollars fines.
I think I am sadly not a millionaire. And that
brings us to the meeting he had with Commissioner Goodell
and NFL executives in the lead up to Super Bowl
Media Day. The commissioner of the NFL and his fellow
(19:36):
executives had a meeting behind closed doors with Lynch and
they basically explained to him that Lynch was under an
obligation to appear for the media, but they stressed that
he just had to appear, not necessarily say anything. And
with that in mind, Lynch understood what they were getting
(19:57):
at and he definitely left that meeting in much better
spirits than he'd entered it. And that sets the stage
for Super Bowl Media Day, when players, coaches, and personalities
alike all come together to talk about everything you can
possibly imagine regarding the Super Bowl, and Lynch was not
ready to talk, at least not enter a back and
(20:18):
forth type of talk, if you will. Lynch sits down
at the podium, takes out his phone, and sets a
timer for five minutes, the minimum amount of time required
by the National Football League to not get fined, and
then proceeded to take twenty questions from the eagerly awaiting media,
who would immediately find out that they weren't getting the
(20:40):
answers they wanted from their questions. Instead, he told them simply,
plainly and truthfully why he was there.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Hey, I'm just here so I don't get fined. So
y'all can sit here and ask me all the questions.
Y'all all two, I'm going to answer what the same,
So y'all can shoot if y'all please. I'm just here
so I won't get fined. I'm just here so I
won't get fine. I'm just here so I won't get fined.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
The next day, Lynch had more of the same for
the press. He started off this one with a slightly
different version, saying, quote, you know why I'm here, end quote,
And indeed they did. It was just so that he
didn't get fined, and yet somehow it ended up being
the most captivating part of the entire media event. I mean,
(21:38):
the player who caught the game winning catch to send
the Seahawks to the Super Bowl was watching Lynch's press
conference that day. In total, he said it twenty seven times,
avoiding five hundred thousand dollars in fines because of it.
And he also wore a Beast Mode hat his personal
brand during the sessions, which reportedly earned him the equivalent
(22:02):
advertising value of three million dollars, So if you really
do the math, he kind of ended up making three
point five million dollars in some ways. Although there was
some controversy right after the fact about if Lynch would
get fined. An NFL spokesperson Michael Signora, spoke about the
decision to not find Lynch in an email to Pro
Football Talk, writing quote marsha on Lynch complied with his
(22:27):
obligation to attend all required media sessions at the Super Bowl.
In addition, there is no basis for a fine for
the hat he wore at the media sessions, which was
made by and given to him by an NFL licensee,
new Era and was in team colors end quote. Lynch
even trademarked the phrase I'm here so I won't get fined.
(22:48):
And although the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl that year,
it certainly wasn't because of Lynch. If anything, it was
because of a lack of using him. But that's an
entirely different story. And as for Lynch and Sherman stories, well,
they both finish their great NFL careers and are definitely
(23:08):
going to be in the Hall of Fame. And just
to bring it back to the first point about duality,
I think the rise of both of these sounds and
history and pop culture it's interesting really. I mean, Richard
Sherman was a cornerback, and a big part about being
a cornerback is having confidence, in swagger and almost believing
(23:32):
the impossible. And I think that his quote sums that
up and shows that attitude. And on the flip side,
Marshawn Lynch is one of the most physical, dominant, powerful
running backs in NFL history, and his quote epitomizes almost
the opposite of that of the quietness and the calm.
(23:55):
As different as they are and as similar as they are,
both the sounds and the players themselves, they'll both always
have one thing in common. They'll both always share being
the topic of today's episode of Sports Dot MP three.
And yeah, sorry if that was an abrupt ending, but
you know, sue me, no, please don't actually please
I've been watching a lot of sports documentaries recently, and
these have ranged in the years they were made, the
sports and athletes they cover, and even the languages they're
produced in, but one concept always seems to pop up
in one way or another. Duality. The theme of duality,
or an instance of two contrasting concepts or aspects of
(00:32):
something has existed for thousands of years, light and dark,
good and evil, hot and cold, and it also exists
in sports. You see, duality, in some ways is actually
a core part of what makes sports so special, what
makes it so emotionally rewarding or devastating. In order to
(00:55):
have a special Cinderella story, you have to have a
super team to pit them up against. Part of what
makes an underdog run so special is that overpowered opposition.
I can go on, but you get the idea. We
love the concept of duality, of juxtaposing two things against
one another in sports media and in life. The massive
(01:18):
brutish man with a kind heart, the super quiet and
gregarious best friends. And so I've been thinking about famous
and iconic sounds from sports with this concept of duality
in mind. Looking back at the dozens of lists of
sounds from sports, I've made for episode ideas in search
of two that seemed comparable or completely different. But there
(01:42):
is just one major issue. Sports most famous sounds can
be split up and categorized in way too many ways.
And trust me, I've been researching and listening to them
for hours on end and not to flex, but my
AirPods keep giving me an audio decibel level sound warning.
So do with that info what you want. But back
(02:03):
to the categorization thing. You can compare sounds by the
type of sport. If a coach or player or fans
said the thing, if the quote is motivational, legendary, or
controversial when the quote was said, if it was in
a game or an interview, if the way they said
it was funny or weird or memorable. If it was
loud or quiet, if it was on radio or TV.
(02:27):
And in this research, a few categories definitely stand out,
like trash talk. I mean, there are a lot of
iconic sounds where someone is slandering or trashing or roasting
someone else, and it makes sense, I mean, who doesn't
love to hear some of that? But almost paradoxically, a
(02:47):
few sounds from sports stood out for the opposite reason
because they're purposefully not controversial or newsworthy, or at least
they weren't supposed to be. If I'm confusing you a bit,
you're probably not alone. So let me clarify. When a
player hits a game winning shot, the buzzer sounds, the
ball goes in, the crowd roars, and a player might
(03:09):
yell or shout something, and the commentator well, commentates, And
those are all loud sounds. They all fight to grab
your attention, melding together and creating a moment you can't
really replicate after the fact. But the sound right before
the buzzer goes off, or the silence when the golf
ball rolls towards the pin, is equally captivating. I mean,
(03:34):
if anything, those sounds, the quiet ones, magnify the louder ones,
and that duality a haha. See it was a long gramble,
but we got there. The duality between the loud and
the quiet, the hush and the roar of the crowd
brings us to the topic of today's episode of Sports
(03:55):
Dot MP three, which you should definitely follow right now
on whatever platform you're listening on. But yes, we're talking
about two of football's most memorable soundbites Richard Sherman's infamous
Crabtree trash talk and Marshawn Lynch's famous I'm just here
(04:16):
so I won't get fined. The two future NFL Hall
of Fame players are responsible for two of the best
sports sounds of all time, two sounds that came just
a year apart from two teammates, nonetheless, one on offense,
the other on defense. One sound famous for its sheer, emotion,
(04:39):
volume and brashness, the other famous for entirely opposite reasons,
and yet both came from places of honesty, and both
will be remembered forever, and both, as it turns out,
and I kind of already said, are the topic of
today's episode. So without further ado, I'm willgatchul. This is
(05:01):
Sports seven three, and this is the Transition. Marshawn Lynch
was a four sport athlete at Oakland Tech High School,
starring in basketball, football, track, and wrestling. He was the
(05:25):
number two running back in the nation behind Adrian Peterson,
and Lynch decided to commit to play football for the
Golden Bears of the University of California at Berkeley in
two thousand and four. Lynch was a backup his freshman year,
but he still amassed ten total touchdowns and more importantly,
earned the starting role than next year, with JJ Arrington
(05:48):
the player he replaced having graduated. Lynch had a great
career with the Bears the Golden Bears, not Chicago, and
he remained a starter throughout his sophomore and junior seasons.
He actually still holds the record for the most one
hundred yard rushing games in school history with seventeen, But
in two thousand and seven, after finishing up his junior year,
(06:10):
Lynch decided to forego his senior season and entered the
two thousand and seven NFL Draft. Richard Sherman graduated as salutatorian,
which is the second highest GPA, from Dominges High School
in Compton, California, in two thousand and six, playing football
(06:31):
as a wide receiver and defensive back, while also dominating
in track and field, even winning the California state triple
jump title. Even so, he committed to football, first committing
to UCLA before eventually joining Stanford University after receiving an
athletic scholarship. But here's the twist. Sherman began his collegiate
career as a wide receiver. He played pretty well his
(06:54):
first two years on the team. After an injury during
his junior year in two thousand and eight which led
him to only play five games that season, he redshirted,
meaning that he was ineligible to play the rest of
the season, but it gave him an extra year of eligibility,
and that led him to make a career altering decision
switching to defensive back, and as luck would have it,
(07:17):
he had a defensive minded head coach that was willing
to let him, Jim Harbaugh. Sherman would play exceptionally well
in his new defensive role in the two thousand and
nine and twenty ten seasons for the Stanford Cardinals, making
over one hundred tackles and recording six interceptions while starting
all twenty six games in those two seasons. At the
end of it all, he finished his final season with
(07:40):
Stanford and declared for the twenty eleven NFL Draft. Marshawn
Lynch was a highly touted prospect entering the two thousand
and seven NFL Draft, and he was selected by the
Buffalo Bills with the twelfth overall pick, the second running
(08:01):
back selected. Once again, he was behind Adrian Peterson, in
this regard. He started his career as a starter, and
for good reason, earning a spot on the NFL All
Rookie team, amassing one and fifteen yards and scoring seven touchdowns,
which is more than I've scored in my entire career,
just to put that in perspective. Lynch followed that up
(08:24):
by amassing more than a thousand rushing yards the following
season and making his first Pro Bowl despite battling injuries.
The two thousand and nine season, his third in the NFL, however,
wouldn't go so well. Lynch missed the first three games
of the season due to a spension regarding gun possession charge,
and although he'd make a return, he lost his starting
(08:46):
spot to Fred Jackson. Lynch's fortunes would change for the
better the next year. He played three games in twenty
ten for the Bills, and then he was traded to
the Seattle Seahawks. Same season, Lynch would make the playoffs
for the first time in his career, and he would
make sure no one would forget that game against the
(09:08):
New Orleans Saints, Lynch would take a handoff sixty seven
yards for a touchdown, bringing nine tackles and throwing an
opposing player to the ground like a rag doll in
the process. The play is the perfect showcase of Lynch's
play style, and it's also been labeled the Beast Quake
for good reason. You see fans during the play, which
(09:30):
was at a home playoff game, registered on a seismograph
near the stadium during the run. Unfortunately, they would lose
the next round to the Bears, the Chicago Bears, not
the Golden Bears, and Lynch would rush for less than
ten yards, so not his greatest game, and that brings
(09:50):
us to the offseason. Seattle was entering it as a
team right on the precipice of making it all the
way to the Super Bowl, and that leads us to
a certain cornerback from California that would help the franchise
achieve its highest aspirations. Richard Sherman entered the NFL draft
(10:12):
combine with a wide range of projections. He clearly had
great skills and talent, but his late position switch left
some teams hesitant. He was generally projected somewhere between the
third and sixth round of the twenty eleven NFL Draft.
Cam Newton was selected with the first overall pick of
the NFL Draft one hundred and fifty three picks later,
(10:35):
Richard Sherman was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the
fifth round. He was the twenty fifth cornerback drafted. He
was reportedly incensed to have fallen that far, and that
chip on his shoulder attitude would stay with him for
the rest of his career. Sherman began his rookie season
as the fourth cornerback on the team's roster, but after
(10:57):
season ending injuries to Marcus Trufont Walter Thurmond, he soon
found himself starting, and he didn't waste the opportunity. Sherman
finished his rookie season with fifty five tackles in four
interceptions in ten starts in sixteen games total. That same
season was Marshawn Lynch's first full season on the Seahawks,
(11:18):
and he was having his best season yet, scoring in
ten straight games and setting career bests in rushing yards
and touchdowns for the season. The Seahawks finished the year
with a seven and nine record, barely missing out on
a playoff berth wh and during that offseason, Lynch would
sign a four year contract with the Seahawks. Sherman would
(11:40):
retain his starting role at the beginning of the twenty
twelve season, starting all sixteen games and earning first team
All Pro honers. Lynch would mirror those achievements, starting sixteen
games and earning first team All Pro honners while rushing
for ninety nine and a half yards per game. That
season would see the team finish eleven and five and
make the playoffs, winning the wild Card but losing the
(12:01):
next round to the Falcons, and although they didn't know
it at the time, it would be the last Seahawks
playoff loss for a while, because the next two seasons
would lead to two Super Bowl berths and more importantly,
set the stage for two iconic sounds. By the twenty
(12:28):
thirteen season, Sherman was a key starter for the Seahawks
and he was about to have his best season yet.
Starting sixteen games, he would record eight interceptions, a touchdown
and receive a first team All Pro selection for a
second consecutive season. And the Seahawks defense during these years
actually earned the name the Legion of Boom or LB
(12:52):
for short, and it referred to the hard hitting backfield
of Cam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, by Maxwell and
a few others. The Seahawks were one of the best
defensive teams of the decade, and Sherman was definitely the
most outspoken of that team. And for as much as
defensive players could boom, so to speak, Marshawn Lynch was
(13:15):
booming defenders on his side of the field, rushing for
twelve hundred and fifty seven yards and twelve touchdowns while
earning his third straight Pro Bowl selection, and that leads
us to the twenty thirteen playoffs. The Seahawks won thirteen
games and earned a bye for the first week of
the playoffs, and then they beat the Saints in the
(13:37):
divisional round and setting them up for an NFC championship
against their bitter rivals, the San Francisco forty nine Ers.
The Seahawks were winning the game twenty three to seventeen.
There were thirty seconds left, but the forty nine Ers
(13:59):
had the ball. The forty nine Ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick
dropped back for a pass and launched the ball towards
Michael Crabtree, the team's wide receiver, But Kaepernick under threw
the ball and in came Richard Sherman. He rose up,
tipped the ball to his teammate Malcolm Smith, and Smith
(14:22):
caught the ball, causing an interception and sealing the game,
sending the Seahawks to the Super Bowl. Sherman's deflection, also
called the Immaculate Deflection, a homage to the Steeler's immaculate
reception versus the Raiders, was spectacular, but his annex after
the play were equally jaw dropping. Sherman runs up to Crabtree,
(14:45):
the wide receiver he was just playing against, and offers
a handshake while shouting hell of a game, to which
Crabtree responds by shoving Sherman in the helmet. Sherman then
turns around, makes a choking gesture towards QB, who had
choked the game according to Sherman, and walks off the field.
(15:06):
All of that after the play a pretty legendary sequence,
but that wasn't even the start of it. Following up
that amazing defensive play, Sherman would then speak on the
field in a postgame interview with reporter Aaron Andrews, capping
off a great play with one of the most iconic
(15:26):
soundbites in NFL history.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
So thank you so much, Richard. Let me ask you
the final play. Take me through it well on the
best corner of the game.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
When you try me with a star who saved like Cracktrey,
that's the results you an't get.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Don't you that we're talking about me? Who was talking
about you?
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Craty? Don't you help me?
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Your mouth up? Beth? Why are you almost set it
for you? Real quick? Hello? Be now.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Sherman's post game trash talk, Crabtree call out, whatever you
want to call it, instantly went viral, and not everyone
felt the same way about it. Sherman penned an article
shortly afterwards, in part defending himself from being called a
thug for his outburst, which is definitely not a thing
people need to refer to any human being as. But
(16:20):
he also alluded to the fact that his issue with
Crabtree went back to a charity match in Arizona earlier
that offseason, and while neither have spoken much on the topic,
it seems like the two were not very amiable when
they first met each other during a charity softball game,
with one apparently refusing to shake the other's hand upon
(16:40):
an introduction at the event, and while that remains probably
forever somewhat of a mystery, we do know one other fact,
Earl Thomas, the Seahawks safety, part of the Legion of
Boom and teammate of Sherman, had actually played against Michael
Crabtree in college v Tree was an absolute monster at
(17:02):
Texas Tech, and when he went off in their upset
victory over their bitter rivals Texas years before, Earl Thomas
was the safety getting torched, and Sherman has said since
that Thomas and him actually talked about Crabtree a few
times before that game, with Thomas saying to watch out
for him and Sherman getting pretty offended by Thomas claiming
(17:24):
that Crabtree was anywhere near Sherman's level, which definitely fits
if you've heard Sherman talk at all, and Sherman would
have the last laugh. The next game, the Super Bowl,
the Seahawks crushed the Broncos forty three to eight, and
Sherman would sign a four year, fifty six million dollar
extension the following off season, making him the highest paid
(17:45):
cornerback in the league. And that brings us to the
other end of the spectrum, a few decibels lower to
Marshawn Lynch, who, by the way, had been having the
greatest stretch of his career on the field with the
Seahawks and scored a touchdown in that Super Bowl win.
The following postseason, Yes, the season after the Seahawks had
(18:09):
just won the Super Bowl and Sherman had roasted Crabtree,
the team found itself at the Super Bowl once again.
Marshawn Lynch, a key player for the Seahawks, was just
coming off his career postseason high in rushing yards, having
ran for one hundred and fifty seven in the last
overtime win against the Green Bay Packers. And while Sherman
(18:31):
had dominated headlines immediately after the NFC Championship game the
year before, this year, it would be Marshon Lynch's turn.
And unlike Sherman, who actually won the PFWA Good Guy
Award for his quote willingness to work with and provide
insightful information to the media unquote, Lynch didn't have as
(18:52):
great of a record with the media or the NFL
for that matter. You see, Lynch had been fined over
a million dollar in his career. Leading up to that presser.
Earlier that season, he had refused to talk to the
press after a game, and that had resulted in a
one hundred thousand dollars fine, and as media day approached,
(19:14):
it was clear to all parties that something had to
change because even millionaires hate one hundred thousand dollars fines.
I think I am sadly not a millionaire. And that
brings us to the meeting he had with Commissioner Goodell
and NFL executives in the lead up to Super Bowl
Media Day. The commissioner of the NFL and his fellow
(19:36):
executives had a meeting behind closed doors with Lynch and
they basically explained to him that Lynch was under an
obligation to appear for the media, but they stressed that
he just had to appear, not necessarily say anything. And
with that in mind, Lynch understood what they were getting
(19:57):
at and he definitely left that meeting in much better
spirits than he'd entered it. And that sets the stage
for Super Bowl Media Day, when players, coaches, and personalities
alike all come together to talk about everything you can
possibly imagine regarding the Super Bowl, and Lynch was not
ready to talk, at least not enter a back and
(20:18):
forth type of talk, if you will. Lynch sits down
at the podium, takes out his phone, and sets a
timer for five minutes, the minimum amount of time required
by the National Football League to not get fined, and
then proceeded to take twenty questions from the eagerly awaiting media,
who would immediately find out that they weren't getting the
(20:40):
answers they wanted from their questions. Instead, he told them simply,
plainly and truthfully why he was there.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Hey, I'm just here so I don't get fined. So
y'all can sit here and ask me all the questions.
Y'all all two, I'm going to answer what the same,
So y'all can shoot if y'all please. I'm just here
so I won't get fined. I'm just here so I
won't get fine. I'm just here so I won't get fined.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
The next day, Lynch had more of the same for
the press. He started off this one with a slightly
different version, saying, quote, you know why I'm here, end quote,
And indeed they did. It was just so that he
didn't get fined, and yet somehow it ended up being
the most captivating part of the entire media event. I mean,
(21:38):
the player who caught the game winning catch to send
the Seahawks to the Super Bowl was watching Lynch's press
conference that day. In total, he said it twenty seven times,
avoiding five hundred thousand dollars in fines because of it.
And he also wore a Beast Mode hat his personal
brand during the sessions, which reportedly earned him the equivalent
(22:02):
advertising value of three million dollars, So if you really
do the math, he kind of ended up making three
point five million dollars in some ways. Although there was
some controversy right after the fact about if Lynch would
get fined. An NFL spokesperson Michael Signora, spoke about the
decision to not find Lynch in an email to Pro
Football Talk, writing quote marsha on Lynch complied with his
(22:27):
obligation to attend all required media sessions at the Super Bowl.
In addition, there is no basis for a fine for
the hat he wore at the media sessions, which was
made by and given to him by an NFL licensee,
new Era and was in team colors end quote. Lynch
even trademarked the phrase I'm here so I won't get fined.
(22:48):
And although the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl that year,
it certainly wasn't because of Lynch. If anything, it was
because of a lack of using him. But that's an
entirely different story. And as for Lynch and Sherman stories, well,
they both finish their great NFL careers and are definitely
(23:08):
going to be in the Hall of Fame. And just
to bring it back to the first point about duality,
I think the rise of both of these sounds and
history and pop culture it's interesting really. I mean, Richard
Sherman was a cornerback, and a big part about being
a cornerback is having confidence, in swagger and almost believing
(23:32):
the impossible. And I think that his quote sums that
up and shows that attitude. And on the flip side,
Marshawn Lynch is one of the most physical, dominant, powerful
running backs in NFL history, and his quote epitomizes almost
the opposite of that of the quietness and the calm.
(23:55):
As different as they are and as similar as they are,
both the sounds and the players themselves, they'll both always
have one thing in common. They'll both always share being
the topic of today's episode of Sports Dot MP three.
And yeah, sorry if that was an abrupt ending, but
you know, sue me, no, please don't actually please
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