NFL Media Day

Richard Sherman Showed who is really is today. Praising his teammates and directing the spotlight to them . He was articulate and Hard not to Like. 

Marshawn Lynch. The Polar Opposite of Sherman - Stole the Show in mind. This guy is Man. He will let his Play do the talking.  It doesn't take more than the 6 minutes he spent on the podium to explain that. He is excited about the game. He was simply raised to walk not talk. He also sounds like a guy you don't want to offend in a bar downtown. The message I got was -Just stay out of his way. Not a Bad message to send to the Broncos 23rd Rush Defense. 

Fines for Not Boasting. 
The Idea than any player should be fined for not talking to the media is insane. I love social media. But media participation should always be voluntary. It should not be a prerequisite in a job interview. I Run 6 blogs - but I do not have "friends" on Facebook or want anyone knowing what isle I'm on in WalMart through 4Square. Just let em Play and Reward modesty - don't penalize it. 

Peyton Manning. Is not my favorite QB, Montana is. But there is no better spokesperson than Peyton. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of him after he retires. 

Wes Welker, whom I do like, was the black sheep today. Sherman apologized for taking a shot at another player (Crabtree) today.  Earlier during the Broncos media session - Welker took pot shots at Sherman. "He should focus on the field and not do so many interviews." Referring to Sherman; " I'll take him one on one in the slot any day."  

Summary:  

A lot has been said about the inexperience of Seattle. No one on the team - including the Coach, has ever been in a SuperBowl. The Buzz is about the ability of these young players to handle the Media Frenzy and spotlight that comes with the Big Game. Not their ability to play the game.

If you saw the interviews today - None of the Hawks seemed the least bit nervous. Including Russell Wilson, the man with this game squarely on his shoulders. He is going against a Legend. Wilson talked about his hair. Hard to tell if He - or his S curls were more relaxed. 

One Factor that everyone may be missing is Social Media. Times have changed. 30 years ago we had 5 TV Channels. You could not go on your computer and type something a thousand or a million people might read. Cell phones were only a reality in reruns of Star Trek. 10 Years ago we did not have Computers in our pockets connected to the entire world.

These young athletes have a million people waiting to hear what they have to Tweet every morning. This is a Big Game, but this new breed of young athlete may be much less effected by a so-called Media Frenzy than their Predecessors.

-Rick Jansen