Cover Stories BLACK AMERICA’S TEAM; The Seattle Seahawks Define the Culture and Promise of Blacks
By Kenneth D. Miller
Assistant Managing Editor
Local African American Rod White was wearing a Seahawks T-shirt with dark blue backdrop and the piercing lime green eyes of the bird mascot and oversized 12 with the word Seattle on the back.
Los Angeles doesn’t have a football team and the National Football League doesn’t have a single Black owner in a league dominated by Black players, but what is becoming clear is defending champion Seattle Seahawks with its band of brothers is being embraced by Blacks throughout America.
The America’s team moniker for years has been worn by the Dallas Cowboys and when the ‘Boy’s played the Greenbay Packers for the right to meet Seattle in the conference championship game, hundreds of Blacks flocked to the trendy night club Savoy in Inglewood to watch the game.
However, there is very little of the Cowboys or the hated New England Patriots or any other NFL team for that matter that is reflective of the culture, challenges and promise of Black America like the Seattle Seahawks.
So, when the Patriots and Seahawks take the field for the Super Bowl on Sunday Feb. 1 you can anticipate that many Black will be decorated like Rod White and cheering for the team with Marshawn Lynch, Russell Wilson, Kam Chancellor, Doug Baldwin, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman.
Lynch, aka ‘Beast Mode’, is the most successful running back in the league during the past four seasons, accumulating at least 1,200 yards rushing and scoring 58 touchdowns.
Raised by his mother Delisa, Lynch grew up in humble beginnings in Oakland, became a star at Cal Berkley and was the first round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2007.
Lynch is the NFL whipping boy for not speaking to the media and during the NFC title game he drew a fine for grabbing his crouch after scoring the go-ahead touchdown.
His personality has been embraced by urban Blacks who view him as one of them and for his love of Skittles which has made him a culture icon.
Wilson is the direct opposite of Lynch. His father was a lawyer and he was a star the moment he began playing football at Collegiate School, a preparatory school in Richmond, Virginia where as a junior in 2005, he threw for 3,287 yards and 40 touchdowns. He also rushed for 634 yards and 15 touchdowns.
He continued his football prowess at North Carolina State and Wisconsin, but NFL scouts doubted he could be successful because of his height 6’0, but Seahawks coach Pete Carroll ignored such reports and drafted him in the third round.
Wilson became only the second Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl in 2014 and he embraced being the only other African American than Doug Williams of the Washington Redskins to win the trophy.
He is the most under paid signal caller in the league and has a perfect winning record against Super Bowl quarterbacks.
A model citizen both on and off the field, Wilson represents all that Black under achievers can become when given the opportunity.
Safety Chancellor aspired to become Russell Wilson after starring as a quarterback in high school.
The Norfolk, Virginia native starred in basketball and football in high school and went on to be a standout at Virginia Tech, but had to wait until the 5th round in 2010 to hear his name called in the NFL draft by the Seahawks.
He has made more than the most of his opportunity, the hard hitting safety is among the most feared players in the NFL and is in live for an enormous pay raise after the Super Bowl.
Baldwin is yet another Seahawks player who was over looked. He wasn’t even drafted four years ago and has become the primary target of Wilson is the Seahawks ground and pound offense.
He caught 66 passes for 825 yards and scored three touchdowns this season the smart Stanford graduate adds to the appeal of Black America’s Team.
Thomas was chosen by the Seattle Seahawks with the fourteenth overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. At age 20, he was one of the youngest players eligible for the draft.
Last, but far from least is the most popular of them all, corner back Richard Sherman, born and raised in Compton went to Dominguez High School in Compton and then attended and graduated from Stanford with honors.
Sherman is the Muhummad Ali of the NFL and he told the press on Tuesday that Ali is his favorite athlete.
Like Ali, he is brash and outspoken, but frequently backs of his talk with his athletic achievements.
While at Dominguez he maintained a 4.2 grade point average and he graduated from Stanford with a 3.9 grade point average.
While he had ample opportunities to attend other traditional football powers he chose Stanford to send a message.
"I'm trying my best to get them (Black youth) where I'm going, to the college level, I'm helping them study for the SAT. A lot of people come in blind in what they need to know, not knowing one day they could be a top college prospect."
When Sherman was drafted in 2011 he said he can still name all of the cornerbacks drafted ahead of him.
Yet another unheralded 5th round draft pick is a Seahawks star in the Super Bowl.
“Being picked in the 5th round provided the fuel that has driven me to become the best player I am today. At the time, experts did not rate me high on their list (or many of my Super Bowl winning teammates). I heard the phrases “a contributing backup corner”, “lacks elite instinct and awareness”, “questionable speed” thrown about. But hard work and determination has led to me being the ultimate cornerback in the game and my stats prove it,” he states on his website richardsherman25.com.
“I have personally won individual accolades and together with my team, we have won a Super Bowl. This is only the beginning of something truly great with this Seattle Seahawks team. As for me, I am just scratching the surface of what I can do as the best cornerback in the NFL. The numbers don’t lie – since I have entered the league, I have shutdown the elite quarterbacks and wide receivers. Don’t TEST the BEST!
Sherman says; “Off the field, I am a man of integrity and community. My passion is my foundation, Blanket Coverage, which gives back to the children in the community to provide all the necessary tools to get an education. Not a day goes by where I don’t think of where I come from and where I could be right now if not for the support given to me.”
Rarely does star athletes remember where they came from while still a star. Like LeBron James, Richard Sherman is not among those who have forgot.
In four short seasons, Sherman already has 24 interceptions, setting him on a Hall of Fame pace, but when it comes to Black America he’s already a Hall of Famer.