Seahawks Visit The White House And Other Triviality
By Rob Shumate
Okay my fellow 12s it is officially time to get excited for we have entered…..the….preseason! OTAs start today and we will begin to get a look at this year’s team. I know technically we had rookie camp for three days last week, just enough to wet our whistle and get our salivary glands primed and ready to go. Today we start to see the meshing of the rookies with the veterans. No live contact is permitted but drills can be run using both the offense and defense. Doesn’t it just make you giddy with excitement?
Seattle’s exuberance is growing since recently meeting the newest Seahawks. We now root for them to make the team, to make a difference, to put their stamp on defending this newly acquired moniker of Super Bowl champions. There are a lot of unknowns about the players drafted and those that weren’t drafted but still chose to come here and try out. Jackson Jeffcoat made a great statement when he said, “It worked out better for me not being drafted. I could choose the place I wanted to go. This is a good spot for me. I’m happy the way it all worked out.” He also said, “I grew up around the Cowboys when my dad was playing. So I know what a championship team looks like. By the way they work here, the way they approach things, in meetings, I can definitely see why this is a championship team.” Sounds like the kind of guy the Seahawks would like; somebody who was overlooked and has a ‘boulder’ on his shoulder. This sentiment doesn’t apply solely to Mr. Jeffcoat. We could go straight down the line and get the same response from every one of our new recruits.
There are many questions that will be answered in the next two months and many more the month after that. As of right now everybody has a fair shake at making this team; if you can’t get motivated knowing that only a handful of open slots exist and you realize there are five guys vying for said slot then you don’t belong on this team. It is like turning loose starving animals on a solitary slab of meat…survival of the fittest. So what we have here are already mad players even more mad because the guy next to them may stand between a NFL salary and bagging at the local Safeway. Yeah, I might be mad as well.
All the rookies have said the right things to this point and now this week they begin to back up those words with their actions. They begin to rub shoulders with those that have already put in their time in the NFL. The veterans of last season will be ready to defend their positions, while the ‘redshirt’ players drafted last year have been biding their time patiently and are eager to prove why they were drafted. And because John and Pete have done such a great job with this team, and continue to do a great job, their task of picking the best players will not be easy. In all honesty we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Recently the Seahawks were able to forget about playing the game and simply enjoy the spoils of their success. They had the distinct privilege of visiting the White House and being hosted by President Obama. I am not going to get into a political debate in this post (so don’t comment on politics here) but it doesn’t matter if you vote Republican or Democrat when your team is receiving accolades at the White House. It just matters that your team is at the White House. It was a nice moment when President Obama grabbed the 12 flag and snapped a group photo, endearing him to Seahawk fans all over this great country.
And don’t forget his comments that drew laughter from the Seahawks, about the Seahawks (you have to be able to laugh at yourself). I am sure it is a moment that they will all remember and they can someday look back and compare that first White House visit in 2014 with their second visit to the White House in 2015. Go Hawks!