P. Manning was very similar when he was in Indy.
Posted on 01/30/2014 4:56:47 PM PST by doug from upland
SEATTLE -- If you want to understand why Russell Wilson might go down as the most important player in the history of the Seattle Seahawks, maybe even the most important athlete to ever ply his trade in the Pacific Northwest, you can't begin with football.
It's better to start with a story of a beautiful five-pound boy, and his imperfect, broken heart.
In the months leading up to the birth of his twin sons, Seattle salesman Dave Quick daydreamed about sports the way so many young, first-time fathers do. When he closed his eyes, he could see the three of them, years from now, laughing and roughhousing in the yard. He imagined teaching the boys how to catch footballs, how to turn double plays, how to shrug it off when you skinned your knee. His parental anxieties were overwhelmed by the dual joys of anticipation and excitement.
Reality, however, is almost always more complicated than daydreams. In a series of sonograms late in his wife Kristina's pregnancy, doctors spotted a few abnormalities they said "concerned them." One of the boys -- the Quicks would name them Harrison and Franklin -- had a heart that wasn't developing properly. Sonograms, they warned the Quicks, can be part science, part guesswork, so it was difficult to say what it might mean when they were born. Doctors urged Dave and Kristina to focus on the positive, not the unknown.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.go.com ...
Wilson has the heart of a stallion, and is a natural leader. Plus, he played for Wisconsin!
FROM THE ARTICLE:
Eve Kopp was skeptical when she first heard about the Seahawks rookie who called Seattle Children’s Hospital, unsolicited, asking if there was anything he could do to help. Could he and his wife come by and spend some time with patients? Kopp felt she’d done this dance with professional athletes before, and it frequently resulted in a few awkward, superficial photo ops and eventual disappointment. Most of the staff had never even heard of Russell Wilson. At the time, he was just a third-string quarterback, fresh out of the University of Wisconsin.
“We didn’t believe it at first,” says Kopp, the director of corporate annual giving for the hospital’s foundation. “Some athletes have it written into their contracts to do charity appearances, and so it’s easy for them to select Seattle Children. It might even be part of a requirement from the team. Typically, we see them once and that’s about it. We figured with Russell, we’d see him once or twice, and then never again.”
Wilson, however, kept showing up, every Tuesday. He enjoyed what the hospital initially set up for him, goofing around with a big group of kids in a playroom. But what he really wanted, he admitted, was to spend time with families in one-on-one settings. Something that would allow him to have real conversations with them, if only for 30 minutes. Kopp was stunned. And thrilled.
“It’s really rare for an athlete to feel comfortable going room to room, seeing sick kids with bandages all over and IVs in their arms,” Kopp said. “But he felt like it grounded him. It took him away from the regular chaos of his life.”
P. Manning was very similar when he was in Indy.
Thanks for sharing. Is RG 3 still considered a good guy around here? I know some do not like his appearance (though it is much more based on traditional African styles as opposed to imitating a gangster culture) and don’t like some of his comments on the NFL but I wondered if he is at least still considered among the better role models here.
Wilson posts a Bible verse daily on Facebook, and often some very inspirational messages of his own. Makes me proud to be a Seahawks fan.
Good for Peyton. I wish them both well.
I do not know enough about RGIII’s community activities.
There’s still a few non-gangstas in the NFL, but it’s a diminishing population I believe.
Rooting for Manning to win his second, but would not be sad to see Wilson and the Seahawks win. This is one of those games where I like and admire both teams. No antagonist in this one...at least for this fan.
I wonder when’s the last time a Super Bowl has had both Number 1 conference seeds?
1993
And 1991 was the last time the highest scoring offense faced the defense allowing the fewest points.
Wearing #3 down here in Oz for the game ... Go Hawks!!!!!!
The problem is the cool players can’t police the jerks. It’s a function of the rules, the officiating and reviewable camera angles. If there’s only so many games and each of them are so important and tight that a bad penalty could swing it, no one can risk self policing the jerks, in my opinion. So it seems like it’s a league full of dillweed players that don’t have a problem with all the swishy self-congratulatory chest thumping after even marginally successful plays. All the NFL can do is have rules suitable for five year olds about taunting/excessive celebrations. Most fans at least seem to eat it up, at least to me. I think it’s fruity as hell, makes it unwatchable, which is a shame when you read about cool guys like this.
MLB probably has a similar jerk wad %, but there’s a reason nobody is making a choke sign to a pitcher who just gave up a walk.
Freegards
I don’t care whether he and the other Seahawks are up for canonization.
The Seahawks don’t deserve to win a single home game. Twelve men? Should be illegal. The fans disrupt the other teams in the nastiest possible way. I have no idea and do not care how many games the Seahawks could win without that Poor Sportsmanship Award winning 12th man.
And yes, I do live in WA. Go Broncos!!!!
My son played football with Russell in junior high and high school. He was a year ahead of Russell, but he says that the Russell Wilson you see is the genuine article. I watched Russell develop as a player, from about the 7th grade on, and I am not greatly surprised that he has become the star that he is. Pete Carroll made a very wise decision to go with him.
During their years together playing football, my son was not all that enamored with Russell, as Russell demanded hard work, and as a talented but unmotivated player, my son did not take kindly to that. That said, can you imagine the thrill of seeing your JV & Varsity teammate go to the Super Bowl in only his second year as a pro?
Russell did well academically, and his spiritual side is the real deal. I had the pleasure of getting to know his late father, Harrison, and it is pretty obvious why Russell is so well grounded. Harrison’s life’s story was every bit as compelling as Russell’s.
I taped every JV game the boys played. If he stays on the same track, maybe I can rent them to ESPN for a king’s ransom!
Nice humor post. Does Kansas City deserve to win a home game? How about New Orleans?
Your tapes may someday make it to Canton, Ohio.
Hmmm. There are a lot of loud stadiums. The Superdome comes to mind. Plus, for a week or so this past season, Kansas City (Arrowhead) held the record for loudest stadium. Seattle wins at home (and elsewhere) primarily due to the team they put on the field.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.