Here’s a story about an interview – but not The Interview – as put on by one of the most amazingly stubborn interviewees in the NFL: Marshawn Lynch. The Seattle Seahawks running back had this to say after putting a whooping on the Arizona Cardinals in their home stadium on Sunday night.
There are two ways one can react to an “interview” like this, which basically consisted of the superstar Lynch saying, “Thank you for asking,” to every reporter who asked him a question. You can see it as a sign of disrespect and be insulted by it, thinking that anyone who gets paid millions of dollars should have a proper sense of respect for those speaking to him. Or you can laugh it off for the silliness that it is, since the league (i.e. Roger Goodell) is shoehorning him into doing these interviews in the first place, with a $50,000 fine attached to avoiding the media after the games. Lynch is saying just enough to skirt himself past the fine, and he’s making some of us amused in the process.
Now eight years into his pro football career, Lynch has never been known as being very media-friendly, and there’s nothing really wrong with that. Some athletes give amazing interviews, while others offer up the same old by-the-book reactions week after week. And then there are those whose skills on the field are clearly worlds ahead of their verbal skills. Lynch doesn’t want to worry about any of that. He wants to play football. Why should post-game viewers be forced to watch a dude who clearly doesn’t want to be interviewed?
Here’s another one of his superb media interactions, which coincidentally came after the Seahawks’ earlier victory against the Cardinals.
Ss far as I know, this interview hasn’t been mashed up with Usher’s “Yeah” yet, but it obviously needs to happen. Or even Collective Soul’s “Shine.” Internet, your court is full of balls.
Lynch actually did give a legit interview recently with former teammate Michael Robinson, out of sincere respect. Plus, Robinson was working as an “analyst” instead of just a straight “media person.” Check that out below, if you want to hear Lynch use multiple sentences and opinions to get his point across.
Maybe after the Seahawks take on the Rams next week, we’ll get to hear Marshawn Lynch give an interview solely in words that rhyme with “Seattle.”
