I'd be lying if I told you that I knew who Drew Lock was before Monday night.
Sure, somewhere in the recesses of the locker of useless sports knowledge buried deep in my brain, I think I remember the hype over him coming out of college as a talented quarterback at the University of Missouri. But I couldn't have told you where he ended up in the National Football League, let alone his career journey since he was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2019.
But Monday night, after I watched Lock, who currently is the Seattle Seahawks' backup quarterback, get the start in place of starter Gino Smith, and then subsequently potenttially save a playoff bid for his team, I've become a fan.
Now, full admission here, while I am an NFL fan, I'm not obsessed like I once was. Nowadays, I will tune in football games -- especially the Sunday, Monday and Thursday night games -- as background noise while I am working. My family all are in their rooms; the dogs and cats are snuggled into their usual comfy spots all around the living room; and I am tapping away at my keyboard while the game plays on in the background.
I'll occasionally look up if I hear the crowd roar, or if something the game announcers said piques my interest. But otherwise, the familiar sounds of quarterback calls, the clash of pads and the various whoops that take place in the course of a game make brilliant white noise for me while I work.
But, on Monday night, something about Lock's story captured me. This kid hasn't seen the spotlight much in recent years, and yet he's still kickin' about in the league looking for the opportunity to see his dream come true as a starting NFL quarterback.
And on Monday night I think he showed a lot of people in primetime that he is a winner. His 29-yard zinger to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba with less than 30 second in the game to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 20-17 was legendary stuff. Just go watch it on the NFL's social channels.
However, as exciting as all of that was, that's not what made me take notice of Drew Lock. ... The thing that I couldn't stop watching was ... Lock's postgame interview with ESPN reporter Lisa Salters.
An emotionally charged Lock was as genuine and vulnerable as I've seen in a professional athlete in a long time. The QB didn't hide his gratitude, his joy nor his worries he had going into the game.
And best of all, he kept deflecting any praise onto his teammates that shared the field with him Monday night. In the two minutes he spent in the postgame interview, I saw some much-appreciated moral character that seems to be a rarity these days in professional sports.
In the sanitized and scrubbed sports business world, there's hardly room for an athlete to allow themselves to be this vulnerable. So I believe that Lock showed courage that I don't often see from a pro athletes. And I believe there is absolutely something holy about that. ... I don't know whether Lock is a faithful man or not, but I tell you from what I witnessed, the Holy Spirit was there to give this young man some big time courage!
Here's a sample of some of what he had to say:
"Amazing won't do it justice. ... But amazing also doesn't do justice (to describe) what the 'O' line, what D.K. Metcalf, what the receivers did. What Kenneth Walker, Zach Charbonnet, did all game long. It takes a special crew to rally around a guy that's just coming into his second game of the year, right."
"Everything ... a team like that, not just the offense ... the defense to rally around ... that was amazing."
As he was choking back tears: "It's been a long time. It's been a long time. ... Um, I'm just blessed, I'm just blessed with a great group of guys, a great city, a great coaching staff ... just ... it's awesome."
"I kept the mentality that I was going to play, regardless of what was going on ... I was like, 'You know, you're going to go out there and play. So just be ready to play.'"
"It's so hard to describe the feeling of ... you know, not playing for so long ... well, what feels like a real long time to me ... and then you sit there and you watch games, you wonder, 'Can I do this still? I haven't been out there on the field.' That's the human nature of it. You get back out there last week. And you're like, 'You know what, I'm the man, so I can go do this.'
"The boys around me really rallied tonight. And, gosh, it feels so good. I feel real good. Proud of everybody tonight."
Now, seriously, how could you not root for this guy after such a humble, sincere and genuine response like that! ... He displayed all of the character traits that make sports fun to watch, and he likely will never be rewarded for it. Because sports is big business after all, and there is no reward for being human when there is that much money on the line.
Even more impressive, I think, is that the next day after the game, on his "X" social media account -- formerly known as Twitter -- Lock wrote: "What a Night!! ... 12s we appreciated y'all last night, you were out in full effect! Great TEAM win! GO HAWKS!" ... This was all done outside the spotlight, with no praise for himself, but all for the fans who supported him and his teammates. ... I mean, what a class act!
Sadly, however, this isn't the movies, and being a good guy doesn't necessarily win you favor in the world of sports. And Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said today that Geno Smith will again be back under the center come the 'Hawks' game against the Tennessee Titans. ... Bye bye to Lock. Thanks for the win, kid. Now sit down.
Drew Lock ... whatever happens to you from here on out, you've earned another fan. I'm sorry that our societal values are as twisted as they are. And, as a sports, fan I know you deserve better.
Indeed, as a father and pastor, I wish there was a lot more of the character you showed on Monday on display for our youth, and far less of the trash talkin', spotlight grabbin', and takin' it to the bankin' vibes that we instead get treated to.
Saying a pray for you, Drew, that ultimately you find a team that deserves you, and a position that rewards you for the positive influence that you are! Good luck out there!
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