Last Updated on Thursday, 30 January 2014 10:51
By Kevin Hartzell
Let’s Play Hockey Columnist
As we come into Super Bowl week, there has been much said about Seattle Seahawks star cornerback Richard Sherman. There have been a variety of reactions and stories written regarding his post-NFC Championship Game comments to sideline reporter Erin Andrews. I suspect you saw the interview and have seen some of the various articles written in response. You may have an opinion of your own on the whole ordeal.
I don’t want to judge the young 24-year-old Sherman. He was interviewed in the heat of the moment, so to speak. It was just seconds after the end of a very emotional NFC Championship Game which came down to a last-second play – a play he made to help win the game for his team. I am not going to make a character assumption based upon a 10-second view of his actions. I know he and his life are many times more layered and complex than this one glimpse could ever tell us. I do know he didn’t handle this one short interview in a way we see most NHL players handle such interviews – that, I know.
It could be argued that hockey has in many ways been behind the other major sports when it comes to the marketing of its game and its players. However, when it comes to in-game and post-game interviews of its players, the NHL has been way ahead of the curve for years.
Hockey has for years interviewed its players between periods and immediately after games. I have seen hundreds of such interviews of the kind of Richard Sherman’s with various NHL players. Many of these interviews, like Sherman’s, have been conducted immediately after emotional battles, after scoring overtime winning goals and after great game-saving stops.
In contrast to the Sherman interview, there has been a distinct difference in every between-period and post-game interview of NHL players I can recall witnessing; the player never, and I mean never, took away from the focus on the success of his team. I am not saying it has never happened; I am saying in my own personal experience of witnessing these post-game interviews, I have just never seen what I saw in the Sherman interview.
I believe that had the exact same “Sherman” scenario happened with an NHL player in front of the camera and microphone, we would have likely heard something closer to this.
Sideline reporter Erin Andrews: “Take me through that last play where you defended the pass to win the game.”
NHL player: “I am just happy I was able to make a play there and help our team. Our guys battled so hard today. Our D-line put pressure on their passing game all day long, making our job in the secondary a lot easier. I can’t say enough about our offense and how they hung in there today … and hats off to the 49ers, they are maybe the toughest team we have played all year! We’re excited to be heading to the Super Bowl to represent our great fans.”
I believe this scenario of a similar interview with an NHL “game hero” is a likely probability and it is one of the reasons I love hockey. Hockey has a unique culture within the walls of each room (locker room and group). It is a culture I identify with and support. There is a code of conduct and an expectation that team comes first and it is each team member’s job to bring value to and make better their team and teammates. I am not saying this doesn’t exist in the NFL or the Seahawks locker room; I suspect that it does. But I know in hockey, this individual commitment to team is paramount.
This commitment to team, to looking outside of one’s self develops a strong understanding and appreciation of the talents of others on the team. The focus in the room is sacrifice and appreciation of and for the person sitting next to you. As a player, it is your job to use your talents to make each of your teammates better. In the end, I think it leads to not just a humble interview, but a player’s true understanding of what each of one of his teammates contributes to lead to the success of the team.
So when the NHL player in the post-game interview deflects praise of his own fine play to that of his teammates, it is not just being humble, but a true understanding of what efforts were expended by others to make his success and the team’s success possible.
In the end, that is my only issue with the Richard Sherman interview. It is not that he was emotional; it is that his comments were focused on self. The great players need never bring focus on self as their great play speaks for itself. The really great know that it is all about sharing their talents and making those around them better. Staying focused on those values lead to successful teams … and successfully positive interviews.
Kevin Hartzell is the head coach of Lillehammer in Norway’s GET-Ligaen. A St. Paul native and forward for the University of Minnesota from 1978-82, Hartzell coached in the USHL from 1983-84 with the St. Paul Vulcans and from 2005-12 with the Sioux Falls Stampede. His columns have appeared in Let’s Play Hockey since the late 1980s.
