NEW ORLEANS — Anyone whose character is voiced by James Earl Jones is not to be trifled with, so when Patrick Willis calls Ray Lewis “Mufasa’’ you know it is a designation oozing with respect.
Whenever Willis texts, calls or speaks with Lewis he refers to him as Mufasa, the noble patriarch from “The Lion King,” known as “a righteous, wise and kind-hearted leader, admirably powerful and courageous.’’ This is the vision Willis has of Lewis.
“By no stretch am I calling him a king,’’ Willis said. “I am calling him a king in this game and what it’s about, and what he’s been able to do at the linebacker position. But right now, he owns that, he owns that crown for the way to play the middle linebacker position, for the way it’s been played for a long time. That’s why I call him Mufasa.’’
Lewis’ reign as the Linebacker King is nearing an end. Super Bowl XLVII will be his final game for the Ravens, his final game in the NFL after 17 brilliant seasons. He remains a solid player and renowned leader, but the best linebacker on the field Sunday will be Willis, who has been relegated to Other No. 52 status as the Ray Lewis Retirement Parade might actually overshadow Mardi Gras in the Big Easy.
Willis doesn’t need to take a back seat to anyone in this game. In six seasons with the 49ers, he has been selected to six Pro Bowls and been named first-team All-Pro five times. He is the quintessential inside linebacker, a fearsome run stopper, sturdy, dependable, relentless. At 28, he is in his prime and one of the main reasons the 49ers, for all the glitz of Colin Kaepernick’s emergence, are a defense-first outfit you don’t want to go blow for blow with.
Willis said “it’s a coincidence, in a sense’’ he wears the No. 52 Lewis all but trademarked. It really is no coincidence at all. When he got to the Niners as the 11th overall pick in the 2007 draft, Willis recalls, he was offered No. 51, 52 and 57. He wore No. 49 at Mississippi, but insists, “I’m an even-numbered guy.’’ He opted for 52.
“I just said to myself, ‘52 sounds the best out of all these numbers, I’m a fan of a guy who wears No. 52 and that will be a number to play up to,’ ” Willis said. “That will be a number to be able to wear on your back, because a great one is wearing it right now.’’
Willis did not adopt the wild gyrations Lewis performs when he comes through the tunnel before a game. Willis is no wallflower on the field and he clearly is an emotional sparkplug, but he does not bring attention cascading down on himself the way Lewis does.
“As far as I will go with comparing each other would be he plays the game with a lot of passion, lot of enthusiasm, and I play with that same kind of passion, same kind of enthusiasm,’’ Willis said. “I may not get up there and go as crazy as he does at times, but, inside, when a play is made or when something is going good, yeah, I burn inside with that same kind of feeling. I just don’t show it as much.’’
In his fifth NFL game, Willis faced Lewis and the Ravens. “I got the chance to shake his hand,’’ Willis remembers. The two spent quality time together during Pro Bowl trips when casual poolside conversation allowed Willis to get a closer look at Lewis the person.
“I like to call it his wise words, passing some of his wisdom over to me,’’ Willis said.
That respect, though, does not translate into allowing the king to keep his throne. After all, in “The Lion King,” Mufasa was trampled to death by wildebeests and his son, Simba, eventually wore the crown.
“As far as Ray Lewis goes, I’ll forever and always have respect for what he’s done for this game, the way he’s played it, the passion he’s played with,’’ Willis said. “But at the same time, too, I feel like the time is now. I want it bad, we want it bad and that’s just what it is.’’