Before every Jets game, LaDainian Tomlinson experiences an out-of-body experience that helps inspire and motivate his teammates.
If you’re at the Jets-Chargers game today and you notice a pregame pow-wow with Jets players gathered around Tomlinson in one of the end zones, this is a regular occurrence, not a special occasion with Tomlinson’s former team in town.
In that scrum, Tomlinson channels his inner Ray Lewis, violently screaming messages of inspiration to his teammates minutes before they’re about to go battle their opponents on the field.
“It’s just something that comes over you, like you become a different person just for a minute or two and then you go back to being who you are,” Tomlinson said. “I don’t know how I do it, I just do it.”
Because Tomlinson, by nature, is such a calm, low-key, soft-spoken man, the fact that he’s the one leading that session makes it even more powerful to his teammates.
“He’s like Transformer,”
Jets running back Joe McKnight said. “He transforms into a different person out there. LT’s not a very big verbal person, but you just know when he gets into that moment that’s when you know it’s time to play.”
Jets defensive tackle Sione Pouha said the Tomlinson pregame gatherings remind him of the movie “Gladiator.”
“It’s like when the Gladiator comes out and prepares his troops to go out and battle,” Pouha said. “Everyone pays their respects and honors one of the leaders of the team. That’s how powerful it is.”
Jets right guard Matt Slauson, who called Tomlinson’s sessions “awesome,” said he looks forward to them before every game.
“His message is always different. It’ll be exciting to see what he’s got planned this week for us,” Slauson said.
“Really and truly, that’s never been my personality to kind of be that guy, but sometimes your called to be something for your team that they need from you, and so my team last year they said they needed that from me,” Tomlinson said.
Former NFL fullback Lorenzo Neal, who was a teammate of Tomlinson’s, said those inspirational pregame moments can make a difference for a team.
“It’s intense, man,” Neal said. “Those are the moments when you say, ‘OK. I’m going to lay it on the line because I know this guy is.’ It becomes contagious. LT is not a guy of a lot of words, but on Sundays, oh my goodness, it’s crazy. He comes to do two things on Sundays — chew bubble gum and kick [butt] — and on Sundays he’s always fresh out of bubble gum.”