Richard Sherman says he isn’t going to do Broadway and isn’t going clubbing in Manhattan, and don’t expect the Seahawks cornerback to do something outrageous this week just because the Super Bowl is being played in the media capital of the world.
“I’m going to make a few appearances and shake a few hands,” Sherman said of his plans for Super Bowl week. “There are certain things you have to do when you get in this position. But I’m not doing a lot of extra. I came here to play football and that’s what I’m focused on.”
At least that’s what he was saying Sunday night soon after the Seahawks arrived at the Westin in Jersey City where the NFC champions will headquarter for Super Bowl XLVIII.
The normally opinionated Sherman talked for 20 minutes during his first press conference, but didn’t say anything that will lead the nightly news or inflame the AFC champion Broncos. In fact, he had nothing but good things to say about Peyton Manning and his No. 1-ranked offense that will go against the Seahawks No. 1-ranked defense.
“We have a tremendous amount of respect for them because we know the résumé and their reputation,” Sherman said. “We’re going to go out there and try to execute. It’s going to be a battle of wills. It’s going to be a fun game.”
It was boring stuff by Sherman’s standards. Perhaps, he might be a little gun-shy after the firestorm he created with his on-field interview following the NFC Championship Game in Seattle, where he blasted the Niners’ Michael Crabtree as a “sorry receiver.” The dissection of his rant and the reactions on social media triggered a national debate about Sherman, race, arrogance and the line between confidence and cocky. In some circles Sherman, a Stanford graduate, was branded a thug. His character was attacked. A week later, he says he has no regrets and called it a learning experience.
“It seems like people don’t like for you to ruffle the feathers and change the understood and go against the grain,” Sherman said. “People don’t feel comfortable when you go against the grain.”
Yet going against the grain is why there were more than a dozen cameras and 50 reporters camped around his podium Sunday night waiting to hear what he had to say. It was a subdued and philosophical Sherman who spoke. He openly discussed the impact of the attention he received last week. He went so far as to pat himself on the back for opening a dialogue for racial healing.
“I think it did have some effect on opening up the channels of communication and conversation and dialogue,” Sherman said. “I think I had some impact on it and I want to have a positive impact. I want people to understand that everybody should be judged by their character and who they are as a person and not by the color of their skin. That’s something we’ve worked to get past as a nation and country and we’ll continue to work on it. I think it’s healthy.”
You get the feeling Sherman arrived here trying to avoid stealing the spotlight from his teammates. He admitted he reached out to several Super Bowl veterans to pick their brain about what to expect. They included Ronnie Lott, Deion Sanders and Joe Theismann. The plan now is to not say anything that will wind up on the Broncos’ bulletin board.
“You can’t say crazy stuff on a regular basis, so I don’t think being at the Super Bowl makes it any different,” he said. “It’ll just be a huge stage you made a mistake on instead of a smaller stage. In the NFL with the social media and all the technology now days anytime you say anything it’s going to spread quick.”
Sherman learned that firsthand last week. He’s not eager for a repeat. But stay tuned, there are four more days of Super Bowl press conferences to go.