Hasselbecks Football Playing Heart Still In Seattle

Published on August 10, 2011 by Seahawk Fanatic     

Read a snippet from Jerry Brewer over at the Seattle Times on Hasselbeck, we do miss him but the time to move on was imminent. No matter how much we love or like a player the organization must make sometimes painful decisions in trading or moving players and the Hasselbeck move was felt throughout the Seattle area and abroad.

But it’s clear his football-playing heart is still in Seattle.

Hasselbeck went on many long, sprawling monologues during our interview, and they were quite revealing. It was like he was fighting through his emotions and searching for the right words to express how he feels.

Here’s a snippet of Hasselbeck trying to explain why he’s so disappointed that he and the Seahawks couldn’t come to terms on a new contract:

“And I think that, really, the most disappointing thing for me is that last year was so hard holding it together, with all of the adversity that we faced, and it was really, really important to me that we won our division. It was really important to me. And it was really important to Pete (Carroll). That was great. It was a big part of the reason that I loved playing for Pete. He wanted to win the division. That was my only fear at all, ever, with the changes, is that people wouldn’t be trying to win as hard as they could. But I never really felt that. His desire to win the division was all in. I really appreciated that. And then we got it done, and I really felt that at the end of the year, this was an awesome year. It’s the year that I’m most proud of in my whole career because, even though we were 7-9, it was hard for us to get that 7-9. And then we played really well in the playoffs against the Saints. We battled adversity in that game. We were down early. I throw a pick in my first pass, it was a tipped ball. It couldn’t have been any worse. I go over to the sideline, and Pete’s like, ‘Hey, don’t even sweat that. Don’t even sweat that. I believe in you. We can get this done.’ It was great. We had this good thing. And we did it, and had we not been sleepwalking through the first half of that Chicago game, we could’ve done something even more special.

“So I just felt like it was a big foundation for what was to come. And then — bam! — I don’t get to be a part of it. So, that’s hard. That’s hard. But they’re doing their thing. They’re in good hands. And I’ve got a big job here, a big responsibility, and I’ve got to basically just try to do what I did in Seattle. I’ve got to do that here. And do what I saw other people do that were maybe a little bit older than me.”

In the last sentence of that quote, Hasselbeck is alluding to aging quarterbacks who moved on to another team and proved they still had some game left. The Brett Favres, Kurt Warners and Warren Moons of his QB brethren. I wouldn’t say Hasselbeck is determined to show he’s still got it; he’s never questioned himself in that manner. He’s just eager to embrace a new opportunity. But letting go has been difficult for him.

I’m posting that piece later in the afternoon because I have to finish a Hasselbeck/Locker column scheduled for Thursday’s newspaper. And I’m flying home from Nashville today. So, I really have to hustle.

Tags: Adversity, Career, Chicago Game, Desire, Emotions, Fear, Game, Goo, Hasselbeck, Heart, Hey Don, Monologues, Moving, New Contract, Painful Decisions, Pete Carroll, saints, Seattle, Seattle Area, Seattle Times, Sideline, Sleepwalking, Snippet