Seattle, WA: Pete Carroll has heard many things this year as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks: how his college coaching style won’t work; how Matt Hasselbeck is finally showing his age in play as well as lack of hair; how players on the opposite team won’t hug their old coach; how the Seahawks had no chance of making the playoffs, which led into how the Seahawks had no chance of beating the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs.
Now, Pete Carroll has some choice words for everyone else to hear. “This is destiny. My dream to make it through to the end with my team this season has now become reality,” stated Carroll. “We’re going to the promised land, baby!”
That promised land, of course, is in the arms of his former college quarterback, Mark Sanchez.
In 2009, Mark Sanchez said it would be hard to leave USC for the NFL due to the fact that he would miss man-hugs from Pete Carroll. However, Sanchez announced his plans to forgo his final year of college eligibility and enter the 2009 NFL Draft, although he continued as a USC student and finished his degree in the Spring of 2009 while preparing for the draft. During the press conferences leading to the decision, Carroll made it clear that he did not agree with Sanchez’ decision, as he, too, would miss their manly embraces on the grid-iron.
Now, with the New York Jets and the Seattle Seahawks extending their surprising seasons with playoff wins, the embrace of destiny seems to be looming in Dallas, home of Super Bowl XLV.
“It’s what really got me through that game against Indy,” explained Sanchez. “In that first half I was a mess. But then coach Ryan said something to me at half-time that lifted my spirits. ‘Mark,’ he said, ‘the Seahawks won. Pete’s waiting for you to meet him halfway.’ That was all I needed to hear.”
While the destined man-fondling reunion between Carroll and Sanchez has a long, hard road ahead of it, with games against top-seeded Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots next in line, there is no question that this coach and player will rise to the occasion, knowing that beyond those teams are each other’s waiting arms.