That's Matt Hasselbeck. OUR Matt Hasselbeck, playing for the Tennessee Titans Saturday night. I hear he played well, but I'm not itching to go out of my way to watch the highlights. I feel like I'm not where I should be about the whole "Matt Hasselbeck leaving the Seahawks" thing. On one side, you have a lot of people who are fairly HAPPY to see him go- Yes, a lot of them preface their fusillades against Matthew by saying the right things about his "Seahawks legacy," but the bottom line is that they couldn't be happier that they don't have to watch another snap with #8 leading the Seahawks. At the other pole are the people SO devoted to Hasselbeck that they are furious at PCJS for not giving Matthew a gaudy multi-year deal to stay in Seattle. These are the people who talk about not being able to root for the Seahawks after this horrible betrayal, and how they might just go become Titans fans!
(Side note- If the presence of Hasselbeck and Locker in Tennessee makes you want to jump ship? Good fucking riddance. And no, I seriously don't think it's OK for someone who calls themselves a Seahawks fan to go buy a Hasselbeck or Locker Titans jersey. Nope. It's pretty much the opposite of something that would be OK.)
Simultaneously, I am very upset that Hasselbeck is no longer with the Seahawks, but I also can't in good conscience say it would have been the right move for Seattle to give Hass some huge, multi-year contract. In my perfect world, he would have been brought back on a market-value 1-year deal, but neither Hasselbeck or PCJS were interested in that option.
The classy thing to do (and give both Hasselbeck and PCJS credit- They've handled this with as much class as you could possibly imagine) would be for me to "wish him well" in Tennessee. As much as I'd love to think I'm that enlightened and mature, I'm not. Oh, I don't want Matthew to get hurt, or stink so badly he gets benched... But I also don't want him to go all "Dave Krieg with the 1994 Lions" either. Even with him on a team that will never meet the Seahawks while he's still playing (unless both teams miraculously reached the Super Bowl), the idea of him regaining his form and lighting up opposing defenses in a different uniform makes me more than a little queasy. Imagine watching him lead the Titans to the playoffs while the Seahawks flail about, out of contention, behind a disappointing Tarvaris Jackson... Barf.
Long story short? I'd like Matt Hasselbeck to play for the Titans EXACTLY as well as he played for the Seahawks last year- Maybe a TEENSY bit better, but not TOO much better.
This all probably sounds batshit insane to a normal human being- But these are the treacherous mental waters one has to navigate sometimes when their favorite player and favorite team divorce. In a twisted way, it would be easier if I could place "blame" on Hasselbeck or on PCJS- But both sides acted in their own best interest: Matthew wanted to remain an NFL starting quarterback, and the Seahawks wanted to save some money and start moving towards finding that mythical "Quarterback of the future." Neither side is "wrong," but that doesn't make me any less sad that things turned out this way.
Honestly, I'll probably avoid watching the Titans as long as Hasselbeck is their quarterback- Nothing he does on that team is going to make me feel very good (alright- I hope he throws for 400 yards and 5 TDs against Pittsburgh on October 9th). The point where I'll probably be at peace with all of this is when the Seahawks put him in the Ring of Honor, right below the banner for a Seattle Super Bowl victory.
What do you think, sirs?
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6 comments:
That's almost exactly how I feel about the whole thing. Well said.
Might the best scenario be that Matt performs admirably the first few weeks including a stunning defeat of Pittsburgh, but then is sidelined by a minor injury. Locker comes in and looks like a seasoned-veteran carrying the Titans to the playoffs. Hasselbeck spends the rest of the season on the sideline tutoring Locker. Then retires in the off-season and returns to Seattle.
Agreed Neither side is wrong, but both aren't right either.
And regretfully, I also have to admit, he doesn't look terrible in the uniform.
And true I hope he tears up Sh!tsburgh. I hate them so much.
Nice article.
I like your blog - you have a fresh take on things with good humor backed with a lot of street cred. Any way, the reason I wasn't that choked up to see Mathew leave was because of his recent injury issues. I believe our young offensive line is going to make a lot of mistakes this year, and I'm afraid he might be knocked out of more than just a few games. I don't think that Whitehurst can be a reliable replacement so why not just start over, like they are doing? End the Hassleback era and move on.
I'm a Seahawks and a Husky fan, and I don't feel bad about Hasselbeck leaving (it's not as bad since he's in the AFC now, and with ), but I might buy a Locker jersey. I would like nothing more for Locker to flourish in the NFL, and for Hasselbeck to "mentor" him would be kind of neat to see.
Jared,
Then get a Locker HUSKIES jersey- NOT a jersey of another NFL team.
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