Sounds like San Diego isn't very happy about it either.
Did Seau dupe Chargers, fans with fanfare retirement?
August 18, 2006
Like Monday's retirement festivities, Junior Seau's theme song turns out to be a Cheap Trick production.
“I want you to want me.
Dean Spanos congratulates Junior Seau on what apparently will be a short-lived first retirement as a player.
I need you to need me.
I'd love you to love me.
I'm beggin' you to beg me.”
The Chargers' iconic linebacker presumed to speak of loyalty and honor in confirming his “graduation,” at the Chargers' Murphy Canyon complex, but his dominant trait appears to be ego. Three days after his overblown farewell to pro football, Seau has abruptly reversed his field to entertain an overture from the New England Patriots.
At best, No. 55 has experienced a change of heart. At worst, he is responsible for a change of story. Either Seau did not think the Patriots were sufficiently serious about signing him when he plowed full speed ahead into his high-volume valedictory, or he couldn't bring himself to postpone the pomp until he had reached a binding decision.
Or maybe he acted on the advice once imparted to another distinguished “Graduate.” Plastics.
At a minimum, Seau exercised poor judgment in participating in a ceremony that would turn out to be a sham less than 72 hours later. Worst case, he duped the Chargers and all of those who extended themselves in his honor after learning of the Patriots' interest. Probably, the cover story that is eventually disseminated will be more flattering than it is forthright.
We should have seen this coming, though. You can't trust a superstar athlete to quit of his own accord or to be completely candid when it's inconvenient. We should have smelled a reeking rodent when Seau stubbornly clung to his hokey “graduation” theme instead of a clear statement that he was quitting. (Which is not to suggest clear statements are Seau's strength. The man must have majored in non sequiturs at USC.)
“Is this decision irreversible?” Seau was asked Monday afternoon. “Could you be talked out of retirement?”
“I can't answer that,” he said. “I really can't. What situation can get me out of it, I don't know. If there's a 'need' team out there, I'm definitely going to look at it, you know? But we're almost halfway through training camp. I'm 37 years old.”
“Guys get hurt,” he was told.
“I'm still 37,” he said.
Granted, Seau left open the possibility of reactivating himself Monday, but he repeatedly referred to the interest of NFL teams in the past tense. He never admitted to having any irons in the fire, except for the prospect of more time with his children.
“The decision that needed to be made was if I was
needed,” he said, vaguely. “There were teams that
wanted me to play . . . I'm not going to go to a team that
wants Junior. That's not enough commitment. I need you to
need me.”
Seau plainly left the impression he had nothing pending that might require him to make more tackles. He said some teams had expressed interest – he declined to identify any – but that “a lot of it had to do with a leadership role.” He was flattered by the interest, he said, but not excited by the job description. At this stage of his career, Junior Seau still prefers to be a menace rather than a mentor.
Perhaps he did not then see New England as a realistic possibility. Perhaps he simply didn't know how to postpone the party after the Chargers had gone to the trouble to print commemorative programs and T-shirts, issue invitations and arrange for catering. Or perhaps Seau simply craves attention too much to allow the details to divert him.
“I was researching for the 'need' team and there wasn't a 'need' team,” Seau said Monday. “The commitment wasn't a 'need' commitment. I've been around long enough to know whether you need me or want me.
“There are a lot of teams that probably wanted Junior for his character, his loyalty, his honor, and how he approaches the game, his work ethic – all the intangibles. But do they want the football player, No. 55, with that character? That was questionable.”
It is a linebacker's prerogative to change his mind, of course, and Seau is obviously entitled to continue chasing a championship after 16 NFL seasons and one unsatisfactory Super Bowl. For their part, the Chargers do not feel betrayed by the prospect of Seau suiting up again. Nor do they begrudge him the opportunity to play for a conference rival.
“If in fact he chooses to continue his playing career, we wish him good health and the best of luck this season,” the Chargers said in a prepared statement. “Junior's place in the Chargers' Hall of Fame awaits him when his career is over.”
Team spokesman Bill Johnston acknowledged yesterday that the Chargers would make no counteroffer to Seau after learning of New England's initiative. Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer, asked Monday whether Seau might still be of use to his team, said he would have to lose more than one linebacker to injury before the idea would start to make sense.
“You don't know how he's feeling physically,” Schottenheimer said, “and (about) his pride. I can't speak for him. I don't know.”
This was a nice way of saying Junior Seau was no longer wanted or needed by the Chargers. If the Patriots see Seau differently, only a tackling dummy would stand in his way.
