it’s likeanybody,”Lynchsays, sittingata
largedining-room table inhiswaterfront
home in theSanFranciscoBayArea.
“Someone forcesyou to takemedicine,
youdon’twant to take it. Ifyou tellme
todosomethingandIwant toknowwhy
andyoudon’twant to tellmewhy—no.
I’mnot jumpingoffthebridgebecause
you’re tellingme to.”
Simplyput, interviewsabout football
gamesare like tacklers—Lynch likes
neither.
Which inmanyways isunfortunate.
Becausewhenhe is intriguedbyan
opportunityandagrees toan interview,
hehasmuch tosayandmuch toreveal.
Hiscommitment tocommunityservice
and tohelping theyouthofhisnativeand
belovedOakland,California,borderson
maniacal.Beforehe thoughtaboutpro
football,hisgoalwas tobeaprobation
officer.Hemajored insocial justiceat the
UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley, and is
less thanayear fromearningadegree.
Oneofhisbusinesspartners isJennifer
Montana,wifeof legendaryquarterback
JoeMontana. (Hehasaclothing line
that isofcoursecalled“BeastMode.”)
Amonghis friends isGavinNewsom, the
lieutenantgovernorofCaliforniaand
formermayorofSanFrancisco.
On thisday,he isengagingand
pleasantduringour interviewand is
cooperativeandenthusiasticduringa
subsequentphotoshoot.After theplayful
introduction,Lynchanswerseverysingle
question thoughtfully, at timesadmitting
hisown imperfections.Heoffers topose
withhisSuperBowl ringandSuperBowl
trophy, andheresponds toeveryrequest
while thephotographer takeshundreds
ofphotos.Hebearsnoresemblance to
themanatamediasessionbeforeSuper
BowlXLIX inFebruarywhenheopened
by tellingassembledreporters, “I’m just
heresoIwon’tgetfined”—and then
repeated thatphrase insome form
28more times.
“Hecan looksurly, scary,
intimidating, everything in theworld,”
saysDougHendrickson,hisagent. “But
whenyouknowhimashis innercircle
knowshim, there’snoonebetter.He’s
incredible.”
IFDEFENDERSFEELLIKE
theyare
makingcontactwith twomenwhen
tacklingLynch, there isgoodreason.
“Whenmymotherwaspregnant,”Lynch
says, “shehad twoplacentas.They
thoughtIwasgoing tobe twins.”
At215pounds,Lynch isnot
particularlybig foranNFLrunningback,
but thatweight ispacked intoacompact
5-11 frame,with theendresultnotunlike
abatteringram.
TheNewOrleansSaintscanattest
tohispower. InaplayoffgameonJan.
8,2011, theirdefensewashumiliatedby
SIMPLYPUT
AMERICANWAY
SEPTEMBER2015
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