Seahawks choose the Boz to raise the flag? Really?

Normally, I try not to criticize the Seahawks. They’re the professionals, and I’m just a fan. But who on Earth named Brian Bosworth to raise the flag today?

I’ll grant you, there are far more momentous events today than who will raise the 12th Man flag today before the biggest game of the year. For instance, the biggest game of the year is a bit more important. The health of about half of the Seahawks roster is more important. Just how much of an impact Beastmode can have matters a lot more. But of all the people that could have raised the flag today, how is Brian Bosworth the best choice?

Some 12s may be too young to recall the legacy of the man Seattle took with the first pick of the supplemental draft in 1987. Despite his performance in college, he was less than adequate as a professional football player. He didn’t exactly start off on the right foot, sending a letter to the Seahawks clearly stating that he did not want to come to Seattle. When the Hawks drafted him anyway, he threatened to hold out. Great start, right?

He went so far as to take himself out of the main draft, but Seattle beat the odds and wound up with him anyway. He was an excellent player in college, but he was all about Boz, all the time. He talked a huge game to hype himself, but was strictly a mediocre player. He wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t worth the first-round pick the Hawks forfeited the following year to get him. He certainly wasn’t worth the then-record rookie contract he allowed the organization to sign him to.

Worst of all, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He felt it was necessary to brag that he would contain Bo Jackson in a big Monday Night Football matchup between the Seahawks and the Raiders. This was back in the Stone Age, when Seattle was in the AFC West. All Jackson did was run for 221 yards and two scores including this embarrassing posterization. Sorry, but the NFL doesn’t play nice with other sites. Suffice to say, Bosworth provided as much resistance as warm butter to a sledgehammer.

The Boz only played in 24 games before injuries put an end to his subpar career. Maybe my assessment seems harsh. Maybe you’re thinking, “He was just a 22-year old kid.” Bosworth has said he’s humbled by the honor of raising the flag. From everything I’ve read, he’s changed for the better. I’m happy for him, but that doesn’t change the fact that when he was with the Seahawks, he was all about himself.

You know who wasn’t a self-promoting egotistical jerk when he was 22? I’ll help you out with two names: Kam Chancellor and Doug Baldwin. These two players were consummate professionals, and have always been outstanding people. They didn’t need to grow up in the NFL, because they were thoughtful men of character when they got to Seattle. No one could be more appropriate to raise the flag for the 12s today than Baldwin and Chancellor.

Sure, honor Boz, but let him get his moment another day. This is the biggest game of the year, and the Hawks are sending up one of their greatest disappointments ever to raise the flag. He didn’t even want to come to Seattle, and this is the guy you choose? No, no, no. It may not sound like it, but I’m fine with honoring Bosworth. Maybe Kate Bosworth. Seriously, do you really want the poster boy for bad attitude and even worse play to be in the spotlight today? Seattle needed actual Seahawks in the spotlight today. Baldwin/Chancellor in 2020!