If you live in Seattle and don’t know who Richard Sherman is, that’s okay, in about 30 seconds you are going to get to meet him.
I couldn’t help but throw this video up here, and I’m going to keep throwing Seahawks videos up here for the next two weeks, because it’s not often that your team goes to a Super Bowl, and it’s not often that you see such a great example of “playing the game within the game.”
Richard Sherman Would be a Great Lawyer
Earlier in this post, I alluded to Sherman winning “the game within the game.” This is the skill that would make him a great lawyer if he ever decided to become one.
What separates the great lawyers from the “mediocre” isn’t a natural talent. It isn’t years of experience. It isn’t even an encyclopedic knowledge of the law.
What separates the great lawyers from the mediocre is the ability to see the bigger picture and make strategic moves that help you win later.
Here’s a great example. Let’s say you’re a Seattle DUI lawyer. You’ve got a trial coming up where you know the cop is going to get on the stand and talk about all the arrests he’s made and all the people he let go. You know he’s going to do this and have two choices.
- You could let it go and hope no one notices; or
- You could object and potentially make the prosecutor emphasize it.
What would you do?
The Great Seattle DUI Lawyer Knows What’s Coming Next
The answer to the question is, “it depends on what you are going to do next.” And if you don’t think about it beforehand, you’re going to make imperfect decisions.
One might, for example, decide to object, let the prosecutor emphasize the arrests and the people he let go and then go on and on about how the cop doesn’t arrest everyone for DUI. At first blush that might seem like a bad decision.
And it is a bad decision, until you pull out a couple of his old reports showing the time he arrested the guy for DUI that had a .02 breath test. Or the time he arrested the guy that had the .00 breath test!
That’s What Mediocre Gets You
That’s one thing that makes Sherman great. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
First, he’s completely in Crabtree’s head now. The next time they meet Crabtee will be thinking about those comments (which is good because Sherman got the best of him).
Second, the Broncos are hearing those comments. They know the Seahawks defense is the best in the league, and they know that Seattle knows it. Irrational confidence in the secondary of your football team is a good thing. Peyton Manning will be on notice. It may make him second guess some throws.
Third, and finally, it completely energizes your fan base. Sherman didn’t say anything out of bounds. He didn’t swear. He didn’t use any slurs of any kind. He said “mediocre.” It’s just the kind of word to make everyone mad at Seattle and to make Seattle defend Sherman to the end.
What do you think? Was it a smart move?
No matter what, this is going to be a great two weeks in Seattle.
Enjoy it!
Stryder J. Wegener is the managing partner and owner of Emerald City Law Group, a full-service law firm in Seattle.
View All Blogs
