When reporters asked Panthers cornerback Josh Norman if he would have preferred for the Vikings to beat the Seahawks yesterday so that Carolina could have avoided matching up against Seattle next weekend, we wouldn’t have blamed him for saying, “Yes.” Despite the Seahawks’ close game yesterday, Russell Wilson & Co. have been one of the best teams in football over the last month or so. So we wouldn’t have criticized Norman for wanting to play anyone except Seattle.
Norman didn’t take that road today, though. Instead, he told reporters that he’s actually glad the Panthers are playing the Seahawks in the playoffs. And not in a “Because they can’t hang with us” kind of way, either. Instead, Norman gave a pretty profound answer about the Panthers matching up with the Seahawks.
“Why would you want anything in life that is easy?” he said. “Shoot, man, if you don’t go for it head on, then how can you say you are the best at anything? I think that is the way we are in our society. We want things the easy way and stuff to be given to us. We don’t want to work for it. We want things to be handed to us. And I don’t think that’s the way it should be done. I think the way it has been set up is the right way. Go through it the hard way. Challenge yourself to be the best. If you can be the best, beat the best.”
Well then. We weren’t expecting that answer, but that’s one hell of a way to look at a football game and, hell, life in general. If you weren’t already looking forward to the Panthers game against the Seahawks on Sunday, you are now.
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[via Pro Football Talk]
