OLD FAN LINES UP AGAINST LIONS
Seahawks’ Willson facing his former idols
Seattle Seahawks tight end Luke Willson doesn’t hesitate to admit he grew up idolizing the Detroit Lions.
“Growing up, I was a big fan,” said the 26-year-old Willson, who is from LaSalle, Ont., just outside the border city of Windsor. “For Halloween, when I was seven or eight, I was Barry Sanders.”
Now, the four-year NFL veteran will try to help Seattle put an end to Detroit’s season on Saturday when the Seahawks host the Lions in an NFC wild card game.
“It’ll be cool,” Willson said of playing the team he grew up cheering for. “There’s time to reflect afterwards. Football, for me, there’s a lot of storylines every game, but none of that matters when you play.”
Given time to reflect, Willson admits it was tough growing up a Lions fan in his house, considering his dad Mike and twin older brothers Eric and Greg rooted for the Green Bay Packers.
“It was a tough childhood,” the 6-foot-5, 252-pound Willson said. “They were all Packers guys. I was with (the Lions), even when they went 0-16. I was at Rice (University in Houston) and I was catching some heat.”
At Rice, there was another connection — Willson’s tight ends coach was a former Lion, David Sloan.
As he prepared for the 2013 NFL draft, Willson worked out for the Lions at the team’s practice facility.
“I did a visit with them as a local day,” Willson said. “There’s a lot of technicalities for (pre-draft) visits, but you can do a local one where you went to college or where you grew up. So, I did Houston and then a local day at Detroit.
“The Lions was one of the more memorable for me. I got dropped off by my mom, so I’m going off for this NFL tryout like I was going to Villanova (Catholic High School, in LaSalle) with this little bag of stuff.
“It was kind of neat because whenever you’re local, they give you gear, so I had Lions shorts on. As a kid growing up idolizing the Lions, putting on Honolulu blue was kind of neat for me. I won’t lie, even being considered (as a draft prospect) by your childhood team was kind of neat.”
But all that changed in the 2013 NFL draft when the Seahawks selected Willson in the fifth round.
“I sported Honolulu blue and silver until about four years ago,” said Willson, who won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks in his rookie season.
Willson missed five weeks this season with a knee injury, but scored his second touchdown of the season on Sunday as the Seahawks clinched the No. 3 seed in the NFC with a win over the San Francisco 49ers.
“It’s been a different year for me in 2016,” Willson said, “a bit of a mental grind. I’ve missed very few games. My rookie year I didn’t miss any, my second year one and two last year, or something like that. All of a sudden (there’s) a serious injury and it’s tough not being out there. Mentally it was a struggle, but it was great to be out there battling with the guys and, again, nice to finish the season strong.”
Now, he faces a Detroit team that closed the season with three straight losses, which cost the Lions a chance at their first division title since 1993 and a home playoff game.
“They’re a great team and they’ve gone on a couple of streaks,” Willson said. “They might be cold now, but it doesn’t matter (in the playoffs).”
The Seahawks also get to host Detroit at CenturyLink Field, in front of the hometown crowds that are known in Seattle as the 12th man. Willson’s parents plan to be among the Seattle faithful.
“Playing in front of fans here — for anyone it’s great to play a home playoff game,” Willson said, “but especially here in Seattle, it’s (a) great advantage.”
As a kid growing up idolizing the Lions, putting on Honolulu blue was kind of neat for me … even being considered by your childhood team was kind of neat.