Seahawks' Russell Wilson on game-winning TD drive: Felt 'like Sue Bird in the clutch'
Russell Wilson was in a four-time champion kind of mind on Sunday night.
The Seattle Seahawks quarterback arrived to CenturyLink Field wearing Sue Bird’s jersey five days after the legendary point guard won her fourth WNBA championship with the Seattle Storm. And after his game-winning touchdown drive, Wilson honored her again in not-often-seen fashion.
Wilson celebrates Bird, Storm title
Wilson rolled up to the Sunday night game against the Minnesota Vikings wearing a No. 10 Bird jersey — the most popular WNBA jersey this season — backward so her name and number were front and center.
Champs! @seattlestorm @S10Bird #Seattle pic.twitter.com/tKocTBbojE
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) October 11, 2020
The Storm swept the Las Vegas Aces in a WNBA Finals that saw Seattle set records every game. Bird set the Finals record with 16 assists in the first game of the series and the team set an assists record in Game 2.
It was title No. 4 for the Storm franchise (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020) and puts them in a tie for most all-time with the Minnesota Lynx and the defunct Houston Comets. There could be more titles to come early in the decade for Seattle.
Bird, the No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft, became the first player in the league to win titles in three different decades. Only two NBA players have done the same (Tim Duncan, John Salley).
The Seahawks (5-0) are trying to join them with a 2020 season championship and Bird narrated a clip for “Sunday Night Football.”
.@seattlestorm legend @S10Bird knows an MVP when she sees one and @DangeRussWilson is looking pretttttty valuable right now 😏
Yeah, she said it. "Russ for MVP." @OnHerTurf | @Seahawks pic.twitter.com/AONUqz6Xwz— Sunday Night Football (@SNFonNBC) October 12, 2020
Russell Wilson: I feel like Sue Bird
Wilson, a frontrunner right now for MVP, led the Seahawks on a 94-yard drive with under two minutes to play and beat the Minnesota Vikings 27-26. Every yard gained was from the hands of Wilson, including a 17-yard rush and 77 passing yards on the drive.
When asked about the drive after the game, the Super Bowl XLVIII winner invoked Bird.
“I feel like Sue Bird in the clutch,” he said, again wearing his Bird jersey.
Professional athletes will often reference star performances by other athletes, but the name drop is usually a male athlete no matter the sport. It is still rare to see a male athlete compare himself to a female counterpart, no matter how successful that person has been.
.@Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson just said, “I felt like Sue Bird in the clutch.” In my era following sports growing up, I never remember a male athlete saying something like this. It seems simplistic, but this is powerful.
— Paola Boivin (@PaolaBoivin) October 12, 2020
Bird, who turns 40 on Friday, and Wilson, 31, are two of the biggest sports stars in Seattle currently along with two-time World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe. Rapinoe, Bird’s longtime girlfriend, plays for Seattle’s OL Reign in the NWSL.
The three co-hosted the ESPYs during the COVID-19 shutdown in June and urged the sports world to continue pushing for change after the death of George Floyd.
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