R.I.P. Original Swagger

Crossing the middle was never a good idea when Tatum was playing

The term “swagger” gets thrown around much too often today. Whether it be by rappers, athletes, sportscasters, or thirteen year old boys on Facebook the term has firmly cemented itself into pop-culture today. Unfortunately because of its popularity it gets thrown around by any and everyone and has come to mean a sort of combination between confidence and being conceited.

The way that it first came into existence was as a way of describing someone’s style and the way they carry themselves. It has to do with the way they walk, talk, act, and in sports the way they play the game. It isn’t about how you celebrate your touchdowns, it’s about acting like you’ve been there before. It isn’t about beating your chest or screaming about a big hit, it’s about standing over the guy and looking him in the eye to let him know he better not cross the middle again. And in the case of Jack Tatum, it is about playing the game the right way no matter what the cost is because you know that you are better then anyone else out there and you don’t need to show off to prove it.

The ESPN film series 30 for 30 documented the Miami Hurricane football team of the 90′s and showed off how they dominated on the field with what they considered to be the first showing of “swagger.” I have seen shirts and ad-campaigns by the school and affiliated clothing companies that read “The “U” Invented Swagger.” If people think that Miami invented swagger then they must have never seen the ‘ 85 Bears and damn sure hadn’t ever seen the 1970′s Oakland Raider teams. Willie Brown, Art Shell, George Atkinson II, and certainly Jack Tatum all led by Al Davis played and approached the game with an attitude that not only were they going to beat you when they played you but they were going to hurt you and they carried themselves like it. They knew that they were tougher, meaner, and flat out better then whoever was unfortunate enough to get in their way. That type of attitude is what swagger is all about, the “U” certainly didn’t invent swagger, they may have borrowed it from the original bad boys of football but today respect needs to be given where it is due.

This morning Jack Tatum died of a heart attack at the age of 61 after battling diabetes for years. He was always known for his hard hits on the field which earned him the nickname “The Assassin.” His most famous hit made that nickname a bit haunting when he ended the career of New England Patriot receiver Darryl Stingley in a 1978 preseason game. After the hit Stingley was paralyzed and ultimately died in 2007. While it is all part of the game, the NFL community expected and never received an apology from Tatum for Stingley, as Tatum felt he had done nothing wrong and in reality all he was doing was what he did on a regular basis. He hit and he hit hard. Unfortunately that bravado which led to him being as feared of a defensive back in the history of the game also led to him being looked upon by some with a feeling of discontent for never publicly showing remorse for Stingley’s shortcomings. However that attitude and way that he carried himself is all about what swagger is and what swagger should be and I for one hope that the legacy that those Raider teams started carries on because they played the game the way that it was intended to be played and nobody played it harder, better, or with more swag then Jack Tatum.

Advertisement