Marshawn Lynch says he expected the ball on final play of Super Bowl XLIX

USA Today Sports
Marshawn Lynch has finally broken his silence regarding the final play of Super Bowl XLIX.

The star running back for the Seattle Seahawks spoke to a Turkish television station about the final play and said that he fully expected to carry the rock on the play that ended up being Malcolm Butler's claim to fame...you know...this one.

“To be honest with you, I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that I was expecting the ball," Lynch said. "Yes, I was expecting the ball. But in life, these things happen. Like I told a reporter after the game, it’s a team sport."

This was a lot different than what Lynch said after the Super Bowl, according to Phil Perry of CSNNE.com. After the game, he told Jim Trotter of ESPN that he wasn't surprised by the call because football is a team sport.

In a nutshell, this really isn't surprising. Aside from Pete Carroll, the entire world thought Lynch was getting the ball on that play. Whether or not he would have scored is up for debate. However, something I found out while reading Perry's report was that there's been a conspiracy theory going around that the Seahawks didn't want Lynch to score because of the possibility of him being named Super Bowl MVP.

Had Lynch won the award, he would have been forced to speak to the media a lot more than he probably would have liked, and we all know the kind of the relationship he has with them. Could you have imagined seeing him get up on the stage and talk to Dan Patrick?

That may have made for some entertaining television, but I'm obviously glad it didn't turn out that way. This is what Lynch had to say about that theory:

“I had no problem with the decision of the playcalling," Lynch said. "I mean, you know . . . I think it was more of a . . . how do I say this? When you look at me, and you let me run that ball in . . . I am the face of the nation. You know, MVP of the Super Bowl . . . that’s pretty much the face of the nation at that point of time.

"I don’t know what went into that call. I mean, maybe it was a good thing that I didn’t get the ball. I mean, you know, it cost us the Super Bowl. I mean, I have full … I have full confidence in my teammates to execute that plan because we’ve done it so many more times. But would I love to had the ball in? Yes, I would have. But the game is over, and I am in Turkey."

I don't believe in conspiracy theories and I think a lot of them are stupid. This is another one that I think is totally bogus. The Seahawks were in prime position to win that game and I sincerely doubt Carroll called that play in spite of Lynch's dissatisfactory relationship with the media.

Full video of Lynch's interview below.



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