Michael82
04-30-2007, 05:01 PM
Lynch, Cal's All-America running back, could have held his draft party anywhere. But he's an Oakland kid, and proud of it, and so he picked Oakland Tech, his old high school, as the site that felt the best.
And the most relaxed person in the girls gymnasium was none other than Lynch. While 70 others showed various degrees of nervousness, he wandered about, having a good time, acting as if he were the entertainment director.
"You know Marshawn, he don't let nothing bother him," said Delisa Lynch, the 21-year-old Lynch's mother. "Not even getting in that (equipment) cart and riding around (Memorial Stadium) after that overtime win (over Washington in 2006). The same Marshawn, all day, every day. That's him."
Lynch arrived at the gym at 10:12 a.m., 72 minutes after the draft began, trailed by his entourage, or posse, of a dozen pals. Smiling and loose, he hugged nearly everyone, posed for pictures, played with little kids, shot baskets, greeted guests at the door, and talked on his cell phone.
"I'm cool," he said. "I'm just out here with my family, chillin', waiting for the moment. I'm not nervous at all. I'm just ready to get this over with, and get on."
Lynch was dressed like a college student — he's a junior at Cal — in a long, white untucked T-shirt, faded jeans and tennis shoes. Almost kidlike, except for the silver hair clips in his dreadlocks.
Now everything was about to change. He would become a professional and an instant millionaire, a cultural shock from his modest means.
"I'm still living life," he said, "but it feels good that I will be able to take care of my mother.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/ci_5783989
And the most relaxed person in the girls gymnasium was none other than Lynch. While 70 others showed various degrees of nervousness, he wandered about, having a good time, acting as if he were the entertainment director.
"You know Marshawn, he don't let nothing bother him," said Delisa Lynch, the 21-year-old Lynch's mother. "Not even getting in that (equipment) cart and riding around (Memorial Stadium) after that overtime win (over Washington in 2006). The same Marshawn, all day, every day. That's him."
Lynch arrived at the gym at 10:12 a.m., 72 minutes after the draft began, trailed by his entourage, or posse, of a dozen pals. Smiling and loose, he hugged nearly everyone, posed for pictures, played with little kids, shot baskets, greeted guests at the door, and talked on his cell phone.
"I'm cool," he said. "I'm just out here with my family, chillin', waiting for the moment. I'm not nervous at all. I'm just ready to get this over with, and get on."
Lynch was dressed like a college student — he's a junior at Cal — in a long, white untucked T-shirt, faded jeans and tennis shoes. Almost kidlike, except for the silver hair clips in his dreadlocks.
Now everything was about to change. He would become a professional and an instant millionaire, a cultural shock from his modest means.
"I'm still living life," he said, "but it feels good that I will be able to take care of my mother.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/ci_5783989