He won the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks, but now Russell Wilson is playing for the opening opponent in the NFL: With the Denver Broncos he is returning to his old place of work - and is booed and treated with nasty sayings. Then the game is lost.
Quarterback Russell Wilson played for the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL for ten years. Together, the club and the superstar won the Super Bowl in 2013. Now Wilson has returned to his old place of work with his new team, the Denver Broncos, for the opening game of the new American football league season. But instead of a joyful reception, there was a shrill concert of whistles and boos.
Wilson and the Seahawks had not parted on good terms this offseason. The 33-year-old wanted to leave, the club wanted to get rid of him. A mega trade to Denver took place, Wilson went to the Broncos for five picks and three players - and now there is a lot of satisfaction for the Seahawks fans.
Because on his return, Wilson lost 16:17 with the Broncos. A Broncos field goal attempt from 64 yards that failed by an inch sealed the defeat. Wilson threw 340 yards for his new team in his first NFL game, but only managed one touchdown and failed several times with the Broncos just before the goal. "I couldn't have done better," he said nonetheless. "It just didn't go to our liking. But you know what? We have 16 games left."
The Seahawks fans did not stop at verbal expressions of displeasure, but had written numerous signs on which Wilson was vilified. It read about: "Better win or he'll leave you too", "Wilson wanted to be boss, we said: 'Goodbye'" and "The guy who became a diva got involved in Hollywood". In addition, some had pasted over the name Wilson with the word "traitor" on their old jerseys, reports the "Bild".
Wilson's successor Geno Smith had two touchdown passes and also went without an interception. He often gave Seattle fans a reason to cheer with smart decisions, putting the home team ahead with a good attack and first touchdown pass. At 10:10, the Broncos still managed to equalize, but by losing the ball at the opposing one-yard line, they gave away seemingly safe points twice.
The decision of the new Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett to try a field goal from a very long distance and not to let Wilson use the remaining time caused a lack of understanding in the US media. The Broncos kicker missed the chance - the defeat was complete. Returning to Seattle, Wilson certainly had hoped differently.
