Takeo Spikes is two seasons shy of playing 15 years in the NFL, a goal he set before his career even started.
But the veteran linebacker says there is one scenario in which he would at least consider retiring early: If the 49ers win the Super Bowl this season.
Spikes said that before the 21-0 loss to Tampa Bay, but I believe his belief in his 3-7 team hasn’t wavered. I wrote a story about Spikes last week and, among other qualities, I was struck by his relentless optimism.
His sunny outlook should have been squashed long ago during a career
that’s included 181 games, 118 losses, one winning season and zero
playoff appearances. In his 13 years spent with the Bengals, Bills,
Eagles and Niners, he’s witnessed incompetence at all levels around him.
But he’s still filled with belief, not bitterness.
“He’s been optimistic since he got here,” linebacker Patrick Willis
said. “You can tell by the way he plays. By the way he prepares. By the
way he talks.”
No kidding. Spikes won’t even speak about negative possibilities. He
says even discussing them gives them power. Here’s what he said when I
asked about the possibility of retiring without ever reaching the
postseason.
“Talk to me after my career is over,” he said. “I believe in the power
of the tongue. I would never do anything to put myself at a
disadvantage.”
• Another note about Spikes: He and Willis are kindred spirits. They
both have that crazed will to win so many great players possess.
Spikes cried after the Niners lost to Carolina this season. The defeat
dropped them to 1-6 and Spikes said he broke down because he saw the
49ers’ opportunity to win a lousy division slipping away.
I asked if he was ever frustrated by younger teammates who don’t have
the same urgency. He responded by motioning toward Willis’ empty locker,
a few feet away, “He understands. That’s what makes him so different. I
could point out several young guys that understand, or if they don’t
they latch on to a vet who does understand. What (ticks) me off are the
ones who just in general you look back over time and see — that guy was
selfish. The only thing he really cared about was getting his rocks off
for the game and as long as he did what he was supposed to do, even if
we lost, he was OK with that.”
Willis echoed Spikes’ sentiments.
“I think we all want to win, but I think (Takeo) would have to want it
more than some because some are younger,” Willis said. “And some are
here for different reasons. I’m not saying there are some among us, but
you never know what one guy’s reason for being here is. But I know what
Takeo’s reason is.”
It’s no wonder NFL teams invest so much into pre-draft background checks and psychology profiles.
How many 22-year-old All-Americans have had their drive dulled by instant millions?
Spikes and Willis, both former first-round picks, are reminders that talent alone isn’t enough.
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