Film Gulls: The redemption of Kam Chancellor

PROLOGUE

April 24th, 2010. A young man sits at home, a cloud of anxiety hanging over him like the clouds that cover the east on this precipitous morning. The almighty Sean Taylor has passed along the passion and brutality that the safety position encompasses, but this young man has not harnessed the power yet.

A harbinger of pain this young man will be. Not yet, though.

After receiving a fateful message, this young man will head to the Northwest to proudly don navy and emerald garments, paying tribute to the warriors who came before him and paving a road to a legacy of his own.

April 24th, 2010. A young man begins the journey towards becoming the harbinger of pain that he is destined to be.

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January 17th, 2016. A man slowly trudges away from the battleground. An early surge by the enemy put this man and his brothers in a hole too deep for even the most able combatants to dig themselves out of.

Despite an eruption of intensity in the hopes of redemption and eventual victory, the torrent was quelled and the season had ended.

This man thinks about his regrets - about what might have been. Before the first campaign of the previous autumn, he had let a dispute of pride get in the way of his love for his brothers and their journey towards the mountaintop.

This man knows that this will not happen again.

This man knows that he has a point to prove in the next crusade.

January 17th, 2016. A man begins a push for redemption that nothing and nobody will be able to halt.

ACT I

September 11th, 2016. A man stands upon a battleground that he has has stood upon many times. He has won championships here. He has broken the souls of many men here.

This man is ready to defend his homeland with every inch of his being.

On a key play deep within his own territory, this man is keyed in on a ground attack from the beginning. He stands his ground off the right side of the line before shooting through his opponents’ defenses immediately after the snap. The ballcarrier is instantly hit and driven into the backfield by this man.

He rolls over backwards, jumps to his feet, and bellows alongside his teammates.

September 11th, 2016. A man will make the world remember that he is one to be reckoned with.

ACT II

September 25th, 2016. A man stares down his hated rivals, his gaze piercing each individual’s very being. While many are new faces in the crimson and gold across the line from him, an all too familiar abhorrence fills him to the brim.

An adversary charges upfield before breaking to the left. This man recognizes the intended path of his enemy and breaks diagonally in that direction. A projectile is flung towards the engaged receiver, but this man is much quicker than the architects of this offense had anticipated. He punches the ball out of reach of the crimson warrior before tackling him to the ground.

Another assailant appears in front of him but a thundering howl sends the diminutive Patton scurrying away, fearful of punishment to follow.

September 25th, 2016. A man has regained his form and is ready to continue his campaign towards a return to the promised land.

ACT III

November 13th, 2016. A man finds himself in the most hostile of environments. The last time he entered battle against the elites that icily stare him down, he and his brothers suffered the most gut-wrenching defeat imaginable.

This day is different.

It has been many moons since this man has been able to enter battle with those who he loves. He is ready to remind the world who he is and what he can do.

Deep into the struggle, this man grasps that he and his brothers are prevailing, but the engagement has the potential to swing in the opposite direction at a moment’s notice. He decides that he must take action.

The figure towering behind the line happens to be the greatest of all time. This man understands that. He does not falter when a different man receives a pass - one whose dominance is less correlated to his stature and more to the size of his beard.

This man desires revenge on those who had previously disgraced him. When the whiskered being is within range, this man pounces, flinging the desired orb adjacent to the scrum. His comrade flies in and retrieves the treasure laying in the sod.

This act leads to a final charge that increases the lead he and his brothers hold.

But this man has much more work to do on this eve.

ACT IV

November 13th, 2016. A man knows that it all will come down to a final stand.

The sun has set over the exhausting death match. With little time left, the monolith regarded as the greatest sets his outfit up to even the count.

This man understands that every inch counts. Despite the numerous colossi squaring up his fortification, he recognizes that he is the destroyer of worlds with the capability of wrecking the incoming invasion.

His opponents recruit a leviathan to plow through the trenches. The attempt is almost successful.

This man flies around the edge of his enemies’ protection and launches himself into the mound of men to halt the behemoth. Death itself is the only instrument that will force him to relinquish his grip. If another inch is allowed, this man will have failed.

This man does not fail. He and his brothers survive this assault but brace for one final push.

ACT V

November 13th, 2016. A man stands across from the most tremendous offensive titan ever known. The Herculean human planted mere inches from him believes in his own ability to snatch victory away from the clutches of this man.

This man knows that this is foolish. He will impose his will on those who dare get in his way.

On the cusp of victory, this man understands what must be done.

This man stands his ground as the mammoth storms towards him. The brutish being attempts to engage, hoping to break through into triumph.

He does not account for the fact that this man is an immoveable object. This man is the most tremendous defensive titan ever known.

The two are the most dominant of warriors imaginable, but only one can come out of the clash victorious.

This man takes his opponent to the ground. While the broken creature gasps for air and can’t believe that he has been defeated, this man leaps from the ground to embrace his brothers.

He roars to the heavens, understanding that he and he alone has constructed the demolition of an empire - the supreme empire.

Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

November 13th, 2016. A man has shown the world that he is the presiding force over all beings - that he has truly become the harbinger of pain he was destined to be.

EPILOGUE

January 14th, 2017. A man sits and contemplates the collection of blood, sweat, and tears put into a campaign that ultimately had come up short in a battle against a dynamic aerial assault. He remembers the pain endured after other losses within the early winter months.

This day hurts more than most, as two of his brothers were recently slain on the field. Had they survived, this man and his comrades likely would have reigned victorious.

This man realizes that life can be cruel. This man also realizes that his journey is not over.

Not even close.

January 14th, 2017. A man understands that many opportunities for greatness still lie ahead.

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This man is an elite among elites - the most dominant force on the league’s most talented defense.

This man is Kam Chancellor.

After a redemption campaign of epic proportions, this man, once again, has the promised land in his sights.

He has the capability of getting there.

Don’t bet against this man.

Note: I’ll be writing pieces like this throughout the offseason for Seahawks defenders and skill position players (maybe not quite as intense as this one though). If you have a specific player you’d like me to hit next, let me know in the comments!