Shannon Sharpe is a Denver Broncos legend who took his rivalries very seriously. How seriously? Well, in the latest episode of his podcast, the former tight end revealed that he grew to hate teams like the Raiders and Chiefs simply because they were divisional rivals, among other things, of course.
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The AFC West has always been considered one of the toughest divisions in the NFL. There’s always fierce competition, good coaching, and best of all, a bevy of rivalries to get caught up in. Some of those rivalries, the Hall of Famer got to experience firsthand, and he loved every minute of it.
But it’s not like Sharpe already disliked those teams before he got to Denver. In fact, he was quite fond of them. Yet he knew the assignment, and since the Raiders and Chiefs were in his division, he made sure to give them a tough time.
“When I went to the Broncos, we hated the Raiders. The Raiders ain’t never did nothing to me. I used to like the Raiders. Now I hate the Raiders, too. I hate Kansas City, yeah for sure,” Sharpe told Joe Johnson on Nightcap.
His co-host then tried to relate the vibe in a locker room to that of a fraternity.
“Because it’s like you’re a big fraternity. So, it’s like your teammates, you spend more time with them than you do anybody else. So, you’re always going to have their back,” Johnson said.
Many professional athletes have to go through the process of distancing themselves from their favorite childhood team. After all, the odds of them playing for that team are low. Sometimes, like in the case of Sharpe, a player who used to like a team such as the Raiders has to start seeing them as the enemy. And that can be tough.
However, for Sharpe, once he heard a story from his coach about how the Raiders cheated them out of a salary, all bets were off. The old lines of fandom had been blurred for good.
“And then Mike Shanahan became our coach. Mike was the coach for the Raiders for like 20 games, and then Al Davis fired him, and then wouldn’t pay him his money. Told him, ‘Guess what? Sue me. It’ll cost you more than what I owe you in lawyer fees.’ So, Mike told us the story. Oh, that man owes you and won’t pay? We are going to beat the hell out of this team,” Sharpe recalled.
The former TE started his career off with the Broncos, going a putrid 1-9 against the Raiders. Then, once Shanahan was hired in 1995, he would proceed to go 9-3 against them for the rest of his career. Including dominant wins by 26, 27, and 28 points.
It wasn’t just the Raiders that Sharpe vehemently hated, though. The Kansas City Chiefs were always a thorn in his side as well.
“Same thing with Kansas City when they had Kevin Ross and Albert Lewis. Albert Lewis is what really made me a Hall of Famer, a Pro Bowl player. Because I felt that if I could beat him, because he’s the toughest defender I’ve ever had to go against. And then they got Carter and they got Hasty. Man, please,” Sharpe said.
Lewis was a two-time All-Pro first team selection in the late 80s. By the time Sharpe had made it to the league, he was in the back half of his career. But still, a strong performance against the defensive back gave him the confidence that he belonged in the NFL.
“Probably made you a better player, too,” Johnson added.
Not just a better player; it turned Sharpe into a Hall of Famer. Furthermore, he was a team player who did whatever it took to win. By the end of his career, Sharpe had 3 Super Bowl rings to lean on. And it was all sparked by the motivational rivalries that he was immediately tossed into as a young player.
It’s these types of rivalries that make the NFL fun to watch. It turns players into legends by thrusting them into pivotal moments. The AFC West is full of fierce rivalries. But so is the entire NFC East. And in recent seasons, the NFC North has been a bloodbath, too.
