Many, and maybe most, professional athletes have superstitions before a game. The food might need to be the same, they have to wake up at the same time, or they have to wear the same clothes every game day. It could be one of many things. Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones, he needs a certain song.
Speaking with the media in the days before Super Bowl 60, when Seattle will take on the New England Patriots, Jones talked about his needs. One is that 45 minutes before each game is when he puts on his jersey. The other is that he must be listening to NBA YoungBoy's "Go to War" before a game gets underway, too.
The opening line of the song is "I got the world on my back, I just protect it with some body armor," so from the opening, you know the song is a perfect one for hype. But the track, just like any music for any athlete, is more than just trying to get excited for a game.
Seattle Seahawks' Ernest Jones needs to have a NBA YoungBoy song before Super Bowl LX
An athlete would do that naturally, of course. Otherwise, why should they be playing the game at all? Instead, the music acts as a grounded effect, a beacon that allows a player to be themselves for a minute before joining with their team to accomplish a goal.
And Ernest Jones definitely knows how to do that. He is one of the team leaders of the Seahawks. His addition to the team midway through the 2024 season helped elevate a great scheme by head coach Mike Macdonald into one that practically worked. Jones was one of the missing pieces.
How he helps lead his team is important. Jones knows that not each teammate is the same, and each approaches their potential failures or successes differently. Ultimately, though, a team rises or falls as a whole, not as individuals. The pieces affect the whole.
As for Jones, the Seattle Seahawks linebacker has individual things he needs to help drive his team. That includes when he puts his jersey on, but it definitely includes music. Somewhere, NBA YoungBoy is likely smiling, knowing how much he can influence one of the better players on one of the best teams in the NFL.