Every time you turn on Sportscenter, it seems like Richard Sherman is making another sweeping declaration of his talents. This tends to anger fans of other teams, especially the fans who profess loyalty to teams consistently beaten by the Seahawks. No one can dispute that Richard Sherman has a big mouth, that at times can be a bit excessive, but he certainly has the game to back it up. Seattle knows how to win, reaching two consecutive Super Bowls, and much of that success is credited to Richard Sherman and his shutdown secondary. Richard Sherman embraces the underdog, “it is me against the world” mentality; he is well aware of his reputation across the nation as over-confident.

While trash talk paints a negative image for opposing players and fans, it unifies your own  team and really is hard to condemn so long as the trash talk is effective. Pete Carroll guides his team with loose reins, allowing them to run free, pushing the limits society has set to how football should be played. Nicknamed “the legion of boom,” the Seattle secondary makes their contempt for the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell no secret. Richard Sherman has openly stated his belief that Roger Goodell and the NFL manipulates players and takes advantage of their talents. He held a press conference just to humiliate the league for fining his teammate Marshawn Lynch. We must also realize that Richard Sherman is hardly a lone wolf in his locker room and is seen as a leader on and off the field. He stands by his teammates and is willing to pay fines in order to prevent his teammates from being ostracized.

The Seahawks have embraced an image and they have no intent of eliminating that image. Much like Richard Sherman, the team as a whole is seen a bunch of “thugs” across the league and they are one of the most consistently fined teams in the NFL. All of this may be viewed as excessive and unacceptable if not for one essential factor, the fact that the Seattle Seahawks have been the most dominating team in the NFL over the last two seasons. That is one of the perks of excellence: you can have the most unorthodox ideas in the world, but as long as you keep winning, no one can argue them. Another notion that the Seahawks have embodied is that of an underdog. Many of the iconic players on the Seahawks were at some point in their lives discounted or undervalued; Richard Sherman fell to the 6th round on draft day and had to fight to even make the team his rookie season. Even Pete Carroll has had unsuccessful stints in the NFL as a head coach for the New England Patriots before he was fired. No one thought he would ever coach in the NFL again.

Richard Sherman worked up from a late round pick to become one of the most dominating corners in the league, professing last January that “I’m the best corner in the league.” Whether you agree with his antics or not, he has proven himself as a force to be reckoned with and he consistently instills fear in the eyes of opposing quarterbacks.

While an ego usually plagues a locker room and hardly is worth the talent they bring to the field, Richard Sherman’s utter confidence has brought nothing but unity and success to Seattle.