Have you ever settled in for a top Hollywood assassin movie? The character comes on screen. Cold blooded. Heartless. Focused on the task at hand. To roll over, stream roll through, and obliterate everyone and everything in their way. For most of the past eleven years, this would accurately describe the career of Buccaneers defensive lineman, Ndamukong Suh. Then the story starts to develop. The character deepens. Becomes more human. And the audience understands the character a bit differently. The career of Ndamukong Suh has followed a similar arc.
A Full Head of Steam
Coming out of Nebraska in 2010, NFL teams were salivating at the thought of adding the monster defensive end to their squads. At 6’4”, 313lbs, the Outland Trophy winner, Lombardi Trophy winner, Bronko Nagurski Award winner, and Heisman Trophy finalist was as hot as the face of the sun. The Detroit Lions would select Suh as the second overall pick in the first round. Then all hell broke loose.
His rookie year would be the beginning of a series of fines for on-the-field-behavior. No need to go into too much detail about that. Any fan of football knew that this kid played with a next-level-hate. And every fan of rough, beast mode football loved it. Was he mean? Definitely. Nasty? Yes. Could you, or would you want to turn away from it? Hell no! It was football at its greatest, and at times, it lowest. But it was football.
Character Exposition of Suh
Like that assassin that begins to change over the course of the movie, things happen that cause moments of self inflection. As the protagonist wrestles with their nature, they also begin to see the world in a bit of a different way. Change is inevitable. As Suh was still growing as a player, he admits to some issues when he was a member of the Miami Dolphins. The article on Pro Football Talk (here) talks a little about the growing up the defensive end had experienced. And in the case of Tampa Bay fans, that character becomes a Buccaneer. Then, whatever “bad guy” might still be left, it is “our” guy. And that changes everything.
Suh has become a leader on a team of leaders. Building a repore with teammates on one of the best defenses in the league. He’s started to smile more, and snarl less. Suddenly the character the audience was supposed to hate, is loved, cheered for, and respected. Not just because of his play between the lines, which has remained so solid, but because as Ndamukong Suh has continued that journey of growth. Becoming a man, husband, and now father to two of the most beautiful twins, has really made Suh start to show his human side. A look he wears very well.
When Change is Good
There is still a lot of gas left in the tank and work to be done as the team returns for a run at a second consecutive Super Bowl championship. A team with a cast of characters that Buccaneers fans will tell their grandchildren about. A team with enough star power to light a darkened sky. And then there is the assassin with a heart. Still the protagonist of trouble but only these days. There will be smiling, camaraderie, and the title Dad to wear. Watching Suh grow into the player he’s become over the last decade has been a journey. Even a blessing. Here’s to the good guys. Even if they are sometimes disguised as bad ones.
