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Only a few days removed from “Iron Mike” Tyson’s admission that he smoked marijuana before his fight with Roy Jones, Jr., NFL running back Marshawn Lynch shared an interesting pregame ritual of his, too.
On ESPN’s “Peyton’s Places,” host Peyton Manning and Lynch discussed superstitions and the 2X Super Bowl champion quarterback said he liked to read the programs before every game, front to back. But when prompted for a superstition of his own, Beast Mode gave an inquisitive response: “My superstition was that I needed to have maybe a shot … a shot and half… before every game.”
For better clarification, Manning asked him, “Of [what]?”
And he promptly told Manning, “Hennessy! Whatchu mean ‘Of [what]?’”
Now, for all his usual candor, the admission would be a very daring one since the league has had a longstanding policy banning the use of alcohol on any NFL premises, including champagne in the locker room to celebrate the Super Bowl.
But while he may be one of the more colorful players in recent times, Lynch is certainly not unique when it comes to loosening up with a drink or two before a game, nor is the practice new. That list stretches back to include names like Josh Gordon, Hall of Famer Ken “The Snake” Stabler, and Clinton Portis, who himself partook of the “brown juice” before games.
Appropriately, Manning followed up with Lynch about all the fines he’s incurred over the course of his career. The All-Star running back is notorious for his hefty penalties, including having paid more than $130K during the 2014 season and as much as $110,661 for one single incident in 2017. Beast Mode even joked that it got to the point where he received invoices instead of receiving letters for his fines.
But Lynch doesn’t have to worry -– at least all those fines are tax-deductible.
