Richard Seymour's Run at the WSOP Ends, But He Finishes 131st

Source - “Being a champion means that you prepare in everything you do, relentlessly. It’s that quality in life that separates the good from the great and my time will come, I’m sure.”

Those were the words three-time Super Bowl champion Richard Seymour spoke after his departing from the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event in 131st place for $59,295.

Seymour was visibly disappointed but there was also a sense of pride in his voice as he had overcome more than 8,000 players to get to this point and give himself an opportunity to make a push to the final table.

“As a competitor, you always want to still be in it. You just have to try and go out and make the best decisions possible and today I had a day where I had to fold a lot of hands. I was in some pretty sick spots, I’m happy with my decisions and that’s all you can do in this game. You let the cards fall where they may and it just didn’t go my way.”

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Nate has not only competed against Richard Seymour, he’s met him. And confirms he’s a great guy, to the surprise of just about no one. And I bow to Nate’s expertise because, unlike me, his knowledge of poker extends beyond the card room in the back of the Knights of Columbus in Weymouth, MA, drunkenly playing “Cross with a Kitty” for $50 pots.

But I take a back seat to no man when it comes to my appreciation for Seymour. I’ve been lobbying for him to get into the Patriots Hall of Fame. I’ve been lobbying for him to get into Canton. I’ve been fighting that uphill fight that comes any time you’re trying to get proper acknowledgment for a defensive lineman who played in a 2-gap system because by the nature of their jobs, they don’t rack up the sexy numbers or the erotic, behind the line of scrimmage splash plays. And his comments after getting bounced out of the WSOP are part of the reason I respect the guy so much.

A lesser man would do the math, look at where he finished against the best poker players in the world and be impressed with himself. 131st out 8,000 entrants means he finished in the top 1.6% and has every right to feel self-satisfied. But like he said, that’s not what champions do. This is a guy who appeared in nine postseason games in his first five seasons before he finally tasted defeat. This is a man who knows what it’s like to go 18-0 and then, one play away from achieving team immortality, have Fate slip in and deliver the great cosmic nutpunch that was the David Tyree catch. A man who’s been through that much is not about to accept 131st best.

And so it appears Seymour has joined other Boston legends who’ve become great at other sports. Ted Williams is in the Fishing Hall of Fame. Mookie Betts is a world class bowler who rolls a perfect game seemingly every other week. And now Seymour is one of the world’s great poker players. And as guys like he and Nate know – and I do because I’ve watched “Rounders” a million times – it is a skill, not luck. As Mike McDermott says, “Every year the World Series of Poker has the same eight guys at the final table. What are they? The luckiest guys in Vegas?”

In the meantime, I’ll keep banging the drum to get Seymour in the Football Hall of Fame before he’s put into the Poker Hall of Fame.