Washington Football Team is embodying Kobe Bryant’s ‘Mamba Mentality’
Ron Rivera’s Mamba Mentality
On one end, you have a new coach that comes in and has to deal with a myriad of issues, on and off the field, and handles them like a pro. With all that, he was also dealing with a cancer diagnosis and had to balance multiple rounds of chemotherapy, halftime treatments, mid-day naps, and more, all while trying to get his team prepared for game day.
Yes, sometimes he needed to coach from a golf cart because he didn’t have enough energy to stand. Yes, sometimes he wasn’t able to make a halftime speech because he needed to get his treatment done. Yes, he lost over 30 pounds while going through chemotherapy, having days where he was unable to eat because it was too hard to swallow.
But, despite everything, you would see him out there coaching up this team and encouraging his players. You would see him make time for the media even when they were questioning his decisions left and right.
Related Story. Ron Rivera and the art of confidence building. light
That is the mamba mentality though, you ignore the haters, you fight through pain, you work harder than others, and you maintain that obsessive drive.
Rivera epitomizes that mentality, and trust me, the players noticed throughout his treatment, and they continue to notice.
“It means a lot, man, just to see him fighting. Not even just [on game days], but on Wednesdays, and Thursdays and Fridays, seeing him fight. It motivates all of us to get out there and keep on fighting and never quit,” said Kendall Fuller, per Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.