The Seahawks failed to qualify for the 2023 NFL playoffs, but that didn’t stop some players from light the cigars of victory and explosive music in the locker room after a Week 18 win over the Cardinals. While Seattle has since claimed the celebration was in honor of safety Julian Love becoming a new father, veteran executives Bobby Wagner and Quandre Diggs suggested in separate news conferences that the behavior stemmed from the “youth” of the team.
“I’m old school, so it was nice to get a win, but we didn’t make the playoffs,” Wagner said. told reporters after Seattle’s 21-20 victory. “We didn’t do what we needed to do early on, so it’s a lot of mixed emotions. But you understand you have a young team, and as they progress in their careers, they realize at how hard it is to get wins, so it’s a balance.”
Asked directly about the locker room celebration, Wagner acknowledged that the “young guys” were behind it and said he wouldn’t enjoy any sort of victory cigar after the regular season finale.
“No,” he said. “No way.”
Love later denied that the cigars were released in honor of the victory, publication on (formerly Twitter) that he personally received them as a gift and shared them with his teammates to celebrate his son, who was born a few weeks earlier. He told others it was also a tribute to finishing the season: “A lot of players know that every year is emotional,” he said. by The Athletic. “This team won’t be the same next year. It never will be. (The cigars were just) celebrating your guys, your work all season.”
Diggs didn’t express frustration with the celebration, admitting that he, Wagner and other older players simply have a broader perspective on the team’s results — and what is and isn’t worthy of a celebration. post-match.
“Me and Bobby have been around a long time, so our expectations are the playoffs,” Diggs told reporters. “That’s not what happened, but these guys just finished their first regular season in the NFL. … It’s always a blessing and an honor to be able to play a full season. … I can’t Not to blame them, but ultimately I think (us) older guys expect more.”
