Long before Antonio Pierce became head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, he was busy throwing banger birthday parties in the middle of the NFL season.
The campaign is long and only getting longer.
It is filled with ups and downs, as players’ bodies take a constant beating. It is difficult to navigate the emotional and physical toll the entire season requires.
Which means it’s important to have some levity every once in a while, to have that teammate who picks others up, and is able to keep things loose.
For the teammates of Antonio Pierce, he was that guy.
In an exclusive with talkSPORT, former Giants star Jason Bell, pulled back the curtain on how Pierce brought together the locker room in New York.
“I always say you got to protect the guilty,” Bell said laughing. “That is always how I approach everything. But yeah, the season is a grind.
“You know what’s funny, I was thinking the other day, Antonio Pierce, head coach from the Raiders, a true leader, man, he was our inside linebacker, I grew up with him, so I’ve been a long time friend of Antonio.
“And his birthday was in October. It’s always been in October.
“He used to have a party every year for his birthday. And he would give us flyers and invite us to the birthday. And it was a great time.
“And all I remember is we go to the party, and the next day, our defensive coordinator was like looking at us, all of us closely, like, Who was out last night, scanning the room.
“And he’s like, ‘Who was at the middle linebacker’s birthday party last night?’ Nobody put their hands up because you’re just not going to. He’s like, ‘So none of you guys want to hang out with your middle linebacker, the captain?’
“We’re just all holding it in because we can’t tell on ourselves. But I mean, it’s just stuff like that, you know, having things like that in the middle of the year where you’re grinding every day.
“But having that time you can spend with your teammates and celebrate, especially a birthday like that, was really important. And I’m glad Antonio used to do stuff like that because it used to help us.
“We used to all get together, spend that little time, and go back to our business on the field. It was the time we spent off the field that made us better.”
Almost twenty years later, Bell finally admitted to attending Pierce’s birthday party.
“I’m going to raise my hand now,” Bell laughed. “I was at that party!”
Pierce played nine seasons in the NFL, four for Washington and five for New York, including being a member of 2007 Super Bowl champions, spoiling Tom Brady and the New England Patriots‘ perfect season.
Clearly, Pierce’s birthday parties were a boost for team morale.
When asked if Pierce still throws his legendary birthday parties, as head coach of the Raiders, Bell was quick to shoot it down.
“He did not have a big birthday party,” Bell said. “I sent him some messages, but he’s locked in.
“Being a head coach in the fire is a lot different. He’s locked in. There’s not a lot of time when you’re the head coach.
“It’s amazing. I don’t know how they get anything else done in life. They are in the tunnel. And they better not look at the light.”
At 2-6, Pierce and the Raiders seem to be staring directly at the light, as they are not a very good football team.
Maybe next year, Pierce should throw one of his vintage birthday parties and change the vibes in that locker room.
It wouldn’t hurt to try.
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