Adam Kilgore’s wonderful profile of San Francisco ’49er running back Raheem Mostert, published in today’s Washington Post, reminds us again why we love professional sports:
Because the stories of the athletes can be so inspiring. Because the trials and tribulations that they endure and overcome can be so compelling.
And because we know that professional sports is a hard-fought and hard-won meritocracy, where only the strong survive—and where unheralded and overlooked underdogs can and do defy the odds, through sheer grit, perseverance, and determination.
Consider, for instance, the remarkable story of one Raheem Mostert. He
“entered the league out of Purdue after every team passed on him in the draft, signing as a free agent with the Eagles in 2015. The Philadelphia Eagles cut him after training camp… and signed him to their practice squad.
“The Miami Dolphins signed him, only to cut him a month later. He spent two months with the Baltimore Ravens and finished the season with the Cleveland Browns, who would cut him a week before the start of the 2016 season.
“After his rookie year,” Kilgore reports, “Mostert was unsure he could withstand the psychic toll of getting cut again. He talked with his wife about leaving football behind.
“She told me, ‘If you truly love this game, you’re going to do what you need to do,’ ” Mostert said. “That’s what I needed.”
“But his second season unfolded like his first. The New York Jets picked him up, only to cut him a week later. The Chicago Bears signed him, and Mostert lasted about two months before Chicago released him.”
In all, Kilgore notes,”six franchises waived Mostert before he stuck with the San Francisco 49ers. On some of those days, he did not believe he would make it in the NFL. On others, he considered quitting football…
“Not everybody can deal with that type of stress and pain and agony that I went through,” Mostert told Kilgore. ” I kept the faith in not only myself, but whoever gave me the opportunity.”
Since joining the ’49ers in 2016, no one had ever heard of Mostert. He spent the entire 2016 season minus the final game on the practice squad. He was placed on injured reserve for much of the 2017 and 2018 seasons and contributed little to the team. He was consigned to special teams, where he reportedly played well, but was still a bit player.
However, all of that began to change this season, as Mostert broke out in a big way, rushing for 772 yards on 137 carries. And, in the ’49ers’ resounding victory over the Green Bay Packers in Sunday’s NFC championship game, Mostert had a game for the ages, rushing for an incredible 220 yards on 29 carries while scoring four touchdowns.
To put that into perspective, only one player in NFL history has ever rushed for more yardage in a playoff game, and that player’s name is Eric Dickerson, who now resides in the NFL Hall of Fame.
“While Jimmy Garoppolo passed only eight times,” reports Kilgore, “Mostert exploded through holes, sprinted away from defensive backs, and bowled over defenders. Teammates admire his style—’fearless,’ left tackle Joe Staley said—and his story…
“He’s just earned everything,” ’49ers’ head coat Kyle Shanahan told reporters after Sunday’s win. “He earned today. He’s such a good person. I can’t say enough good about Raheem.”
“Mostert,” writes Kilgore, “called Sunday the happiest day of his life behind his wedding and the [June 22] birth of his son,” Gunnar Grey. And Mostert is especially grateful that he was able to hold Gunnar close and in his arms after Sunday’s spectacular performance and glorious win.
“That’s a moment I’m going to cherish forever,” Mostert said. “For him to be able to have that opportunity, be onstage with me after what I accomplished, after what I done been through, I can’t put it into words how it feels.”
Fortunately for us, Washington Post reporter Adam Kilgore has a way with words and has given us a strong sense of how it must feel.
I know how I feel after reading Kilgore’s profile: elevated and inspired. Motivated. Raheem Mostert was knocked down repeatedly; yet he never gave up. And his spirit of determination and ultimate triumph over adversity is what sports fans love about sports.
It is why we watch the game. And it is why we will be watching Sun., Feb. 2, when Mostert and his fellow ’49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Mostert and his teammates are not yet done and neither are we.