Miles
Well-known member
- Mar 18, 2019
- 2,455
- 0
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Four days before his first training camp practice with the Broncos, Joe Flacco settled in to watch another top-notch athlete compete for a championship.
As a former Super Bowl MVP, Flacco likely understands some of the pressure that Roger Federer felt on July 14 as he played a five-set match against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
While Federer was unable to secure his 21st Grand Slam singles title, Flacco appreciated the way the 37 year old approached the title match. In some ways, Flacco said Thursday, he and Federer have the same even-keeled approach when competing.
“It’s just the way I was brought up,” Flacco said. “It’s not that I don’t have emotion in me and obviously it can be mistaken for care and all of those different things, but it was the way I was brought up. I’m really not very good at being anyone else but myself. I just got done watching Wimbledon and Roger Federer’s my favorite tennis player of all time and that’s a big part of why.
“Obviously, he’s unbelievable and awesome to watch, but if you watch him throughout the match nothing gets to him and I don’t know if he was always like that, but at this point in his career and as far as I’ve been watching him, he is. It’s just awesome to see that in the best player of all time. That’s how I want to be. If some people don’t like it, I don’t really care. I am who I am and that’s really the only person I’m good at being.”
Head Coach Vic Fangio said he appreciates the steady presence that Flacco has brought to both the offense and the team.
“Joe’s got a calm demeanor about him, but he is still a fiery competitor,” Fangio said Thursday. “I think Joe’s at a time in his career that he has that calm demeanor about him — and when things are going good, it’s ‘Joe Cool.’ And if thinks aren’t going well, [people say], ‘Joe doesn’t care that much’ — or he’s not getting fired up. That’s how Joe is. Joe is a competitor. He leads through example. He is not going to be a guy who loses his emotions — but trust me, inside his brain and belly, it’s turning for him.”