Trent Cole of the Philadelphia Eagles Discusses the 2014 Super Bowl, Bowhunting and Mossy Oak
Editor’s Note: Trent Cole has been playing outside linebacker and defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles NFL football team for the past 9 years, after attending the University of Cincinnati. In 2014, Cole starts his tenth season with the Eagles. Cole also has a TV show called “Blitz TV.” When the defensive coach calls for a blitz, and the linebackers charge the offensive line of the opposing team, they have only one thought in their minds to, “Sack the quarterback.” When Cole is producing a show for “Blitz TV,” he’s on the same type of mission and has the same enthusiasm and determination as he has when he’s trying to blitz a quarterback. But instead of wearing his Philadelphia Eagles uniform on “Blitz TV,” he’s wearing his outdoor uniform – Mossy Oak camouflage.
Many were surprised at the outcome of the 2014 Super Bowl game, regardless of whether you were cheering for the Seattle Seahawks or the Denver Broncos. Most people thought that Denver would win or lose by a very close score. Only a few people expected Seattle to win. Of those few, no one thought they would win by as big a margin as they did – Seattle 43, Denver 8. To get a better understanding of why Seattle was so dominant, Mossy Oak asked Trent Cole what he knew about Seattle prior to the Super Bowl, and why he wasn’t surprised by the outcome of the game.
According to Cole, “I think the right team won. I was playing defensive end for Philadelphia when we played the Seahawks. Now, I’m playing defensive line backer. We didn’t play them in 2013, but we have played them in the past. I can’t tell you why their receivers were so effective, or why their running game was as strong as it was this year. But I have watched a lot of film on them, and I have watched them play on television. I think their quarterback, Russell Wilson, is the key to their strong line. He is very athletic, he has good vision down the field, and he’s a player. They have learned that if someone gets into the backfield, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to get a sack. They believe in Wilson’s ability, and they play hard to protect him.
“Most people completely have overlooked Seattle’s offense, because they have the number-one defensive team. They’ve proved why they have the number-one rating for defense in the Super Bowl. Seattle plays football as fast and as hard as any football team in the NFL. Their quickness, their strength and their determination to win are components that you don’t always see from the outside. Their coach has taught them to play together very well. Even though the offense, the defense and the special teams are different units of their football team, all the units bond together to make the entire team strong without weaknesses.
“I’m often asked, ‘How did your love of hunting and your love of football come together so that you could have an outdoor TV show and play professional football at the same time?’ One important thing to remember is once a person becomes a professional football player, he doesn’t forget everything he did before he was a football player. My family always has been involved in the outdoors – hunting, camping and fishing. I got my first hunting license when I was in the fourth grade. My dad had his hunting license, but my mom didn’t have her hunting license. She went through a Hunter’s Education Course with me, and we got our hunting licenses together. We started hunting with air rifles and then shotguns. Then we began bowhunting, and now my entire family bowhunts. I shoot a Mathews bow. I got my first bow when I was in the fifth grade. I started off with a kid’s bow, but I wanted a hunting bow. My mom told me if I got Bs and Cs in school, she would get me a hunting bow. She bought me a bow from an archery shop right down from my home. I started hanging out with the archery shop owner and everyone who was shooting archery at the shop. Sometimes when my mother had to go to the grocery store, she would drop me off at the archery shop, and I would hang out and look at all the new bows.
“When I got involved with Mossy Oak, I was really surprised about how great the people at Mossy Oak really were. I had been wearing Mossy Oak all my life. When they sponsored my TV show, I really got to know Tim Anderson and the other people at Mossy Oak. When I first started hunting and trapping, I wore Carhartt Mossy Oak. I really enjoyed wearing it back then, and I really like wearing it right now.”
For more information on Trent Cole and “Blitz TV,” go to www.coleoutdoors.com.
