Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is an enigma.
He's bruising, but nimble.
He's intelligent, but reserved.
He despises the media, yet plays in a league driven by ravenous fandom and built on media access.
During the NFL's final media session of the week leading up to Super Bowl XLIX, Lynch, ever reticent to share his true feelings with the press, took the opportunity to delve deep within himself and bring forth a nearly two minute - and mostly senseless - diatribe on the media and their need to incessantly pester him.
"Hey, look, I mean, all week I done told y'all what's up. And for some reason, y'all continue to come back and do the same thing that y'all did," Lynch said, USA TODAY Sports reported. "I don't know what kind of story y'all are trying to get out of me. I don't know what kind of image y'all are trying to portray of me.
"But it don't matter what y'all think, what y'all say about me, cause when I go home at night, they same people that I look in the face, my family, that I love, that's all that really matters to me."
Lynch was just getting warmed up.
"So you all can go and make up whatever you want to make up, cause I don't say enough for you all to go put anything out on me," he added. "But I'll come to y'all event and y'all shove cameras and microphones down my throat. When I'm at home in my environment, I don't see y'all. But y'all mad at me. If y'all ain't mad at me, then what are you all here for?"
Lynch again donned his non-NFL-sanctioned "Beast Mode" hat and started a timer on his phone so that he could tell when his five minutes of media access were up.
When asked about his hat, Lynch moved it around on his head so that it could be more easily seen.
"I ain't got nothing for y'all though. I told you all that," he said. "You all should know that. But you all will sit here, like right now, continuing to do the same thing. I'm here preparing for a game, and y'all want to ask me all these questions, which is understandable. I can get down with that. But I told y'all, I'm not about to say nothing.
"So for the remainder of my three minutes, because I'm here, I'm available for you. I'm here available for y'all. I done talked. All of my requirements are fulfilled. So now for the next three minutes, I'll just be looking at y'all, the way you're looking at me. Thank you."
And with that, Lynch flitted off into the sea of cameras and faces, absconding with our collective sense of mystery and wonder in the process.
