KALISPELL — It is a moment Patrick O’Connell has been manifesting since he was a child growing up in Kalispell: to one day suit up for the Seattle Seahawks.
But this dream has not been an easy path, as O’Connell started as an undrafted free agent and practice squad player from the University of Montana before working his way up to the active roster.
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O’Connell may have given up if not for the encouraging support from his family, including his mother Jeanne, who has always been there to uplift him.
“The measure of your life is going to be the measure of your courage,” Jeanne O’Connell said. “You don't have fear to pursue your dreams and you know you're feeling down or something doesn't go right. Don't stay down, get up, move on, move forward.”
From those early years to playing in and winning the NFC championship game with the Seahawks against the Los Angeles Rams, O'Connell has kept his family close, even calling his mother before that critical game so she could deliver the same message about the three "Hs" she has been giving him since college.
“He calls me, and he says, OK, Mom, you've got to say it, and so the three Hs are be hungry, be humble, and work hard,” Jeanne O’Connell said.
But for the NFC championship, O’Connell's mom thought he needed an extra boost.
“So this last game I said be extra hungry, be starving, be humble, and work extra hard,” Jeanne O’Connell said.
Those three Hs come easily when growing up the way O’Connell did.
As a standout in basketball and baseball in addition to football, O’Connell’s four siblings never missed an opportunity to challenge him in every sport he played.
“Growing up, it's a very competitive house, no matter if you're playing mini basketball on the mini hoop or we're outside in the park playing baseball or obviously doing football, it's a very competitive house,” Patrick’s oldest brother, Mike O’Connell, said. “Nobody wants to lose, and I think that helped all of us.”
“He always had a certain swagger to him growing up,” Patrick’s next-oldest brother Sean said. “Super competitive. He always was like, I'm bigger, I'm better than you, I know I'm going to beat you in this, and I'm also going to stay humble about it, though.”
But now all of those challenges have led to the biggest game of O’Connell’s life as he prepares for Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots next Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif.
His entire family will be there to keep giving him the support he has had his whole life.
As for how his family will react when they see O’Connell take the field, it is safe to say the emotions will be high.
“We're a bunch of bawl babies, honestly, we cry when he comes out of the tunnel,” Jeanne O’Connell said. “We cry when he does something good on the field, we cry when they win. It's just, yeah ... it's just part of being a proud parent, I guess.”
Super Bowl LX kicks off at 4:30 p.m. Mountain time next Sunday.
