The San Francisco 49ers landed in New Orleans on Sunday evening, preparing for Super Bowl XLVII this weekend at the Super Dome.
Super Bowl XLVII: Patrick Willis won’t allow comparison to Ray Lewis
San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis spoke to the media on Sunday night from New Orleans. We discuss his comments after being compared to Ray Lewis.
Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Before getting settled in, the media had an opportunity to talk with some of the coaches and players. Jim Harbaugh and Colin Kaepernick were the first two to address the media, but Patrick Willis and Justin Smith soon followed. Of course, the media zeroed in on the main headlines: Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh, the QB controversy, Patrick Willis vs. Ray Lewis and Justin Smith's tricep.
A lot of the questions were deflected with short answers, but some of the comments were still interesting. For instance, Patrick Willis has a relationship with Ray Lewis, in which Willis calls Lewis ‘Mufasa’ and Lewis calls Willis ‘Young Lion.’ “It’s from the Lion King, obviously,” said Willis.
There have been open lines of communication between these two, which is just a very cool story in itself. The fact that one Hall of Fame player could be passing down invaluable knowledge to another future Hall of Fame player at the same position is pretty special.
However, Willis was not exactly keen on the comparisons to Lewis:
I’ve never been a man of comparing. Because I don’t like people comparing me. We're all our own person. We have something different that makes us who we are. He played the game with a lot of passion and enthusiasm. I try to play the game with the same passion and the same enthusiasm.
Willis is the No. 1 linebacker in the NFL and the sure-fire candidate to carry the torch after Lewis has retired. Though, there is no matching the level of intensity and enthusiasm Lewis brought to the game, which Willis acknowledged. The 49ers linebacker admitted that a lot of the emotion Lewis shows -- that fire -- "burns" within Willis, and that's how he feels inside.
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