San Diego Chargers rookie running back Melvin Gordon will likely see plenty of fans wearing his jersey this year, but his mom won’t be one of them.
Carmen Gordon isn’t being mean—she’s her son’s biggest fan, as she told ESPN’s Eric D. Williams. However, she’s going to make him earn the right to see his mom wearing that jersey and wants to remain anonymous when she does choose to sit in the stands to watch him play this year.
“You’ve got to show me a little something, but it won’t be this year,” she said. “So you might see me in the stands, but I won’t have the jersey on. I did the same thing in college because I just want to hear what people are saying.”
Mrs. Gordon knows tough love.
That said, she has high expectations for him and knows he has what it takes to succeed, and perhaps break LaDainian Tomlinson’s franchise rookie record of 1,236 yards on the ground. She doesn’t see her lofty goals as a hinderance for Gordon, either.
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” she said. “It makes him better. I just know he’s got to get focused. It’s a learning curve, and I get that. You want him to do so well, but I think he expects so much so fast. But he’ll get it, I know he will.”
Gordon is one of the most hyped rookies coming into the league this year. Coming out of Wisconsin, he is expected to be in the running for the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award. And, the Chargers hope he’ll finally give the team that explosive element on the ground that has been lacking since Tomlinson’s departure.
If Gordon does live up to the high expectations, then the Chargers will be a force to be reckoned with. His running prowess, along with the high-octane passing attack Philip Rivers leads, should scare the daylights out of NFL defenses this year.
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