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http://www.insidebayarea.com/raiders/ci_6163626
Diehard Raiders fan ecstatic when team drafts his son
By Monte Poole, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 06/17/2007 06:38:13 AM PDT
RAIDERS LINEBACKER Kirk Morrison (right) with his dad David Morrison, a lifelong Oakland fan. (MIKE LUCIA Staff)
ALAMEDA — In David Morrison's mind, his son was born with a silver head, a black patch over his right eye, painted black from the shoulders to the waist, silver from the hips down.
Let it be said that Kirk Morrison was born into a Raiders family.
Which is why 23 years after his birth, when he was drafted by Oakland, his father responded predictably.
"I started running around the house hollering," he says.
In David's mind, this was Kirk's destiny. The father grew up practically in the shadow of the Coliseum, rooting for the Raiders. Many Sundays during the son's adolescence were spent at the stadium, father and son rooting for the Raiders.
Then there was another bit of karma. After Morrison's senior season at San Diego State in 2004, the linebacker was selected for the Senior Bowl. Guess which NFL staff had been designated to coach his team?
Morrison was superb during the week and on game day, impressing then-Raiders head coach Norv Turner and members of his defensive staff.
"I saw it coming," David says of his son becoming a Raider. "I was at the Senior Bowl,and Kirk really stood out. The coaches liked what they saw and (indicated) they wanted to get him. So when they drafted him, I wasn't surprised.
"But I was excited."
It was then that Kirk could give up his Raiders ticket. Being on the field during games meant he no longer needed a seat.
"We've sat in the same spot ever since the Raiders came back (to Oakland),"
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he says. "We've always had personal seat licenses, our PSLs, so the people we sit with now are the same people we sat with 10 years ago."
For all of David's devotion to the Raiders, he managed to avoid the sins zealous fathers often commit. He didn't shout down Kirk's coaches, didn't judge their work from the stands. He made a point of staying in the picture but out of the way.
"He was hands-off," Kirk says. "He never told me I should bat a certain way, or that I should catch this way or run that way. He was just there for me. When it came to technique, he left that to my coaches.
"I never had to look in the stands for him. He was just there. He'd come up after the game, tell me what he thought and support me."
Though Morrison's parents lived apart — Kirk stayed with his mother — they were of similar minds as football fans (Raiders or die), and they were regulars at Kirk's games from the moment he buckled his first chin strap. His father often brought video equipment to record those special moments.
When it came time to accept a scholarship, Kirk heard the advice of each but made his own decision. He and Bishop O'Dowd High teammate, Josh Dean, decided upon San Diego State.
"I lived with my mom the whole time," Kirk says, "but when it came time to go to college, my dad drove me there."
So ended a routine during Kirk's high school career, when Saturdays belonged to O'Dowd games, Sundays to Raiders games.
Nowadays, Saturdays and Sundays belong to the Raiders — as do the other five days of the week.
"I've always looked up to him," Kirk says of his dad, "and now he's starting to kind of look up to me. Our positions are starting to change. He has walked me along for 25 years of my life, and now I'm on my own."
As Morrison sits on a bench outside Raiders headquarters talking about his father, it is clear David provided influence.
"He's the hardest-working man I know. I'm serious," Morrison says of his longshoreman dad. "He has worked so hard his whole life, worked for everything he has. That's where I think I get my appreciation of hard work, being organized and getting things right."
"My mom is more the collector type. She keeps everything all over the place. My dad, though, keeps everything in order. He arranges his mail in a nice little stack before going through it. Even if he's trimming his toenails, he makes sure there's 10 nails when he's done. Not one missing."
Which describes a father who helped raise the kind of son coaches love. Precise, comprehensive and in search of perfection.
Maybe that's what Raiders coaches saw during their turn at the Senior Bowl. David Morrison would not have handled it quite as well if the coaching staff had come from a certain other team.
"He had one thing to say about the draft: 'Just don't go to the 49ers,'" Kirk remembers.
His son a Raider, David may be more passionate than most on Mondays in the fall, when Raider-Niner debate rages in local workplaces. Though David lives in Hercules, his hall is in San Francisco.
"I get there in my Raider gear, and it's on," he says. "They're saying ugly things about the Raiders, and we're saying ugly things about the Niners."
Kirk and his teammates no doubt appreciate his dad's support. The father's love for the son — and for the son's team — make it easy on Father's Day.
"Every year, his Father's Day present is the same: The renewal of his season tickets," Kirk says. "That makes him happier than anything."
Monte Poole can be reached at (510) 208-6461 or by e-mail at mpoole@angnewspapers.com
Diehard Raiders fan ecstatic when team drafts his son
By Monte Poole, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 06/17/2007 06:38:13 AM PDT
RAIDERS LINEBACKER Kirk Morrison (right) with his dad David Morrison, a lifelong Oakland fan. (MIKE LUCIA Staff)
ALAMEDA — In David Morrison's mind, his son was born with a silver head, a black patch over his right eye, painted black from the shoulders to the waist, silver from the hips down.
Let it be said that Kirk Morrison was born into a Raiders family.
Which is why 23 years after his birth, when he was drafted by Oakland, his father responded predictably.
"I started running around the house hollering," he says.
In David's mind, this was Kirk's destiny. The father grew up practically in the shadow of the Coliseum, rooting for the Raiders. Many Sundays during the son's adolescence were spent at the stadium, father and son rooting for the Raiders.
Then there was another bit of karma. After Morrison's senior season at San Diego State in 2004, the linebacker was selected for the Senior Bowl. Guess which NFL staff had been designated to coach his team?
Morrison was superb during the week and on game day, impressing then-Raiders head coach Norv Turner and members of his defensive staff.
"I saw it coming," David says of his son becoming a Raider. "I was at the Senior Bowl,and Kirk really stood out. The coaches liked what they saw and (indicated) they wanted to get him. So when they drafted him, I wasn't surprised.
"But I was excited."
It was then that Kirk could give up his Raiders ticket. Being on the field during games meant he no longer needed a seat.
"We've sat in the same spot ever since the Raiders came back (to Oakland),"
Advertisement
he says. "We've always had personal seat licenses, our PSLs, so the people we sit with now are the same people we sat with 10 years ago."
For all of David's devotion to the Raiders, he managed to avoid the sins zealous fathers often commit. He didn't shout down Kirk's coaches, didn't judge their work from the stands. He made a point of staying in the picture but out of the way.
"He was hands-off," Kirk says. "He never told me I should bat a certain way, or that I should catch this way or run that way. He was just there for me. When it came to technique, he left that to my coaches.
"I never had to look in the stands for him. He was just there. He'd come up after the game, tell me what he thought and support me."
Though Morrison's parents lived apart — Kirk stayed with his mother — they were of similar minds as football fans (Raiders or die), and they were regulars at Kirk's games from the moment he buckled his first chin strap. His father often brought video equipment to record those special moments.
When it came time to accept a scholarship, Kirk heard the advice of each but made his own decision. He and Bishop O'Dowd High teammate, Josh Dean, decided upon San Diego State.
"I lived with my mom the whole time," Kirk says, "but when it came time to go to college, my dad drove me there."
So ended a routine during Kirk's high school career, when Saturdays belonged to O'Dowd games, Sundays to Raiders games.
Nowadays, Saturdays and Sundays belong to the Raiders — as do the other five days of the week.
"I've always looked up to him," Kirk says of his dad, "and now he's starting to kind of look up to me. Our positions are starting to change. He has walked me along for 25 years of my life, and now I'm on my own."
As Morrison sits on a bench outside Raiders headquarters talking about his father, it is clear David provided influence.
"He's the hardest-working man I know. I'm serious," Morrison says of his longshoreman dad. "He has worked so hard his whole life, worked for everything he has. That's where I think I get my appreciation of hard work, being organized and getting things right."
"My mom is more the collector type. She keeps everything all over the place. My dad, though, keeps everything in order. He arranges his mail in a nice little stack before going through it. Even if he's trimming his toenails, he makes sure there's 10 nails when he's done. Not one missing."
Which describes a father who helped raise the kind of son coaches love. Precise, comprehensive and in search of perfection.
Maybe that's what Raiders coaches saw during their turn at the Senior Bowl. David Morrison would not have handled it quite as well if the coaching staff had come from a certain other team.
"He had one thing to say about the draft: 'Just don't go to the 49ers,'" Kirk remembers.
His son a Raider, David may be more passionate than most on Mondays in the fall, when Raider-Niner debate rages in local workplaces. Though David lives in Hercules, his hall is in San Francisco.
"I get there in my Raider gear, and it's on," he says. "They're saying ugly things about the Raiders, and we're saying ugly things about the Niners."
Kirk and his teammates no doubt appreciate his dad's support. The father's love for the son — and for the son's team — make it easy on Father's Day.
"Every year, his Father's Day present is the same: The renewal of his season tickets," Kirk says. "That makes him happier than anything."
Monte Poole can be reached at (510) 208-6461 or by e-mail at mpoole@angnewspapers.com
