Don't hate the player, hate the...

Across all professional sports, contract negotiations, player-coach relationships, retirement, and player-player conflicts result in athletes changing their uniforms. The popularity of the player is positively correlated with the outrage of the old team and the excitement of the new team. Switching teams is not, by any means, a new sensation. Usually, a trade makes a small wave within the organization that ripples out into the public for a week at the most. When great players are traded, however, it is a different story. Over the course of five weeks, we are taking a look at five significant cases. The first was Brett Favre, the second was Wayne Gretzky, the third was Patrick Ewing, and the fourth is Michael Jordan. The fifth, and final, is Junior Seau.

San Diego Chargers: 1990-2002

Miami Dolphins: 2003-2005

New England Patriots: 2006-present

Junior Seau joined the Chargers in 1990 fresh out of USC, and he became an instant fan favorite, earning the nickname “Tasmanian Devil.” Seau played in 12 consecutive Pro Bowls, becoming a star of the franchise. Then Seau requested to be released so that he could sign a deal as a free agent and ultimately increase the size of his paycheck. Seau was traded to the Miami Dolphins for the 2003 season with aspirations of winning a Super Bowl ring. He played well but could not carry the team to a championship. Injuries in 2004 and 2005 caused Seau to end both seasons prematurely. This ultimately resulted in his release from the Dolphins in 2006, after which he retired.

But Seau was not done playing football. Four days after his retirement Seau signed with the New England Patriots, but a broken arm ended his season early. He stayed on for the 2007 season, but retired again at its conclusion. Most thought this was the end of Seau’s spectacular career. Then, during the 2008 season, injuries plagued the Patriots’ linebackers, and coach Bill Belicheck asked Seau to return to the team. He signed on for the last four games of the season, making it clear that he probably would not have done so if he had previously won a Super Bowl, which is the only thing missing from an otherwise impressive career. The undefeated Patriots entered the Super Bowl with over $111 million in free agents, but were unable to beat the New York Giants.

Seau “retired” again after this stint with the Patriots, but then in October he announced that he would be returning to the field for the 2009 season in hope of finally winning a Super Bowl ring. This season, Seau has played in two games (he did not play this Sunday, 11/8), without any particularly memorable occurrences. 2009 marks his 20^th year in the NFL. The Patriots are 6 and 2, and are in first place in the AFC East. It remains to be seen as to whether Seau will finally procure the Super Bowl ring that seems to evade him and that he so desperately desires.