Caleb Williams doesn’t seem to be liked by many people for whatever reason. Some think he’s too soft because he paints his nails and cries after losses. Others believe his highly public interests outside of football make him a prima donna. Either way, it is clear there isn’t much Williams support outside of Chicago. That said, one would think the Bears quarterback has a long list of friends inside the league. He’s known for being a great locker room guy, after all. That assumption would be incorrect.
Williams spoke about his football life recently with Esquire Magazine. He has plenty of players he idolized growing up, including Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. However, when it comes to current players in the league, there is no interest in getting to know them.
As for his younger peers in the league today, Williams says he respects that they’re members in a very select fraternity together. But while he says they are all “probably great guys,” he doesn’t have a particular bond with any of them and doesn’t plan to cultivate one. “I think the NFL game has become very friendly, and I don’t necessarily want to be friends, because I want to keep that competitive advantage,” he says.
Personal rivalries haven’t been prevalent in the NFL over the past several years. It sounds like Williams is interested in bringing them back. He’s often compared to Michael Jordan in terms of his competitive mentality. In truth, his words bring up the image of a different basketball icon.
Larry Bird.
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Caleb Williams knows he must keep his killer instinct.
That was something Bird always knew about himself. He didn’t mind becoming friends with his teammates. They were committed to the same thing he was: winning championships for the Boston Celtics. Everybody else in the NBA was an obstacle. Why would he have any interest in befriending those guys? He treated Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, Michael Jordan, and other greats of that era with the same detached disdain as he would a common criminal. It made him easy to hate both inside and outside the league.
Bird didn’t care. As long as he won, it didn’t matter what anybody said. It sounds like Caleb Williams has the same mentality. There will be plenty of time to make friends after his playing days are done. The goal for the foreseeable future is winning championships. To do that, he must crush every opponent standing in his way. It is far easier to smash the dreams of people you don’t know or like than people you do.
