Newest Seahawk: 'I was a hermit for a year'
blog.seattlepi.com
Two years ago, as he headed for training camp with the Indianapolis Colts, Quinn Pitcock decided he didn't want to do it anymore.
Sure, he was making good cash as a third-round draft pick, a former All-American defensive tackle from Ohio State with a nice future with a Super Bowl contender.
But something wasn't right. Something was missing. And a day later, that something missing was Pitcock himself, who went underground after never showing up at Colts' camp.
"I'm introverted. I cast myself away from everybody and became almost a hermit," Pitcock said Thursday after his first practice with the Seahawks, who are giving him a chance at a comeback. "I was a hermit for a year. No one knew where I was at. I just sat in my apartment and did nothing."
Nothing except play video games, which became his addiction and way to avoid the world. Who needs real life when you've got PlayStation?
"I got sucked into that," said the 26-year-old. "I'm going to be working soon starting some sort of charity to help kids who are addicted to video games because that turned into my way out and I got lost to the world. It took me awhile to get myself back and get my bearings and get back into society.
"You always say, 'I'm fine, I'm fine.' Then finally you just have an awakening where you say, 'What am I doing?' I got to the point where I broke and burned many video games trying to quit. That was my outing. Once I got rid of that and realized I could slowly start eating healthy, exercising and doing all that, I got back on track."
With help from the NFL Players Association he began getting counseling and treatment for depression and anxiety this past year while continuing to live in Indianapolis.
He started working out. He eliminated all video games except an occasional shot at on-line poker. He hung out at the neighborhood pool "with 9-year-old kids doing gainers off the board" and the kind of things he'd been afraid to do for years because he couldn't afford to get hurt and jeopardize his football pursuits.
Its kind of surprising to hear a story about a big time athlete getting wrapped up in the fantasy world of video games. Usually that sort of stuff is reserved for people who dont get laid...you know, like me. But while I just play NCAA Football 11 once or twice a week, an NFL player with hundreds of thousands of dollars locked himself in a basement and played Halo or Call of Duty for two years. Bizarre. Of course video games are pretty cool these days. Just look at how cool it is when you win the Super Bowl in Madden this year. President Obama even shows up. Okay, maybe most of you wouldn't find that as cool as me.
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