Not even being a part of the operation to kill Usama bin Laden could take sports fandom out of the equation.
Robert O’Neill was in Afghanistan as part of SEAL Team 6 in April 2011, days away from the mission that was nearly a decade in the making.
However, despite being on the other side of the globe, O’Neill still had one of his priorities in order – his favorite team, the then-Washington Redskins, had the 10th selection in the draft.
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Robert O’Neill, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, speaks at the “Best of Blount” Chamber of Commerce awards ceremony at the Clayton Center for the Arts in Maryville, Tennessee, on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014. (Getty Images)
Suddenly, he no longer cared about the draft during what he admitted was a “weird time to be in Afghanistan.”
O’Neill knew that if Operation Neptune Spear did not go as planned, he might not make it home alive.
“I remember watching the NFL Draft, and I was on a treadmill thinking the Redskins need an offensive tackle,” O’Neill said on OutKick’s “The Ricky Cobb Show.” “And then on the treadmill suddenly realizing, ‘It doesn’t matter to me, I guess; I’m gonna be dead next week.’”
Rob O’Neill, a former Navy SEAL who participated in the raid that killed Usama bin Laden, throws out the first pitch before the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros on May 14, 2016 in Boston. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
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It all worked out for O’Neill. His Redskins took defensive end Ryan Kerrigan, so it was not the tackle he wanted (Nate Solder was the next pick), but luckily for him, his worries about the Redskins were over – for now.
The mission proved to be successful, and O’Neill came home alive, and he got to see Kerrigan make four Pro Bowls in a Washington uniform.
Ryan Kerrigan, #91 of the Washington Football Team, celebrates after recording a sack against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half at FedExField on Oct. 25, 2020 in Landover, Maryland. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
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In fact, Washington did not even take an offensive lineman until the seventh round, but it is hard to be mad at the organization for selecting Kerrigan.
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