Former Seahawks QB Brock Huard shares his memories of Paul Allen
Oct 16, 2018, 12:37 PM
The late Paul Allen owned the Seahawks for over 20 years. (AP)
(AP)
The news of Paul Allen’s death on Monday afternoon caught Brock Huard off guard.
“I had to pull the car over for a moment. I was just stunned,” said Huard, who heard the news while listening to 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny, Dave and Moore.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll: Paul Allen was ‘bigger than life’
Huard had several interactions with the late Seahawks owner, and while some came as a quarterback with the Seahawks, the more notable stories were from before and after he was a member of Allen’s team. Huard shared a few of his memories of being around Allen on Tuesday’s edition of Brock and Salk, as well as what his impression of the Seattle-based titan of the tech industry was like as a person.
“When Paul Allen’s in your space, he changes the temperature of it. And he does it in the most shy, the most humble, the most reserved way,” Huard said. “… He didn’t try to impress in any way or show off. He was just an incredibly normal human being that really was intrigued and curious and thought about others.”
Huard first interacted with Allen at a Seahawks game when he was a redshirt freshman at the University of Washington and his brother, Damon, was working for Allen while the Microsoft co-founder was in the process of buying the team to save it from being moved to California. Then, in 2012, Huard introduced Allen at the MTRWestern Sports Star of the Year awards ceremony, when they honored him by putting his name on the Paul G. Allen Award, which is given annually to an individual who has made a significant or compelling philanthropic contribution.
“To me, that day just spoke of his humility,” Huard said.
Allen, who passed away just two weeks after announcing that the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma he battled in 2009 had returned, was 65.
“It’s way too early for someone that’s going to leave a mark that won’t soon be forgotten, in so many ways,” Huard said.
You can hear the full segment of Huard discussing Allen’s legacy with co-host Mike Salk in this podcast from Tuesday’s episode of Brock and Salk.
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