"Everything about Oakland," he told me then, "is everything about me."
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While spending time with Lynch's family members and close friends and visiting some of his favorite spots, I kept coming back to the same conclusion: Oakland made Lynch who he is, as a player and a person, and his goal in life is to repay and replenish the beleaguered East Bay city with everything he's got.
"He is like the mayor of Oakland," says Kevin (KP) Parker, an Oakland native who is one of Lynch's mentors, and who works as the player development director at nearby Cal, where Lynch starred from 2004 to 2006. "He is probably the biggest name in Oakland, not because of what he does so much on the field, but because of what he does in the community.
"He goes to the high schools and middle schools and checks in on the kids. He feeds the community. He clothes the community. He gives back -- turkey drives, toy drives, coat drives. That gives you more love than anything you do as a football player. 'Cause a lot of people don't have TVs in Oakland -- they don't even watch him play football. But they know when there's a turkey drive, and they're lining up by the hundreds ... 'Who put this on? Marshawn Lynch.' "
Like many well-compensated athletes, Lynch has made a point of giving back to the community, establishing the Fam 1st Family Foundation and putting on the types of events cited by Parker. Yet Lynch doesn't see his acts of generosity as charity so much as he does civic duty.
Raised by a single mother, Lynch saw his share of struggles as a child. As he told me last year, "I don't think I ever had a lowest point while on an active NFL roster. My lowest point came (growing up), when we were trying to figure out what we were gonna eat at night. My lowest point came when I'd wash my jeans at night -- and hopefully they were dry by the morning, so I wouldn't have to go to school in wet jeans. Or, if they were still damp, I'd iron 'em so at least they'd be hot for a moment."
While driven by the desire to give himself a better life, Lynch never wanted to make it out of Oakland. Rather, he strove to put himself in a position where he could help make Oakland better.
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"...he's made it through, but he doesn't want to leave his community. And that is my son's ultimate goal when he's done with the NFL: to open up a youth center. So hopefully he can make that dream come true, too."
For all of the organized events sponsored by Lynch's foundation, the random acts of kindness -- and constant connection to the community -- are what provoke the uncanny adulation he feels when he's back home.
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When people say Lynch will give a kid the shirt off his back, they're not necessarily being metaphorical.
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Lynch frequently visits his high school, Oakland Tech, where he habitually interacts with students and encourages them to achieve academically.
"He was at Tech one day, and there was this guy who saw Marshawn's shoes and got really excited," Delisa recalled. "He was like, 'Oooh, Marshawn, I wish I could have a pair of shoes like those. Those are so nice. They're so tight.' And Marshawn was like, 'Well, what size do you wear?' And the little guy told him what size, and it just so happened to be the same size Marshawn had on. He took those shoes off and he gave 'em to the little guy and he left that school with no shoes on his feet. And it was cold that day, too."
Then there was the time Lynch found out that a Tech student didn't have a car with which to drive his date to the prom.
"He'd seen the kid working hard in school, and he appreciated what the kid was doing, and he took notice," said Delton Edwards, who was Lynch's coach at Oakland Tech. "Marshawn overheard him complaining about how he was gonna get to prom. So he just goes up to him one day and says, 'Hey, you wanna drive my Benz to the prom?'
"He said, 'What I'mma do is, I'm gonna go get it detailed. I'm gonna be in the backseat. I'm gonna let you drive it. When y'all get there, get out, and I'll take the car, and I'll come back and let you drive it home.'
"How many people would have done that -- high school kid just getting his license, and you let him drive an $80,000 Mercedez-Benz?"
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"It is truly rough here," Parker said. "Oakland will swallow you up, if you allow it to. But if you're strong-minded and know what you want in life, you can make it, and you're gonna have some tools in your toolbox.
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When his work is done, rest assured that Lynch will show love to his hometown on a level that is truly touching.
"Marshawn is Oakland," Parker said. "He is a Town kid. He comes home a lot during the season -- flies in on Mondays, then he flies up probably the last flight on Tuesday, just 'cause he has to come taste the air, gotta come get the smell of it for his upcoming work week. Come outta the airport, smell the air, go to a couple food spots, see a couple friends, and he'll get back home to work.
"So yeah -- he's Oakland, through and through."