Mane attraction: Sharper gets strength from family ... and hair

The flowing dreadlocks catch your eye first.

Even with his helmet on, fans can tell who Jamie Sharper is on the football field because of the hair running down the back of his jersey.

Some like the look. Others, his parents and brother included, have asked him to get a haircut or give him a hard time about the look.

For the record, the linebacker wears No. 55 for the Seahawks, and his former team, the Houston Texans, are in town Sunday night to take on Seattle at Qwest Field.

Sharper spent the past three seasons with the Texans after winning a Super Bowl ring with the Baltimore Ravens in 2000. In Houston, the hair was a conversation piece.

"Steve McKinney [a former Texans teammate] said, 'Man, you just came here and your hair looked kind of intimidating, but now it's getting too long and it looks kind of feminine.' " Sharper said. "Everybody could recognize me by my hair, see me on TV and see my hair flying around. So that's the main reason I kept it."

In Seattle, Sharper gets the same curious looks and the same ribbing about his mane.

"[Coach Mike] Holmgren tried to get me to cut it a little bit, but I can't trim it," Sharper said. Then he made a biblical reference to a man who drew strength from his long hair.

"Like Samson, man. I might get hurt or something and miss my first game if I trim it."

First game? It's true. Sharper has never missed a game because of injury or any other reason in nine NFL seasons. He has started all but one of 133 career games.

"He's been like a Rock of Gibraltar," said younger brother Darren, a safety for the Minnesota Vikings.

Knocking on wood hardly applies anymore with such a string of good fortune. That didn't stop Holmgren from doing so when he spoke of Sharper.

The Seahawks use Sharper on first and second downs, than typically substitute for him on third down to keep him as fresh as possible.

"We knew he had a little bit of an 'older' knee, I would say," said Holmgren when asked if he had a different role envisioned for Sharper when the team made him their top free-agent signing this past offseason. "So we have to practice him a certain way, play him a certain way, to make sure he can play the whole season."

Sharper, 30, shows little signs of wear and tear, and his leadership, though not always vocal, has been crucial to the Seahawks' young group of linebackers.

"I know you guys can't really hear him, but we do," middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu told reporters. "You just love being around guys like that, helping your game out."

It's a rapport Sharper has built wherever he has played or lived. His former teammates remember him fondly, in no small part for his good nature. His current teammates respect him. The high character stems from an upbringing in Glen Allen, Va., just outside of Richmond, where the Sharpers became pillars of the community.

Father Harry and mother Pauline met as college students at Virginia State University. They stressed the value of a good education in their children — Jamie, Darren and older sister Monica. All three earned bachelor's degrees from their respective universities: Virginia (Jamie), William & Mary (Darren) and James Madison (Monica).

"My wife and I are very proud of Jamie," Harry Sharper said, "especially to have lasted so long in his career."

"The teacher's always right," Jamie said of his father, a retired educator. "He was definitely on top of us from that standpoint."

It wasn't rare to have Harry show up at his boys' elementary school to check up on his sons' behavior. And when it came to choosing a college, Sharper's parents played a huge role in the decision.

"I just remember that I was about to go to South Carolina and choose the Gamecocks as my team to play for in college, and my parents said I could make my own decision," Jamie recalled. "Then when I said I'm going to South Carolina, they said, 'No you're not. You're going to UVA for the education.' "

Growing up, Jamie and Darren were teammates. Darren, almost a year younger, was the high-school quarterback and Jamie was the running back, and their sibling rivalry extended to who could get their names in the paper after a big game.

In a key game against a rival school, Jamie got the ball into opposing territory with his runs, but once the team got into the red zone Darren decided to run the ball himself for the score and the glory.

"We ran a stretch play for him," Darren said. "I faked giving it to him the ball and ran it in."

"He was an OK quarterback," Jamie said of his brother.

In the pros, Darren continues to grab the spotlight. He has been to two Pro Bowls; Jamie has yet to be selected.

Darren, as Jamie puts it, has "his dances" and wears up-to-date fashions. Jamie is more content with his laid-back style, even though Washington cornerback Shawn Springs recently called him "pretty," and prefers being on a good team over individual accolades.

During the offseason, the Texans let him go to free agency for salary-cap reasons.

"It basically came down to you just can't have everybody that you'd like to have with the salary-cap situation the way it is," Texans coach Dom Capers said. "But we like Jamie, and he played very well for us. And from a coaching standpoint, that's always hard, because you'd like to keep all your good players."

Long hair, intellectual-looking eyeglasses and all, Sharper knows one thing: The family will travel great lengths to see his games. His parents will be at Qwest Field with a small entourage, including some who go around the country with them to either Jamie's or Darren's game each week of the season.

"They spend a lot of time on the road, and it's nice to have the support," Jamie said. "It's important to always have someone there for you, plus the close family bond is good."

So is the hair. At least to some people.

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com