Category: Current Events

News, politics, editorial…

Where have all the Seahawks gone?!

Posted on by Murl Hartwood

Wiiiillllsssooooonn!
No doubt, you’ve seen the memes by now. Russell Wilson’s head is floating in the waves as Tom Hanks watches him slowly drift away – desperately calling out for him to not leave. Apologizing for whatever it was he had done that made him go. Also, by now, we’ve all had time to process it. Discuss it. Argue about it. Maybe even swear off of the NFL and burn your Seahawks’ gear.
Russ will no longer cook in Seattle.
With the NFL draft coming up and the Mariners playing games now, in what is likely the most-anticipated start to baseball in Seattle in a long time, the fever has died down and life can go on again.
The trade rumors started last year and after the year the Hawks – and Wilson, himself – had, it was no shock to hear them start up again. Sure, both sides did their best to put on a good face…but it’s like staying together for the sake of the children. The parents figure that as long as they don’t argue in front of the kids, that they can keep it together. The problem is that kids are smarter than that. They know. They can sense when mom and dad are really still in love or just faking it. Think of Pete Carroll and Russ Wilson as mom and dad (I don’t care which one is which – just play along!).
In the beginning, it was rainbows and unicorns.
With Wilson being picked up in a late-round pick by the Hawks – even after signing Matt Flynn from Green Bay to bring an experienced QB to the team after some pretty ugly seasons – I will admit to being the first one to say “WTF”? And, when Wilson started getting more playing time in pre-season, I figured it was just to see if he was going to be the backup. Then…when the season started and he was the starter? I thought they were crazy! He’s too short! He’s a rookie! Why the hell did you sign Flynn?!
Well, let’s fast-forward a few years, past the success…past the Super Bowl win…past the Super Bowl loss the following year…past the playoff appearances year after year and setting every QB record for Seattle. Let’s look past all he has meant to the city both on and off the field and his weekly appearances at Children’s Hospital. Let’s look at the nuts and bolts of the Hawks’ success.
After becoming “Russ” and forever earning a spot in our hearts and becoming a Seahawks legend, it was time to pay the piper. Wilson was paid a lot of money. I mean, a WHOLE LOT of money! His contract averaged out at over $30M per season and was going to be looking for more in 2 years. So, what happened? Why couldn’t the team re-create the success they had in his early days? He still had that arm and still throws one of the most accurate deep-balls that I can remember. What changed?
Let me ask this…
What did the team have in 2012-2015 that they didn’t have the last few years?
The “Legion of Boom”? Marshawn “The Beast” Lynch? Depth on the D-line like we’ve never seen? Yes to all 3. Russ was a master of escaping pressure and moving around in the pocket to find his open man. That was, when he wasn’t handing it off to a human wrecking ball who would make 260 lb. linebackers into roadkill as he ran right at them. Playing a close game? Don’t worry. The Hawks’ defense in those years wouldn’t let you score any points! That D was record-setting. Compare it to the Steel Curtain in Pittsburgh in the ‘70s or the ’85 Bears. It’s easy to look great when you only have to score about 17 points to win.
Yes, it was a time to remember – and you should never forget – because a team like that only comes along once in a while.
And they were all young.
Wilson on a rookie contract. Bobby Wagner on a rookie contract. Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas…rookies.
With the salary cap, NFL teams have a limit to how much they can spend. It takes a near-genius to figure it all out and how to defer salary, apply bonus, etc. but when you have a bunch of guys like that, you can spend more on…your center. Your receivers. Your linemen. You get to have depth.
After the Super Bowls, those contracts started coming due. Marshawn left the game (only to come back, leave again and come back…and leave) and Russ was expecting to get paid like a Super Bowl-winning, All-star QB! You can’t pay everyone, so…they paid Kam Chancellor first. He got injured and ended his career. They chose to pay Earl Thomas and let Sherman go. They have been searching for Marshawn’s replacement ever since. They gave KJ a good contract. They gave Russ a super-star contract. Earl Thomas got pissy and started complaining about wanting a raise after 2 years into his deal and started making it hard for the Hawks to ignore the fact he was becoming a distraction. He held out of summer camp, got injured, flipped everyone off and never played another down for the Hawks (but still got paid, mind you – that rant can be found in my archives!).
The Hawks still went to the playoffs, but they couldn’t duplicate the success. Russ still had to scramble – now, more than ever – and wasn’t getting faster as he got older. He got sacked an incredible number of times. They could never utilize any tight end, no matter how good they were. The O-Line was last on the payroll and it showed. The running game suffered. Wilson suffered, and…he is too short.
Yes, I said it again. What made him great was his ability to avoid the rush. His scrambling was an asset in the beginning, but as he (and all of us) gets older, it’s not an asset anymore. For him to be the “legendary” QB he wants to be – and to play until he’s in his 40’s – he needs to be able to stand in the pocket and pick apart the defense to keep them on their heels. He just can’t. He can’t see over the linemen if he’s not moving side-to-side and it’s a goddamn sin – A SIN, I TELL YOU! – that they were able to draft a human specimen like DK Metcalf and not have him catching 1300 yards and being targeted 10-15 times a game. I don’t think Russ can see him! It’s all timing with Russ if he’s not on the scramble drill and without the devastating run game to mix it up, it’s all on his shoulders – just like a $30 plus million QB should be and it…just…wasn’t…working. They fired the offensive coordinator. They fired another one. They just couldn’t figure out a game plan to make him successful again and Bobby was getting older…KJ was getting older…the running game constantly in flux…the secondary always struggling.
The thing is…when you win, you get lousy draft picks.
The Hawks had lousy draft picks for years.
It was time. Russ wanted to go and the Hawks weren’t interested in begging him to stay. He gets to go to a stadium that has mile-high air and a good running game and the Hawks got a windfall of players and draft picks. I just wish they could have kept Bobby until he retired, but I do understand the thinking there, too. Save the cap space. With the money they freed-up and the picks they have, it’s a chance to catch that lighting in a bottle again, before Pete retires.
With Paul Allen gone, the team has a lot of questions that will be answered in time. One thing that won’t be in question is the fact that all good things come to an end. Players move on, coaches move on and teams change. Fans are the only ones that don’t! Fans should be rooting for the team no matter who is coaching or playing! Do you think for one moment that any player loves you as much as you love them? You buy the jersey…you make yourself hoarse yelling and cheering and you love that player. When push comes to shove, though, it comes to money and there is no player (well, maybe one or two) who would volunteer to make less money just to be there with you. Don’t give your heart to a player – no matter how good they are. You can do everything else…appreciate, cheer, cry, and chant their name…just don’t get so attached that you dare quit on the team when that player leaves. It’s part of the deal. Your alliance should be with the team, no matter what.
I think of it almost like a pet. You know what you’re in for…you sign on the dotted line. You get some great years with them and get to enjoy them while they are here. You make great memories and you will never forget them. But, they move on and don’t get to stay forever (Well, maybe if you have a turtle, it will outlive you) and that’s the deal. We get these players for a short time – usually shorter than our pets – and just enjoy them and all the success they bring while they are here. Lord knows, there are too many players that don’t bring us joy and success so make damn sure you make the most of it!
Russ is gone. Bobby is gone. In fact, they were the last of the 2012 team that were left. The team is still here, though, and they deserve your support. We’ve seen bad football here in the past and we’ve seen bad ownership here in the past. What we’ve all been able to enjoy these last 10 years is a run of football success in Seattle we have never seen – and we should appreciate it for what it was and not hold it against them if they need to figure out a new way to make it happen again.
I know you’re feeling jilted right now and you aren’t interested in the NFL after having your heart ripped out, but…
You’ll be back.
Thanks for reading and…
GO HAWKS!!

Must see TV! The ratings are in and it’s a sweep!

Posted on by Murl Hartwood

Well, the reviews are in and it looks like this newest season of “The Rise and Fall of Democracy” is shaping up to be must-see TV! With all of the economic sanctions, political posturing and civilian casualties you could ask for, we finally see the Putin character we have suspected all along of being focused on re-building the former Soviet Union!
With a 20 year run, “The US Occupies Afghanistan” was our go-to show when nothing else was on and we just needed to remind ourselves that despite who was in the Oval Office or what teams were in the Superbowl, we somehow felt comforted that our troops were still over there – making the world a safer place. Of course, when it was fresh and new, we couldn’t help but to be glued to our televisions. Back then, it was Bush leading the way after 9/11 and we all watched with anticipation of how we would end the threat of terrorism, rid the world of extremist ideologies and spread democracy across a new and welcoming middle east! The characters we loved at the beginning – like all good binge-worthy shows now – eventually gave way to the new ones and the show seemed to change over time. Once the main character, Osama bin Laden was killed off, we thought that might have been the end of the run and we would be looking forward to a new season in North Korea or maybe somewhere in North Africa to see our old friend Moammar Khadafi again. I have to say I think it kind of jumped the shark after we said goodbye to bin Laden because without the arch-nemesis, it just didn’t seem to have the same urgency. Even when – early in the second season – we saw Saddam Hussein get caught, we always knew that Osama was the star of the show.
We can go all the way back to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s to see the star power of Osama. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and Osama was on better terms with the US, we saw a rare cooperation to protect democracy from the evil “Red Empire”! With help from us, we watched Osama and his band of merry men fight back against the Red Menace and make the world safe again for freedom-loving people! Or at least the threat of communism was once again pushed back into the frozen Siberian Tundra.
That was, until the relationship was strained and the show’s creators felt it would be better for ratings if Osama now had a grudge against the US and then introduced a new group to the show – the Taliban. With the Taliban coming into Afghanistan and getting rid of nearly every Western influence, like allowing women to go to school and have professions like being a doctor or professor, it was their relationship with Osama that led to a new alliance! Of course, the US moved on and found their way into new storylines and some of our favorite characters – Regan, Bush, Clinton, Bush the Younger all ignored what was happening until one of the most shocking plot twists of all time…a group of hijackers flying commercial jet planes into the World Trade Center in New York and other targets, including the Pentagon!
Now, it was Osama and the Taliban in the US’s cross-hairs and while we were undertaking the “War on Terror” season, why not add an episode to include Saddam Hussein’s capture and execution as well! This was the network’s bread and butter for many years until the ratings got so low, the network decided to pull the plug. After all, a new show called “Worldwide Pandemic” had made the leap to the top of the Nielsen Ratings and the producers knew they had to get creative to capture the public’s attention. With the wildly popular and polarizing character Donald Trump coming in for a short appearance after the 8 year run of Barack Obama, the Trump character was voted off the island and replaced with a previous supporting role-player – Joe Biden.
With Joe Biden, the possibilities were all there – finishing “Worldwide Pandemic”, bringing an end to “The US Occupies Afghanistan” and being the star of his own new series…”Russia – A New Beginning”, co-starring Vladimir Putin, who made appearances alongside Trump and occasionally was written into the storyline with Obama. But, ever since the “Big Breakup” of the Soviet Union during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the decades-long run of “The Cold War” had been over and no one really gave Russia much thought. After all, they were part of the democracy craze sweeping the world and Western influence and business dollars had been rapidly gaining ground in the “former” socialist country.
That all changed recently, though, a few weeks ago when the network made the surprise debut of “The Rise and Fall of Democracy” and it’s ratings couldn’t be higher! Everyone’s watching it and glued to their TV sets to see what happens next! Will Russia use chemical weapons? Will Putin choose a tactical nuclear weapon? Will a rocket accidentally land in Poland and force a NATO response? The world is on the edge of their seats waiting for the next plot twist and this is definitely binge-worthy watching. Grab your popcorn, snuggle up and get ready to watch history unfold!

From Reagan to Trump: WTAF Happened??!!

Posted on by IDGAFCO Admin

The US/Russian relationship has long been strained and tedious to navigate. Historically, American Presidents have spoken out condemning Soviet/Russian aggression from occurrence to occurrence. Stern, even harsh words and actions have been stated/taken by US leaders ever since the rise of the Soviet Union. Well, at least until now anyway.

“Now all of us deplore this vast military spending. Yet, in the face of the Soviet attitude, we realize its necessity. Whatever the cost, America will keep itself secure. But in the process we must not, by our own hand, destroy or distort the American system. This we could do by useless overspending. I know one sure way to overspend. That is by overindulging sentimental attachments to outmoded military machines and concepts.”

Eisenhower

We have no wish to war with the Soviet Union–for we are a peaceful people who desire to live in peace with all other peoples. But it is difficult to settle or even discuss these problems in an atmosphere of intimidation.

JFK

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.

Reagan

“Putin is now saying, ‘It’s independent,’ a large section of Ukraine. I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper… We could use that on our southern border.”

Trump

That’s right. Embattled criminal defendant and disgraced former President Donald J. Trump has taken the unprecedented action of praising Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, even calling it “genius”. Furthermore, he has expressed interest in performing such internationally illegal activities himself should he successfully circumnavigate numerous suits and prosecutions to somehow get another sniff of power.

Even more disturbing is the trend of Trump sycophants following suit. Whether FOX “News” personalities or actual elected officials, there is praise coming from the right for Putin’s reprehensible actions.

How did we get here? How did the “hawkish” party of Reagan go from a stark demand that Gorbachev tear down the wall to a completely flummoxing rant praising, admiring, and encouraging Putin’s behavior?

Why did Jared try to establish a back channel for unsecure communications between Trump and Putin??

What kind of dystopian nightmare might we be living through had Trump’s insurrection/failed coup on January 6th succeeded??

We here at IDGAFCO are non-partisan, but very observant and quite concerned. Additionally, we find it a little odd that some on the right are trying to have it both ways. Well, which is it? Is Putin a genius, or is Biden weak? There are assertions that this invasion is “due to Biden’s weakness” when his predecessor in the position spent his entire solitary term sucking up to, encouraging, and man-crushing on Putin. It is well beyond laughable that things would somehow be harder on Russia had DJT somehow remained in office.

Let’s be perfectly honest here. If January 6th’s failed coup had succeeded, we’d likely have boots on the ground in Ukraine in support of Putin and his hostile aggression. Let there be no doubt about it.

Please do not allow yourself to be gas-lit by far-right media, failed former Presidents/current criminal and civil defendants, or their grifter families. Monitoring social media, a trend of rare silence from once hard-right proponents now questioning their own allegiances and desperately trying to reconcile the words of Reagan with the words/actions of Trump. It appears many are either embarrassed or disgusted enough to rethink their positions. Still more will likely dig in, motivated by whatever it is that motivates them.

We here at IDGAFCO believe it is appropriate to breathe a collective national sigh of relief that the coup failed as did the person motivating it. This is a good time to have an adult in office.

For those of you still in denial, the rest of us are enjoying your current silence as you are now unable to claim to be hawkish or to have appropriately condemned the actions of a madman dictator and his hostile regime. Anyone remaining in support of DJT at this point is basically complicit or incapable of better decision-making (Being generous on latter).

Let’s Unmask and Let Darwin Do His Thing

Posted on by IDGAFCO Admin

I’d like to leverage this editorial posting to express what I believe to be an idea whose time has come: UNMASKING! I say we go for it right here, right now

  • We could all see one another smile again.
  • It would feel like a return to normal.
  • It would silence anti-maskers who love to play the victim with their histrionics at the very idea of taking appropriate precautions or acting selflessly.
  • Vaccinated/boosted, while still eligible for infection,. are not even likely to require hospitalization even in those cases. Others, well… Have it as you wish and best of luck to you.
  • It would help to achieve herd immunity by culling the herd.

I mean sure our hospitals will initially be overrun and people who need critical emergency care may have to go without or lose precious, life-saving time shuttling from on unavailable facility to another, but FREEDUMB!!!
Since it seems those most willing to abandon precautions are also those least likely to be practicing them in the first place (ie. masking, vaccinating, social distancing…), why not let the culling occur?

As Burger King used to say:
Have it your way.

Sea-Hawks!

Posted on by Murl Hartwood

Save our Seahawks!
Just kidding, but since I’ve got your attention…
It was a frustrating season, to be sure. The worst record for the Hawks since Russell Wilson got here, his first significant time out due to injury (in fact, he missed 3 games and those are the only 3 games he’s missed in his NFL career!), an offense that just couldn’t get going with the new coordinator. A defense that for a 3 game stretch, were on the field for 40 minutes per game and allowed a lot of yards (but didn’t allow a lot of points and actually played much better than the box score would indicate), a special-teams unit that had missed extra points and field goals – at least one of which had a direct effect on one loss. Losing Carson early, losing Jamal Adams, other injuries that piled up (but, to be fair, all teams deal with injuries). It added up to a season of “what could have been”. Blown leads, head-scratching plays, a few bad calls and…7-10
But, let’s not lose sight of what’s in front of us. Let’s not refuse to see the forest through the trees. When that headline – Save our Seahawks – was in the news, it was back when Ken Behring was trying to pack up the team’s Kirkland headquarters – weight room and all – and move them to Los Angeles. We were staring at the very real possibility of NOT having the Seahawks in Seattle at all! Having narrowly avoided the Mariners moving to Florida, now we had a shitty owner trying to move a downtrodden team to a city who couldn’t give a rat’s ass whether they were coming or not and it just didn’t seem like it was possible…how could this happen? Who would save us?
Well, it was Paul Allen. With a quick referendum to commit to building a new stadium (details about financing and the political process will not be part of this discussion – write your own post about that, if you feel the need) and a promise to build the Seahawks back into a winner, they had a new owner! Dennis Erickson was still the coach and they were still playing in the Kingdome when I got my season tickets. Next came a guy named Mike Holmgren and playing in Husky Stadium for 2 years while the ol’ dome was imploded (which I went down to watch in person and take my own pictures) and the new stadium was built in its place. Then came the move to the NFC West and within a few years, the first Superbowl appearance for the Seahawks (we all know the refs screwed us on that one!)! By the time Holmgren moved on, we had the reputation as the loudest stadium in the league. We were winning more than losing. We had future Hall-of-fame players and were no longer suffering from the “East Coast Bias” that seemed to plague us for so long. One season with Jim Mora Jr. notwithstanding, when the next coach – Pete Carroll – came on board, we didn’t really know what to expect. What we should have expected was wins – lots of wins – back to back Superbowl appearances, one Superbowl win, multiple division championships and playoffs nearly every season with one of the best defenses to ever take the field (the Legion of Boom for those who are just tuning in), the most prolific quarterback the team has ever seen (Sorry, Zorn, Kreig, Moon and Hasselbeck) and a new reputation as a powerhouse…because that’s exactly what we got! (Just as an aside…think back to the Superbowl loss to Pittsburgh. They have the same quarterback this season as they did then and they have only had 3 different head coaches since the 1960’s!)
In fact, we got so used to winning that we forgot how to lose – or, at least what losing feels like.
So much success has turned an already fickle fan base even more fickle and it’s exactly why – many times in the past years – I’ve tried to say enjoy the moment. Don’t look past the success of today, because tomorrow’s success is not guaranteed. We don’t know what the future will hold for Bobby Wagner, Russell Wilson or even Pete Carroll. Paul Allen died a few short years ago and we don’t even know for sure what will happen to the ownership. What we can do is appreciate what we have while we have it. Yes, it’s hard to be excited after a disappointing season. You, me and 100,000 of our closest friends will all spend countless hours speculating about what they should have done different or what they should do next and we will watch the draft in April and we will get reports from training camp in August and the season will start again in September.
That’s one of the best things about sports…something we can all agree on– we fans want the team to win. We all do – no matter what side of the political spectrum you sit on. We share a common interest that has nothing to do with politics and we can stand side-by-side and cheer for “our guys”. The players will come and go, same with coaches, management and even owners. One thing that won’t change, though, is a fan’s dedication to the team!
Sure, it didn’t go our way this year – look at the Bengals…they just won their first playoff game in 31 years this weekend…31 years! How about Dallas? “America’s Team” lost in spectacular fashion last night in front of America! The Eagles? Were they even on the field against Tom Brady?
Regardless of the way the season ended, the Hawks finished up 4-2 in the last 6 weeks. They beat the 49ers twice this year and the Cardinals once! Not bad, considering 3 out of 4 NFC West teams are in the playoffs! The season for the league, in general, was pretty great – the NFL may be lacking in a lot of things, but parity is not one of them. The final game of the season was the Raiders-Chargers game. By the time it played, the strange fact was, that whichever team won would be in the playoffs. But…if the game ended in a tie, they would BOTH be in and the Steelers would be out! How did it finish? The game ended regulation time in a tie and went to overtime! All they had to do was not take any chances and run out the clock and they would both be in…but, it was not to be. The Raiders won, the Chargers went home and the Steelers got embarrassed yesterday against the Chiefs. We also saw a player – Antonio Brown – quit…QUIT! In the middle of a game! In front of everyone! No matter, to Tom Brady though. He took apart the Eagles and in his second season with Tampa Bay, looks like he might be in the championship game once again (editor’s note: Enough already with the success, Tom!!!). New England made it back into the post season with a rookie QB but couldn’t put it together to handle the Bills in sub-freezing weather, with Buffalo having 7 offensive possessions in the game and scoring all 7 times! Can we apply the sports team algebraic equation of “You beat them, but we beat you, so we would beat them” or A>B>C=A>C? If so, then since the Seahawks beat the 49ers twice and the 49ers beat Dallas at home, then the Seahawks would have beat Dallas? That’s the twisted mind of the sports fan!
No, folks this wasn’t the Hawks’ year and even last year’s 12-4 season wasn’t their year… but, I’ll take being able to watch a team – win or lose – over wishing they hadn’t left.
Now, if we can just get the Sonics back…
Thanks for reading this year and…
Go Hawks!!!