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!!!
