I'm still sitting here 223 days after our first ever Super Bowl Championship in a state that bounces between shock and bliss.
I realize not every 12 has waited as long as I have for that day to arrive, and honestly I don't feel I am anymore deserving of the moment than someone who decided to start loving the Hawks a year ago. Too much energy is spent on fans proving who has the most loyalty or "tenure" now that the Seahawks are on top of the NFL world. Not so much in these walls, but it's out there for sure. Hell, I have my Android phone's desktop wallpaper a photo of myself as a 10-year-old (with hair!!) wearing a t-shirt that says "Property of the Seattle Seahawks" just to prove I'm no bandwaggoner to those inevitable ding dongs who will taunt me with the question of my tenure when I am in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar faces.
Many of you have shared your stories of wearing your Seahawks flare years ago only to be met with laughter or apathy, now being met with high fives, respect or shockingly rude and hate-filled commentary from fans that are clearly pissed off that the Seattle Seahawks (The Seahawks?!?!?) are unquestionably the most bad ass team in the NFL. This fact has A LOT of NFL fans around the world in a tailspin of hilarious proportions.
I have lived in the Pacific Northwest for most of my life. I've seen this town go from apathetic to hysteria when it comes to the Seahawks. Proudly I can say that from the beginning, there was always a core base of true 12's that were there through it all. The hard seasons to watch, the Flores/Behring Era we would all love to erase from our memories, and so on. Momma Blue may be the most well known, but there are tens of thousands of other diehard 12's that have been representing before it was cool to represent. I salute them all.
And now I live in this new world of glee and bliss that I cannot fathom. For years it was my inevitable right to be pissed off at this team for their imminent failures and let downs. As much as I wanted them to win every game, I was lucky if they won half of them in a season. Media coverage nationally was laughable by the very level of absence displayed. It was like the Seahawks didn't even play in the same league as the NFL.
Whenever a pundit would actually, shockingly, mention the Seahawks, it was almost always in a patronizing, mocking tone which lit my fire ever brighter.
So here I sit. Sunday, September 7th, 2014. The rest of the NFL kicks their season off today. And yet, every single team in the NFL is chasing the Seattle Seahawks. Trying to emulate the greatest team in football today.
Wait, did I actually type those words? Let me make sure:
The rest of the NFL kicks their season off today. And yet, every single team in the NFL is chasing the Seattle Seahawks. Trying to emulate the greatest team in football today.
I truly never thought I would see this day. The day that the Seattle Seahawks are BY FAR the most talented and feared team in the NFL without question. Respect is rampant, you can see it in droves no matter where you look. Oh, those fans that HATE us? Respect.
On this dawn of the 2014 season (where we are already 1-0, beating a team convincingly that many consider a contender in the NFC) I am still stuck in this blissful state of awe and wonder. How can it be that this team that was so average, so mediocre for so many years, can now be the template that all other teams aspire to be?
I don't know man, but whatever you do, if I'm dreaming, please don't pinch me.
I realize not every 12 has waited as long as I have for that day to arrive, and honestly I don't feel I am anymore deserving of the moment than someone who decided to start loving the Hawks a year ago. Too much energy is spent on fans proving who has the most loyalty or "tenure" now that the Seahawks are on top of the NFL world. Not so much in these walls, but it's out there for sure. Hell, I have my Android phone's desktop wallpaper a photo of myself as a 10-year-old (with hair!!) wearing a t-shirt that says "Property of the Seattle Seahawks" just to prove I'm no bandwaggoner to those inevitable ding dongs who will taunt me with the question of my tenure when I am in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar faces.
Many of you have shared your stories of wearing your Seahawks flare years ago only to be met with laughter or apathy, now being met with high fives, respect or shockingly rude and hate-filled commentary from fans that are clearly pissed off that the Seattle Seahawks (The Seahawks?!?!?) are unquestionably the most bad ass team in the NFL. This fact has A LOT of NFL fans around the world in a tailspin of hilarious proportions.
I have lived in the Pacific Northwest for most of my life. I've seen this town go from apathetic to hysteria when it comes to the Seahawks. Proudly I can say that from the beginning, there was always a core base of true 12's that were there through it all. The hard seasons to watch, the Flores/Behring Era we would all love to erase from our memories, and so on. Momma Blue may be the most well known, but there are tens of thousands of other diehard 12's that have been representing before it was cool to represent. I salute them all.
And now I live in this new world of glee and bliss that I cannot fathom. For years it was my inevitable right to be pissed off at this team for their imminent failures and let downs. As much as I wanted them to win every game, I was lucky if they won half of them in a season. Media coverage nationally was laughable by the very level of absence displayed. It was like the Seahawks didn't even play in the same league as the NFL.
Whenever a pundit would actually, shockingly, mention the Seahawks, it was almost always in a patronizing, mocking tone which lit my fire ever brighter.
So here I sit. Sunday, September 7th, 2014. The rest of the NFL kicks their season off today. And yet, every single team in the NFL is chasing the Seattle Seahawks. Trying to emulate the greatest team in football today.
Wait, did I actually type those words? Let me make sure:
The rest of the NFL kicks their season off today. And yet, every single team in the NFL is chasing the Seattle Seahawks. Trying to emulate the greatest team in football today.
I truly never thought I would see this day. The day that the Seattle Seahawks are BY FAR the most talented and feared team in the NFL without question. Respect is rampant, you can see it in droves no matter where you look. Oh, those fans that HATE us? Respect.
On this dawn of the 2014 season (where we are already 1-0, beating a team convincingly that many consider a contender in the NFC) I am still stuck in this blissful state of awe and wonder. How can it be that this team that was so average, so mediocre for so many years, can now be the template that all other teams aspire to be?
I don't know man, but whatever you do, if I'm dreaming, please don't pinch me.