Longtime Seahawks fan/ 1st trip to Seattle !!

[stack]

Hey everyone!

I have been a Seahawks fan for the last 15 years, but being from Ireland, I never had the chance to make it to Seattle for a Seahawks game...but that s going to change on September 15!!
I used to be obsessed with the SuperSonics, and then got into american football after watching Warren Moon throwing a hail mary to Joey Galloway when I was about 15. Needless to say, going to Seattle was a childhood dream of mine.
For my 30th birthday, my lovely fiancée basically made that dream come true, by getting us flight tickets, an apartment for five days and tickets to the home opener against the 49ers! She had been planning it for a year, and I still cannot believe it...i'm literally over the moon as ye can imagine!!
Now, I had been to 2 pre season games a few years back in San Diego, but it got nothing on the CLink and,well, it was preseason...
It is going to be our first trip to Seattle, and first proper NFL game. I would like to ask for your advice as to what to do prior to kickoff. Is it fun to hang around the stadium? Is there much tailgating happening in Seattle? Does one need to know people to actually join the fun? We really want to have the ultimate Seahawks experience, as god knows when we ll be able to do that again!
Also, excluding sunday and the pro shop signing on tuesday, we have three full days in Seattle. What would you reckon be nice to visit? We really want to make our stay special, and would love if some fellow 'Hawks fans could point us in the right direction!
Thanks,

Thomas

 

[The Radish]

Welcome to Seahawks.net and how wonderful for you. By the way that gal sounds like a keeper.

There will be tons of people here with great things to do in the Seattle area, its a great place to visit.

Here's hoping you have a wonderful time.

:th2thumbs:

 

[SNDavidson]

Brother, it's going to be loud.

 

[stack]

Earplugs so ?

 

[3Girls'HawkDad]

Enjoy it! Hopefully some of the smarter guys on here can direct you to the "first time in Seattle" threads.

Go Irish single malt! Go Hawks!

 

[12thMan1]

When I read that in my mind, I used an Irish accent and it was awesome!

 

[3Girls'HawkDad]

I pictured him in short pants. Wasn't as good

 

[Largent80]

I'll be coming back to Seattle for that game as well. Temple Billiards before the game everyone, just like the old days !!!!

 

[RolandDeschain]

I would like to ask for your advice as to what to do prior to kickoff. Is it fun to hang around the stadium? Is there much tailgating happening in Seattle? Does one need to know people to actually join the fun?

The stupid city of Seattle really curtails tailgating, so that's pretty much limited to the huge parking lot at the stadium itself. That being said, bring a decent bottle of whiskey and offer to share, and you've pretty much got an in at any group of tailgaters there. Whether you will enjoy that more, or being in any bar within a mile of the stadium where it'll be packed with Seahawks fans is up to you and your obviously awesome wife.

 

[camdawg]

Hello Stack,

Glad to hear you get to go on this trip. I'm sure you'll have a great time!

You probably haven't had an opportunity to research public transportation and all that.....by any chance, would you have an address for the apartment you and your fiancée will be staying at? Or perhaps would you know the neighborhood, such as Ballard, Green Lake, the University District, etc? That can help give us some ideas of where to go, what to see, and how to get there.

What do you really enjoy? If you're an architecture person, the general downtown area has three interesting buildings. The Space Needle and the Experience Music Project are two that are basically next door to each other. They're at the northern part of downtown, called Seattle Center. Some would not consider this to be downtown, but very close. Both will cost you money to get into. The EMP is Paul Allen's music/rock n' roll museum. I think admission for adults is $20? So a little expensive...but great to go through if you're a music person.

I'd say the third interesting building in the downtown area, and one that is free to go in and see is our main public library. This is in the heart of downtown on 4th Avenue-designed by Rem Koolhaas. Very wierd shaped building for a library. But if you're not a big architecture person, you can skip it.

Are you a big enough music fan that going to the gravesite of Jimi Hendrix would be like a pilgrimmage?

The Pike Place Market is definitely a place you should go to, IMO.

If you are interested in local history, the Underground Tour, and Gold Rush Museum, will give you some very good history of what Seattle was like in the late 1800s. The Underground Tour takes you to original Seattle, which was built on top of after a big fire.

I hate to make stereotypes...but...since you're Irish, I gotta ask...do you like beer? There's a couple of local brews that are worth trying if you can find them somewhere. If you like ambers/bitters styles, try Mac n' Jack's African Amber. It's tap only, just in the Pacific NW of North America. A hard beer to find, but worth drinking if you like dark beers like Guinness, is Irish Death by Ellensburg Brewing. It's almost as if it's in between a stout and porter...perhaps a stout on the slightly sweet side. Generally much harder to find in restaurants and pubs than Mac n' Jacks, so don't make a special point to go looking for it. But if you happen to be in a place that's serving it, give it a shot!

 

[LawlessHawk]

Posts like this make me smile. I can feel your enthusiasm. Have a great time, I know you will.

 

[AROS]

I'll be coming back to Seattle for that game as well. Temple Billiards before the game everyone, just like the old days !!!!

I second that!

 

[ivotuk]

You lucky dog! I was planning on making it this year but neck surgery and pneumonia put a stop to that dream! Congratulations on the awesome fiancee and I expect a complete summary of your experience after the fact for those of that hope to experience it one day.

So on September 16th, 2013, I expect to see a post from you on here...okay, okay, I'll give you a couple of days

 

[Sports Hernia]

Hey everyone!

I have been a Seahawks fan for the last 15 years, but being from Ireland, I never had the chance to make it to Seattle for a Seahawks game...but that s going to change on September 15!!
I used to be obsessed with the SuperSonics, and then got into american football after watching Warren Moon throwing a hail mary to Joey Galloway when I was about 15. Needless to say, going to Seattle was a childhood dream of mine.
For my 30th birthday, my lovely fiancée basically made that dream come true, by getting us flight tickets, an apartment for five days and tickets to the home opener against the 49ers! She had been planning it for a year, and I still cannot believe it...i'm literally over the moon as ye can imagine!!
Now, I had been to 2 pre season games a few years back in San Diego, but it got nothing on the CLink and,well, it was preseason...
It is going to be our first trip to Seattle, and first proper NFL game. I would like to ask for your advice as to what to do prior to kickoff. Is it fun to hang around the stadium? Is there much tailgating happening in Seattle? Does one need to know people to actually join the fun? We really want to have the ultimate Seahawks experience, as god knows when we ll be able to do that again!
Also, excluding sunday and the pro shop signing on tuesday, we have three full days in Seattle. What would you reckon be nice to visit? We really want to make our stay special, and would love if some fellow 'Hawks fans could point us in the right direction!
Thanks,

Thomas

Have fun! Sounds like you have a real special lady, she sounds real cool! There are stadium tours that are pretty cool that you can take on non game days. Safeco Field which is right across the street is home of the Mariners, you can take a tour of and if town see a great game of Baseball even though the team isn't that good. EMP is cool, as is the
Mueseum of Flight.

 

[gargantual]

Here's a link that lists some cool attractions: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g60878-Activities-Seattle_Washington.html

Gasworks Park is certainly different: http://www.seattleandsound.com/gasworkspark.html

The Sound Garden Park is pretty cool on a windy day too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Sound_Garden

The Fremont Troll is kind of cool too.......and as a guilty pleasure, I've always dug a Dick's Deluxe Burger (obviously not high cuisine, but great nonetheless ! Probably the easiest Dick's to get to is off the 45th Street West exit off of I5 (that's in Wallingford, west of the U District).

A ferry ride over to Whidbey Island and/or a tour of the San Juan Islands would be great as well: http://www.visitsanjuans.com/getting-here

 

[stack]

Hey lads,

Thanks for your input, really appreciate it! Billard Palace would be the right spot to be at for pre game fun, more so than the CLink s parking lot then?? Do ppl from this board meet there?
Thanks very much camdawg, you pretty much ticked all the boxes, I m really into music, beer and football haha! I do not know where we are staying but my fiancee told me it was close enough to the stadiun, ifI remember well...i have to look all that up!

 

[Largent80]

Stack, it is Temple Billiards, very near the stadium. And yes, many from here, meet up there.

http://www.templebilliards.com/

 

[stack]

Ps: Will I get any hassle for wearing my Seahawks game-used Seneca Wallace jersey at the game, now that he s been signed by the 49ers ?

 

[RolandDeschain]

Ps: Will I get any hassle for wearing my Seahawks game-used Seneca Wallace jersey at the game, now that he s been signed by the 49ers ?

Not even close. You're repping a Seahawks jersey. The only possible exception would be a #80 Rice, haha.

 

[rjdriver]

Fly directly to Vegas and marry her. I repeat....Marry her as fast as you can and do not let her get away.