Open Welcome Letter from .NET to Pete Carroll (from 2010)

[imnKOgnito]

Coach Carroll,

As a man that has been a Seahawks fan in Seattle since there have been Seahawks I would like to say, Welcome to the Northwest, Welcome to this City, Welcome to this team. I've been buzzing with excitement since the first rumors started swirling about the possibility that you would be joining us here, and that sense of excitment over the possibilities of this era only amplified exponentially when I watched your first press conference here this morning. The energy and enthusiasm you exude is infectious, and it is impossible for me not to have high hopes for the new era your arrival launches in Seattle. I truly hope that your supporters are rewarded and detractors swayed when the wins start accruing next season.

I appreciate your shout out to the fans and promise you that you will feel that shout out returned in ways you cannot yet imagine come next September. I'm looking forward to what your future with the Seahawks brings, and I most assuredly look forward to working with you from my perch in Section 319 of Qwest Field for years to come.

Sincerely,

Kevin O.

 

[CityHawk]

Coach Carroll,

Welcome to the Seahawks. I'm a life long Seahawk fan stuck on the East coast. The 12th man covers the globe. Regardless of the team's record the 12th man brings the passion and the noise to every game. All we ask is that you and the players do the same. You are now part of an incredible family and you will have our support.

See you on Sundays!

Bill Thompson
Reston, VA

 

[CANHawk]

Coach Carroll,

Welcome to the greatest franchise that nobody knows about.

I jest; for all that this team is largely shunned by the rest of the league/country, the Seattle Seahawks are the pride and joy of not only Seattle, but they're the de facto NFL home team for Portland OR and Vancouver BC (that's in Canada, eh). I know there are giant fan bases in Idaho and Wyoming, as well as Alberta and Saskachewan (also Canada) who have adopted the `Hawks as their home team as well.

The fan base that you inherit stretches far beyond the borders of WA state. Seahawk nation is large and diverse. You have an incredible amount of support and good Mojo in your corner as well as the unbridled fury of the legendary 12th man. We believe in you and are looking forward to what the future holds. What our future with you holds.

Please take care of our franchise. We look forward to you taking us to the promised land!

Best of luck,

Eric Peters
Vancouver, BC

 

[BlueTalon]

Coach Carroll,

By now you have experienced the VMAC, and found that it exceeded your expectations, even exceeded what had been told to you by Tod Leiweke. You are in for a similar experience at Qwest Field. The facility is wonderful. We are proud of our reputation as noise-making, decibel-raising, false-start-producing fans, but nothing cranks up the juice quite like winning. If you do your part, bring together a phenomenal staff, get the players to play at the top of their game, and bring a winning product on to the field, we will do our part and provide a deafening cacophony when you need it.

In the 2007 Wildcard game against the Redskins, coach Joe Gibbs said the Seattle crowd got so loud that his team "could not hear the QB in the huddle! That's a heck of an advantage." It's now your advantage.

Good luck!

Chris Brose
Arlington, WA

 

[Seahawk Sailor]

Coach Carroll,

Welcome to the great Pac Northwest! You've got the facilities, fans and ownership to create a winning franchise. The VMAC is outstanding, and you'll soon find out that Qwest Field is one of the loudest fields in the league, if not the loudest. We Seahawks fans have seen all ends of the spectrum, and it's always been a roller coaster ride. Now let's see what you can do with it.

As a fan, I am guardedly optimistic about the Carroll Era. I love the enthusiasm and passion you show. I've really liked what you've said so far in the press conferences and interviews. Hopefully you'll be able to take your experience and expertise and transfer it to not only winning, but creating a winning attitude in Seattle. Be the disciplinarian you need to be and your players will respond. I have no fear you will attack this job with all the passion and drive necessary to get the job done.

Again, welcome to Seattle and best of luck! We'll be cheering for you!

 

[Riley12]

Dear Coach,

First of all, welcome to Seattle and welcome to the Seahawks. I wish you many years of success and fulfillment in your career.

If you are catching up with the history of this team and its fans, maybe by reading Then Zorn Said to Largent or Notes from a Twelve Man then you know that up until 5 or 10 years ago, we were a humble team with a relatively small but vocal fanbase. Tucked away here in South Alaska (or Egypt), we enjoyed the Sunday gameday rituals without much thought about what the rest of the NFL or country thought of us and didn't have many dreams other than defeating the Raiders (later the Rams) and slapping John Elway in his big, horse-toothed face. Then, under Mike Holmgren, the man who's shoes you are filling, we got a taste for success and national exposure at a level we had never experienced before. Since then, we have become greedy, hungry for all of that to happen again -- not just in some distant year but every year. Luckily, we have an owner that not only feels that need but shares it as well and so here you are.

My hope is that you will be too busy to read or care what the fans or the media think, but you are coming from LA where you had to become, if not a master of the media, then at least accepting of it's glare. Understand that you will now be in a place of anonymity, except if things go badly. We fans ride an emotional rollercoaster from play-to-play, from game-to-game, from announcement-to-announcement. We take every slight from the local and national media, both real and perceived, very seriously for you so you can stay above or away from all of that nonsense. The media, with its need to fill hundreds of channels and stations 24 hours a day, has lost its objectivity and rants and rails about everything with the composure of a tween Twilight blogger. We, the fans, will read, absorb and rail against it for you.

Sometime this week, I urge you head to the stadium and walk around, learn the names on the Ring of Honor, watch the looping video of people raising the "12" flag, view the fans' game ball that was awarded to us after the Giants had
eleven false starts one crazy afternoon too far away. The energy and passion that all of those things represent are yours now - to help you through the tough times, to help you through the days when you are burning the candle at both ends, to motivate your players, or whatever you need it for.

Best wishes,
Garth Riley

 

[Throwdown]

Lets get this goin' Pete, we're behind ya 100% prove those doubters wrong!

 

[i3igfan]

Hey Pete! Go Fight Hawks baby!

As someone who actually was diagnosed at an early age for having a mild case of ADD, we should go ride bikes!!! Lol, joking, it aint that bad. But I was reading an article where you were praising your un-diagnosed disorder and crediting it to your success as a Head Coach. Rock on I dig that, you can always turn something that runs against you around and into the direction you're trying to go.

 

[Hawkstorian]

Hey, Pete. What up.

 

[Hawkboi]

Coach Pete...

First thing to do is to move Training Camp back to Cheney, and get the fight back that happens after that kind of Boot Camp for the Team and the Fans.... If you move training camp back to Cheney, you'll be on your way to a Super Bowl Championship! Please do this!!

 

[XxxZagnutxxX]

Coach,

Show us what a championship feels like! Alaska supports you.

JW

 

[hawksman53]

Dear pete, Please call Reggie Bush and tell him that by him coming to Seattle, you 2 will be even for keeping his getting paid while playing at U.S.C. a seceret. Oh and tell Joe McNight to come here as an unsigned free agent also.

 

[Huge Hawk]

I just want to tell you what you said that got me even more excited and that was...

"We have the best home field advantage and we need to make sure we take advantage of that by speeding things up off the edge"e

"We have a QB that we can win with now, we just have to build out the supporting cast around him"

Thanks for being our new coach :!:

Go Hawks

 

[HawksFan]

Hey Coach Carroll, I have been a fan of your work for some time and I was very excited about you coming to the Seahawks. I have to say my 23 year old son was listening to me spout off about how everything was absolutely going to get better for the hawks next year. He was responding with the usual yeh yeh in your dreams Dad until I mentioned your name. He kept saying no way, no way. Once convinced it was for real, he apologized for giving me such a hard time (could have been the first time ever).

Coach if you can make your system work in the NFL, were in for one heck of a ride. Welcome to the Northwest, and welcome to the home of the 12th man - the best fans in the world!

I can't wait for the first game next year, man that is going to be exciting!

 

[dusktreader]

Coach Carroll,

After hearing the news of your negotiations with Mr. W., I was somewhat skeptical about hiring a college coach. After the last two years of disaster in Seattle, I was looking for a rock to build our team around. After researching your past a bit and watching your press conference, my opinion has changed. I appreciate your enthusiasm and hope for this team. I appreciate how quickly and seriously you embraced this opportunity. I appreciate the obvious energy that you bring, and I know that you will require that in your players. In 2005, the Seahawks ( including their 12th man ) got a taste of Super Bowl glory. We are hungry for that glory to return. Like many others have said before me, I have never felt so excited about the future of Seahawk football. Please take this team and mold it. Rally our fans, coaches, and players around a single cause. Let's bring excellence back to Seattle Football. I am very eager to watch you mold this team this offseason, during the draft, throughout training camp, and into next season. Welcome to the organization!

Tucker A. Beck

 

[AROS]

Coach -

Just Do It.

 

[akseahawkfan]

Coach -

Just Do It.

:13:

 

[652cHAWK]

Welcome Coach Carroll!!!

Tip: Matt Hasselbeck can be a bit spastic at times. Learn how to calm him down, in the way Holmgren did, and you and the team will reap the rewards. If not; i.e. Jim Mora & co., well, he has a tendency to play frenzied.

Go Hawks!!!

 

[ballerhawk]

Dear Pete,


please understand that with the last two seasons going the way they have, your honeymoon here will be short.
also understand that most fans here started being fans during the midst of a winning season and a shiny new stadium and as such, are not accustomed to "dog years". they also have a habit of rearranging history. win big and people will raise their children to believe you were the litteral second coming of jesus christ. lose and everything bad that ever happens will be blamed on you facts be damned [see deon branch "you know where to find me" comments].
also understand that most of these fans honestly believe they can run the team better than you despite having a limited amount of actual football knowledge. DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM.
they will want you to trade everybody then blame you if these traded players and they do well on another team,
they will want you to commit to the run ON A WEST COAST OFFENSE (if you don't understand the irony in that, your stay here will be short),
they will swear matt hasslebeck is too old then point to kurt warner and brett favre as qb's they want, or funnier still a young qb when he is doing well (but will look the other way when his rookie is showing).
just treat them like your kid with add. win and they will go to games and cheer.

hang in there.

 

[rawkhawk]

Welcome to Seattle, Coach Pete. And congratulations. I hope you embrace the Seahawks as we all on this board have. Seahawk Nation stretches far and wide and we are a proud and faithful fanbase. We all hope you have greatest time of your life as The Head Coach of The Seattle Seahawks.