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After a record-setting night against your hated rivals, it'd be easy for there to be a letdown. Not in a championship season though, and not when your fearless leader is one 'Russell Wilson.' Maybe Seahawks teams of yesteryear find a way of making this past week's game closer than it ever should have been, but guess what, these ain't your granddaddy's Seahawks!
Much like the 2013 Seattle Seahawks, there can be no letdowns for yours truly. After an insane day of sleeping in airports and traveling back East, it was back to work to continue to try and live the dream. It's amazing what going to the games will do to your mindset as a fan. In years past, I couldn't wait for Sunday to arrive. My whole week, and the ensuing week emotionally, would hinge around the Seahawks. I know, doesn't sound too healthy, but I know each and every one of you knows or has known what I'm talking about. Now, being in attendance allows me to enjoy the game and the gameday experience, while also going home and then having to focus on my real life responsibilities as well. Family, relationship, friends, work, they all become increasingly more real and important to deal with. Now, I look forward to the weekends but still try and stay grounded in today.
Once I was done with work at around 2 AM on Friday night, I headed for Newark where my 5 AM flight to Seattle by way of Charlotte awaited me. Two of my best friends were hanging out, and I was definitely tempted to join them for a little while and cut it close with my flight, but the love of the Seahawks prevailed and I was on my way. Sort of. The trains weren't running to New Jersey from Manhattan yet, so I had to spring for a cab. I somehow hustled the guy into only charging me $70 instead of the usual $90 or $100, and it was off to Newark. Hustle like Russell baby.
When I finally landed in Seattle at around 10 in the morning, I saw a Jaguars fan that had taken the flight from Charlotte to Seattle. I wished him good luck and we spoke briefly about the upcoming game. He tells me that he really hopes that it rains to try and even things up a little bit. Old Dave would have shot back with a "are you serious? You don't want none of that!" But new Dave has a little more tact and a lot more confidence in the Seahawks. I just smiled and said "yeah man, hopefully it's a good game." Jaguars fans are a pretty good bunch in general. They realize how awful their squad is at the moment, have some humility and great self-deprecating humor, and generally know football well. Can't help but respect that, and I sincerely hope that Gus Bradley helps get things turned around down south.
I didn't have any plans for Saturday, so I figured why not find a spot to watch some college football. The upstart Cougs were set to take on Idaho, and the much hated but red-hot Huskies were set to face Idaho State. When I entered the Lodge sports grill right by the stadium, my senses were overwhelmed with college football. Utah State hangin' in there against USC, Florida and Tennessee goin' at it, Michigan State and Notre Dame fighting tooth and nail for a W in South Bend, it was really a great way to start up the weekend. Especially after so much travel. I got to just sit, drink some beers, and veg out. Sounds like the recipe for a perfect Saturday to me.
Sitting next to me was a diehard Michigan fan who had come to watch the Michigan/UConn game with his wife. Much to his surprise, the bar didn't carry the channel that the game was on and I could see the pain in this man's eyes. Rage, anger, sadness, that why me feeling. Apparently he hadn't missed a Michigan game in 22 years. Much respect on such an amazing streak. No need to fear though, my lovely girlfriend had charged my Kindle Fire for me before I left for the airport, so there was still hope. All we needed was an internet password. After securing that, we watched as Michigan struggled mightily with the more respectable version of the Huskies. Actually, I'm not a UConn fan either, so maybe it's just all Huskies in general that I loathe? Anyways, we didn't stop believing, no matter how hard we wanted to, and Michigan pulled it off. It wasn't the prettiest win, but as we're learning with the Seahawks, style points matter none.
Turns out this gentleman's name was also David. He was so pleased to have gotten to watch the game, that he bought me some drinks and paid for my tab! I couldn't believe the generosity of this man until he took it one step further and secured me lodging for the Vikings/Seahawks game later this year at a very fine hotel in downtown Seattle. It just so happens that that's the same hotel the Minnesota Vikings stay at when they are in town. Something tells me that I'll be blasting music at 4 AM the night before kickoff. This man also wants to help try and get me an interview for an internship at some point, as he used to work for the Minnesota Vikings. It was a great night and it just had that magical feeling to it. Like we were both supposed to be there, at that bar, on that night.
Then, it was on to my buddy Eric's house. It's always a good time with Easy E, and it probably would have been better had I not passed out from exhaustion. The travel and workload from the week before had gotten the better of me, but I can already tell that my body is adjusting to this new lifestyle. When we woke up the next morning, it was time to look for some tickets. Luckily, my Seahawk brethren had my back! I immediately found a pair of tickets that a buddy named Vijay was selling. His son was sick and due to the poor weather, he didn't want to risk taking him to the game and getting him more sick. I pounced on the tickets like I was Michael Bennett, and Vijay was even kind enough to drive them out to me. Thanks Vijay!
The Seahawks have some special powers y'all. Eric was having a bit of a rough weekend, although he did his best not to show it and was a great host. His 8 month old Pitbull had run away just days earlier, so as you could imagine that was weighing heavily on his mind. I'm glad I got to take him to the Hawks game because it gave us some time to focus on some awesome distractions. The energy at and around CenturyLink Field is definitely contagious. You can't help but feel pumped up when you make the voyage to the game. Once you pass through security and make your way for your seats, you have no choice but to be intoxicated by Seahawks football. Eric used to play in High School in Tacoma, so he understands and appreciates the nuances of the game. It was great to be able to watch the game a)with somebody, especially after watching the Niners/Hawks alone and b)with someone who loves the game, life, most importantly... the Seahawks.
And just like that, it was game time! Not before some brews with the .Net crew at Temple Billiards, of course. What a great group of people who genuinely love the Seahawks and life. They especially love life when the Seahawks win. My kind of people. Thanks again to Jordan for the invite! All week, I had expected that the Hawks would use the Jacksonville game to address the loss of Left Tackle Russell Okung and try and get their feet underneath them without him. I expected a ton of running and a quick game that would be rather painless for the Jags. 31-3 sounded right to me. That was a result that would still see the Hawks covering the game's ginormous spread with ease. A testament of how far this team and organization have come. Vegas is putting up 19.5 point spreads. That just doesn't happen in the NFL. As far as my "prediction" for the game goes, boy was I WAY off!
What ensued was a slicing and dicing of the Jaguars secondary, both literally and figuratively.
Kudos to .Net member Johnny for making this awesome GIF!
That's just mean, Golden! And I love it! And that was on one of the first plays of the game! Way to put a hat on somebody and set the tone for what was to come. If you're the poor Jaguar, Dwight Lowery, you've just got to keep your head on a swivel. Golden's the toughest 5'10" 180 pounds I've ever seen in my life, but he still shouldn't be embarrassing you like that with your family probably watching back at home.
The rest of the game was a lot like this play. The Hawks just straight up overwhelmed the Jaguars and the gulf in class was obvious from the opening whistle. Much to their credit though, Gus Bradley's Jags hung in there and continued to play tough throughout the whole game. They did not give up in this one, which is more than what I can say about the 49ers.
This was a fun one to be at because the Hawks were making incredible plays all over the place, especially on offense, and especially the receiving core. Russell and Golden have nearly perfected that back-shoulder, jump-ball type throw that we saw executed to perfection last season against the Jets for a TD. Russell Wilson does an excellent job of taking advantage of defenders who are face-guarding the Seahawks receivers and Golden especially, does an outstanding job of locating the ball, but not getting his hands up too quick and alerting the defender of the incoming pass. It's a beautiful thing to watch. Also, Sidney Rice had a sterling performance and his second touchdown catch was particularly impressive. Those were 2 men that are getting paid at least 6 figures to stop something like that from happening, and they failed miserably.
My favorite play of the game is still undecided. It's a toss up between the TD pass from Tarvaris Jackson to Doug Baldwin and the pump-fake, spin and throw for a TD to Zach Miller. Zach had an especially nice game, accentuated with 2 TD catches, and the rest of the Tight Ends looked capable as well. Luke Willson had a nice day, which was good to see, and even newly-acquired 3rd stringer Kellen Davis had a nice showing. If the Hawks can get this type of production from the Tight End position, they will truly be a nightmare to gameplan against once Percy Harvin returns from injury. Hell, they already are!
It wasn't all roses, however. The running game still appeared to be inconsistent and stuck in neutral, and the backups appeared to let up later in the game, especially in the secondary. Still, one of the things that I love about these Seahawks is that you just knew that they wouldn't be satisfied with their performance. Low and behold, just hours after the game, and the players are talking about how that type of performance was unacceptable and that they must improve upon it next week at Houston. It'd be insane to harp on the "bad" for too long though, so some pleasant surprises were seeing Tarvaris in the game as well as throwing a beautiful bomb of a touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin. Doug signed my Russell Wilson jersey in Training Camp and I told him that he was going to have a great season. I'm not going to take credit for his impressive start to the season. No wait, yes I am!
It was also great to see Christine Michael out there, finally. All the hype seems justified, as you can just see his explosiveness the second he touches the ball. He runs with a purpose, although he does run a little bit reckless at times, which is probably why he's had problems with fumbles throughout his college career. He'll be fine and it appears the Seahawks have another good, young one on their hands. If I had the creativity and the talent to build a statue of Pete Carroll and John Schneider that would do them justice, I would. It would be my life's mission. Like Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling, it would be my defining moment in life.
And before you knew, 45-17 was the final and the Seahawks were victorious. Not only that, but they covered the ridiculously high spread with ease. Fun stuff. What wasn't fun was me losing something that I covet deeply. However, this loss was a possession, and it can and will be replaced. In fact, within minutes of hearing about my loss, fellow Seahawks fans reached out to see if I needed help. It's the type of thing I'm seeing on a weekly basis with the 12th Man. There's a legitimate love for being a part of the 12th Man, there's love for your fellow 12th Man, and people are putting the "Earn Everything" philosophy to practice in their lives and making the Seahawks and this earth a better place. It's all about perspective. My friend lost his dog, a real life. I was in no position to get too down over my loss with that in mind.
Me and Eric would wind the night down at Temple, where it started, with some brews with Todd, the creator of Seahawks.Net, and his best friend. Just some great times with some great people, covering all kinds of topics, but mostly relishing the Seahawks 3-0 start. We wrapped things up and headed home, with that sweet feeling of victory helping give solace to our feeling of loss. I told you the Seahawks were special.
I wrapped up my stay in Seattle with a day downtown before heading to Sea-Tac to begin the voyage home. Funny enough, I saw that same Jaguars fan that I had seen at Sea-Tac a few days earlier. He was walking near Pike Place Market with his friends and he pointed me out and said "hey, it didn't turn out to be such a good game." I told him good game and that I was impressed with the fight his squad showed. I wasn't fibbing either. As I waited for my flight to Charlotte, then Newark, with a 9:30 AM expected arrival in New Jersey the next day, I watched the Broncos pick apart the Raiders on Monday Night Football. No doubt that the Broncos are clicking and will be the major force of the AFC, but something tells me, maybe it's just me being a homer, but something tells me that they can be beaten. Another backbreaking Peyton Manning INT in January? Possibly. All this talk of the big bad Broncos doesn't have me scared one bit. No one wants to play the Seattle Seahawks.
2 flights and 2 trains later and I was finally home. No time to sleep though, as it was back to work in a few short hours. Still, the adrenaline from such a great win spent with such great people was enough to carry me through the day, and it's actually carried me throughout the whole week. Next up is Houston, a game that me and many others have had circled ever since the NFL released each team's schedule back in mid-April. There's sure to be good food, good times, and good football and it could also possibly bring the first ever 4-0 start in Seattle Seahawks history. Could it happen? Everything that I've witnessed so far this season, up until this point, leads me to believe that hell yes it can happen, and it most likely will!
GO Hawks!!!
[/align]After a record-setting night against your hated rivals, it'd be easy for there to be a letdown. Not in a championship season though, and not when your fearless leader is one 'Russell Wilson.' Maybe Seahawks teams of yesteryear find a way of making this past week's game closer than it ever should have been, but guess what, these ain't your granddaddy's Seahawks!
Much like the 2013 Seattle Seahawks, there can be no letdowns for yours truly. After an insane day of sleeping in airports and traveling back East, it was back to work to continue to try and live the dream. It's amazing what going to the games will do to your mindset as a fan. In years past, I couldn't wait for Sunday to arrive. My whole week, and the ensuing week emotionally, would hinge around the Seahawks. I know, doesn't sound too healthy, but I know each and every one of you knows or has known what I'm talking about. Now, being in attendance allows me to enjoy the game and the gameday experience, while also going home and then having to focus on my real life responsibilities as well. Family, relationship, friends, work, they all become increasingly more real and important to deal with. Now, I look forward to the weekends but still try and stay grounded in today.
Once I was done with work at around 2 AM on Friday night, I headed for Newark where my 5 AM flight to Seattle by way of Charlotte awaited me. Two of my best friends were hanging out, and I was definitely tempted to join them for a little while and cut it close with my flight, but the love of the Seahawks prevailed and I was on my way. Sort of. The trains weren't running to New Jersey from Manhattan yet, so I had to spring for a cab. I somehow hustled the guy into only charging me $70 instead of the usual $90 or $100, and it was off to Newark. Hustle like Russell baby.
When I finally landed in Seattle at around 10 in the morning, I saw a Jaguars fan that had taken the flight from Charlotte to Seattle. I wished him good luck and we spoke briefly about the upcoming game. He tells me that he really hopes that it rains to try and even things up a little bit. Old Dave would have shot back with a "are you serious? You don't want none of that!" But new Dave has a little more tact and a lot more confidence in the Seahawks. I just smiled and said "yeah man, hopefully it's a good game." Jaguars fans are a pretty good bunch in general. They realize how awful their squad is at the moment, have some humility and great self-deprecating humor, and generally know football well. Can't help but respect that, and I sincerely hope that Gus Bradley helps get things turned around down south.
I didn't have any plans for Saturday, so I figured why not find a spot to watch some college football. The upstart Cougs were set to take on Idaho, and the much hated but red-hot Huskies were set to face Idaho State. When I entered the Lodge sports grill right by the stadium, my senses were overwhelmed with college football. Utah State hangin' in there against USC, Florida and Tennessee goin' at it, Michigan State and Notre Dame fighting tooth and nail for a W in South Bend, it was really a great way to start up the weekend. Especially after so much travel. I got to just sit, drink some beers, and veg out. Sounds like the recipe for a perfect Saturday to me.
Sitting next to me was a diehard Michigan fan who had come to watch the Michigan/UConn game with his wife. Much to his surprise, the bar didn't carry the channel that the game was on and I could see the pain in this man's eyes. Rage, anger, sadness, that why me feeling. Apparently he hadn't missed a Michigan game in 22 years. Much respect on such an amazing streak. No need to fear though, my lovely girlfriend had charged my Kindle Fire for me before I left for the airport, so there was still hope. All we needed was an internet password. After securing that, we watched as Michigan struggled mightily with the more respectable version of the Huskies. Actually, I'm not a UConn fan either, so maybe it's just all Huskies in general that I loathe? Anyways, we didn't stop believing, no matter how hard we wanted to, and Michigan pulled it off. It wasn't the prettiest win, but as we're learning with the Seahawks, style points matter none.
Turns out this gentleman's name was also David. He was so pleased to have gotten to watch the game, that he bought me some drinks and paid for my tab! I couldn't believe the generosity of this man until he took it one step further and secured me lodging for the Vikings/Seahawks game later this year at a very fine hotel in downtown Seattle. It just so happens that that's the same hotel the Minnesota Vikings stay at when they are in town. Something tells me that I'll be blasting music at 4 AM the night before kickoff. This man also wants to help try and get me an interview for an internship at some point, as he used to work for the Minnesota Vikings. It was a great night and it just had that magical feeling to it. Like we were both supposed to be there, at that bar, on that night.
Then, it was on to my buddy Eric's house. It's always a good time with Easy E, and it probably would have been better had I not passed out from exhaustion. The travel and workload from the week before had gotten the better of me, but I can already tell that my body is adjusting to this new lifestyle. When we woke up the next morning, it was time to look for some tickets. Luckily, my Seahawk brethren had my back! I immediately found a pair of tickets that a buddy named Vijay was selling. His son was sick and due to the poor weather, he didn't want to risk taking him to the game and getting him more sick. I pounced on the tickets like I was Michael Bennett, and Vijay was even kind enough to drive them out to me. Thanks Vijay!
What ensued was a slicing and dicing of the Jaguars secondary, both literally and figuratively.
That's just mean, Golden! And I love it! And that was on one of the first plays of the game! Way to put a hat on somebody and set the tone for what was to come. If you're the poor Jaguar, Dwight Lowery, you've just got to keep your head on a swivel. Golden's the toughest 5'10" 180 pounds I've ever seen in my life, but he still shouldn't be embarrassing you like that with your family probably watching back at home.
The rest of the game was a lot like this play. The Hawks just straight up overwhelmed the Jaguars and the gulf in class was obvious from the opening whistle. Much to their credit though, Gus Bradley's Jags hung in there and continued to play tough throughout the whole game. They did not give up in this one, which is more than what I can say about the 49ers.
This was a fun one to be at because the Hawks were making incredible plays all over the place, especially on offense, and especially the receiving core. Russell and Golden have nearly perfected that back-shoulder, jump-ball type throw that we saw executed to perfection last season against the Jets for a TD. Russell Wilson does an excellent job of taking advantage of defenders who are face-guarding the Seahawks receivers and Golden especially, does an outstanding job of locating the ball, but not getting his hands up too quick and alerting the defender of the incoming pass. It's a beautiful thing to watch. Also, Sidney Rice had a sterling performance and his second touchdown catch was particularly impressive. Those were 2 men that are getting paid at least 6 figures to stop something like that from happening, and they failed miserably.
My favorite play of the game is still undecided. It's a toss up between the TD pass from Tarvaris Jackson to Doug Baldwin and the pump-fake, spin and throw for a TD to Zach Miller. Zach had an especially nice game, accentuated with 2 TD catches, and the rest of the Tight Ends looked capable as well. Luke Willson had a nice day, which was good to see, and even newly-acquired 3rd stringer Kellen Davis had a nice showing. If the Hawks can get this type of production from the Tight End position, they will truly be a nightmare to gameplan against once Percy Harvin returns from injury. Hell, they already are!
It wasn't all roses, however. The running game still appeared to be inconsistent and stuck in neutral, and the backups appeared to let up later in the game, especially in the secondary. Still, one of the things that I love about these Seahawks is that you just knew that they wouldn't be satisfied with their performance. Low and behold, just hours after the game, and the players are talking about how that type of performance was unacceptable and that they must improve upon it next week at Houston. It'd be insane to harp on the "bad" for too long though, so some pleasant surprises were seeing Tarvaris in the game as well as throwing a beautiful bomb of a touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin. Doug signed my Russell Wilson jersey in Training Camp and I told him that he was going to have a great season. I'm not going to take credit for his impressive start to the season. No wait, yes I am!
It was also great to see Christine Michael out there, finally. All the hype seems justified, as you can just see his explosiveness the second he touches the ball. He runs with a purpose, although he does run a little bit reckless at times, which is probably why he's had problems with fumbles throughout his college career. He'll be fine and it appears the Seahawks have another good, young one on their hands. If I had the creativity and the talent to build a statue of Pete Carroll and John Schneider that would do them justice, I would. It would be my life's mission. Like Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling, it would be my defining moment in life.
And before you knew, 45-17 was the final and the Seahawks were victorious. Not only that, but they covered the ridiculously high spread with ease. Fun stuff. What wasn't fun was me losing something that I covet deeply. However, this loss was a possession, and it can and will be replaced. In fact, within minutes of hearing about my loss, fellow Seahawks fans reached out to see if I needed help. It's the type of thing I'm seeing on a weekly basis with the 12th Man. There's a legitimate love for being a part of the 12th Man, there's love for your fellow 12th Man, and people are putting the "Earn Everything" philosophy to practice in their lives and making the Seahawks and this earth a better place. It's all about perspective. My friend lost his dog, a real life. I was in no position to get too down over my loss with that in mind.
Me and Eric would wind the night down at Temple, where it started, with some brews with Todd, the creator of Seahawks.Net, and his best friend. Just some great times with some great people, covering all kinds of topics, but mostly relishing the Seahawks 3-0 start. We wrapped things up and headed home, with that sweet feeling of victory helping give solace to our feeling of loss. I told you the Seahawks were special.
I wrapped up my stay in Seattle with a day downtown before heading to Sea-Tac to begin the voyage home. Funny enough, I saw that same Jaguars fan that I had seen at Sea-Tac a few days earlier. He was walking near Pike Place Market with his friends and he pointed me out and said "hey, it didn't turn out to be such a good game." I told him good game and that I was impressed with the fight his squad showed. I wasn't fibbing either. As I waited for my flight to Charlotte, then Newark, with a 9:30 AM expected arrival in New Jersey the next day, I watched the Broncos pick apart the Raiders on Monday Night Football. No doubt that the Broncos are clicking and will be the major force of the AFC, but something tells me, maybe it's just me being a homer, but something tells me that they can be beaten. Another backbreaking Peyton Manning INT in January? Possibly. All this talk of the big bad Broncos doesn't have me scared one bit. No one wants to play the Seattle Seahawks.
2 flights and 2 trains later and I was finally home. No time to sleep though, as it was back to work in a few short hours. Still, the adrenaline from such a great win spent with such great people was enough to carry me through the day, and it's actually carried me throughout the whole week. Next up is Houston, a game that me and many others have had circled ever since the NFL released each team's schedule back in mid-April. There's sure to be good food, good times, and good football and it could also possibly bring the first ever 4-0 start in Seattle Seahawks history. Could it happen? Everything that I've witnessed so far this season, up until this point, leads me to believe that hell yes it can happen, and it most likely will!
GO Hawks!!!
