Seattle - What a Week! Super Bowl Champions!

Well, a little over a week ago the Seattle Seahawks won their first Super Bowl in franchise history. A little over a week ago this city exploded. Looking back it’s been pretty incredible.

Super Bowl Sunday started with our cable not working. Of ALL days right?! We decided that one of the local bars would get our money that day if we couldn’t get it fixed by 2:30pm PST. “Someone will be over in an hour” they said… three times.

We were about to open the door on our way to the 9lb Hammer when the doorbell rang. The poor cable guy was up and down his ladder on the pole outside, in our garage, in our master closet, behind our couch and all over the outside of the house. Then just as we were about to give up on the opening kick of the game; magic happened and the game was on. Geoff and I and our cable guy watched the opening snap, which resulted in that ridiculous safety. There was much celebration. We gave the guy a coke and a chocolate bar for having to work during the Super Bowl. Then we got comfy.

I won’t bore you with a re-cap of the game. You can do that yourself. And although a lot of people said it was boring and lopsided (didn't think so) there were a ton of incredible plays that helped seal Seattle’s victory.

As the players and coaches streamed onto the field surrounded by media, the city of Seattle exploded in fireworks, car horns, air horns and general hooting and hollering. There was much hugging and cheering and very well behaved mobs of people waiting for the traffic signals to change before charging into the streets to high five motorists. Hundreds poured into the streets under the watchful eyes of the police and yet the worst that happened was a couch being set on fire in the University District. And down in Pioneer Square there was some damage done to the historical glass pergola when throngs of 12’s climbed a top the delicate structure to continue the party. The following day the revelers had come together and raised the money to fix the damage.  Meanwhile the 'twitterverse' took to making fun of #HowSeattleRiots. It was pretty hilarious.

The city was on a huge high. A huge Blue and Green high.

Then came parade day. People stayed up all night just to stake their claim on the perfect spot to watch our Super Bowl Champions. We went down around 10:30; just one hour before the festivities were meant to kick off. I have NEVER seen anything like it. Not just crowds. Not just hundreds. Not just thousands. Hundreds of thousands of people, from every walk of life, lined 4^th Ave in hopes to get a glimpse of their favorite players. In some places it was 100 people deep. It was almost terrifying! The ferries were at capacity and they along with the trains and buses had to turn people away to wait for the next one.  Helicopters soared overhead and a small army of security personnel, police officers and national guards men were there to keep things under control. But there was no need. Even with the freezing temperatures and the parade starting over an hour late (the buses carrying the players and coaches were stuck in traffic) there was no rioting; there was no stampeding or angry mobs. Just happy, ecstatic, enthusiastic fans overjoyed to share in this experience. 

Unfortunately I had to leave before the parade started so I could go take my Driving Test. I passed by the way. Got me a brand new Washington State Drivers License. I ended up watching the parade and the ceremony at CenturyLink Field later that night. 

The parade was awesome. Marshawn Lynch was my fav. Down in front riding his own Duck, with the SeaGals, tossing skittles at everyone. Love it. The L.O.B. (Legion of Boom) holding their own dance party in the military vehicle they were in. The cheering. The chanting. SEA-  HAWKS! 

Then it was over. Then the tidal wave of blue and green followed the procession all the way to CenturyLink Field. It was almost overwhelming to see the love and support the Pacific Northwest has for this team. And it was almost overwhelming to hear the players and coaches gush about how much the 12^th man really means to the team and how they couldn’t have done it without us. That this years Lombardi Trophy doesn’t belong to just them but to all of us. It’s truly amazing. It’s amazing what a group of guys in tight pants and a leather ball can do for a city, for a state, for a whole region. How something as simple as sport can bring people together. Seattle really did celebrate with class and it was awesome. It was beautiful. It really was. There is no other way to describe it. That many people together in one place at the same time and nothing bad happens? Impossible? Not for this city. 

Now we can all breathe for a moment. Step back and really take it all in. And I, for one, am so amped up and ready for next season. And as Russell Wilson said “To win multiple Super Bowls you’ve got to win the first one first” And you know what? They did. I have every faith that they can do it again. I can not wait.

Go Hawks!

P.S.

I promise I’ll stop writing about football… for a while.