He will come back someday to Seattle. That time is years away. When he does come back, it will be to celebrate all that he gave to this team when his name is placed into the Ring of Honor, not to step a single foot on the field again as our quarterback.
I agree. Time heals.
Here's my take. The human condition is to live in the present. If you're a parent, have you ever looked at your teenager, and struggled to "remember" what they looked like at age 2 or 4 without a photo?
Russ needed a detailed scheme and plan in which to operate, but when he had that, and when other components aligned, he was almost unstoppable.
I cringe at the "We would have won more Super Bowls with player XYZ". We
may have won some more games in 2019 or 2020 or whenever the ego train hit full steam.
BUT
Do you remember the read option early on? Do you remember the "We've Arrived" win against the Pats in 2012? How about the the win against Chicago in OT that year which started a 5 win winning streak to close the year? Then the playoffs where we win our first road Playoff win since 83'. We moved on to ATL where Russ orchestrated an amazing comeback lead only to be given away be the D which is never criticized.
Then 2013...
Remember losing big at half against TB but not feeling that worried because you knew Russ would bring us back. The SF domination and Russ staying cool in the NFCCG despite an early fumble. A Super Bowl performance where the O put up 43?
Yeah, it sucks how it ended. Russell ended up being a strange character and I tired of his poser like antics quickly. I never felt like he allowed us to know his genuine self, and as a fan, I wanted that connection.
All that said..
For a brief moment in time, dude was an effin' assassin and I'll always be grateful for that.