Shaun Alexander takes pride in what he helped build in Seatt

[onanygivensunday]

Shaun helped in the same sense that Kenny Easley, Steve Largent, Cortez and Walter helped build the championship team that we have now... which they didn't.

All the credit goes to Paul, Todd, Pete and John.

 

[endzorn]

I couldn't stand Alexander when he played and this won't help what I think of him now. The team didn't retire the number 12 because fans golf clapped in the late 70s and 80s.

 

[Largent80]

I liked watching Walt and Steve plow open those seams he ran through.

 

[JustTheTip]

Alexander taking too much credit? I find that very hard to believe.

I will help him with his case though. He was easily more responsible for Hutch leaving than anything else listed in that article. Hutch leaving was more than a minor factor in both the decline of the team and the rift between Timmay and Holmgren. This of course led to the year of Mora and the eventual hiring of John and Pete. So in that way I guess he did help build the current team.

 

[Uncle Si]

I appreciate and understand his view but no homefield advantage when he played? Iirc it was better then the Carroll era so far.

“It's what I always wanted it to be when I first walked into this city the first time,” Alexander told Yahoo Sports. “When I first got here, we were playing in Husky Stadium. When I first got here, we were 6-10. I told my brother when he asked what it is like in Seattle, I told him, 'Coming from Alabama, we have work to do. We don't have our own stadium and we are at a small college for our building offices.' He asked me what I thought and I said, 'We will go to a Super Bowl in five years.'

that was better than Seahawk stadium?

anyways, a little perspective probably needs to be taken in reading Alexander's comments. He is right, he did help build the new era, as did John L, Warner, Largent, Zorn, etc.

Hes a part of it. significant in one sense, but I dont think he believes the current players are a direct decsendant of the 2005 team. More that the culture of winning, the expectancy of success, has been building. To be fair to him, his era of Seahawks emerged from almost 20 years of mediocrity

 

[lukerguy]

The foundation for what we have literally stopped and started with the foundation of C-Link/Qwest and VMAC. Once we had those state of the art facilities, mixed with the passion of the NW, we had the foundation for what we have now.

If you were to ask me, without the Holmgren era, do I think we would still have what we have now in hiring Pete? Answer is yes.

 

[HawkFan72]

"Helped building" doesn't exactly mean he brought in players but you're wrong if you think Alexander didn't help Seattle become what it is. Every player from those few years did. Seahawks were the king of the NFC west for while because of those guys and Alexander had a lot to do with that success. Alexander winning the MVP and getting on Madden that year had a lot to do with our popularity and maybe even help bring Pete Carroll and John Schneider to the PNW! Maybe Curt Warner or Largent had MORE of an effect don't discredit what Alexander did for us just because of a couple bad years to end his career.

I agree. He may not have played one of the main roles in building what we have, but he definitely played a role in it.

For a while, Shaun Alexander jerseys were the only Seahawks jerseys you would see outside of Seattle.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

The foundation for what we have literally stopped and started with the foundation of C-Link/Qwest and VMAC. Once we had those state of the art facilities, mixed with the passion of the NW, we had the foundation for what we have now.

If you were to ask me, without the Holmgren era, do I think we would still have what we have now in hiring Pete? Answer is yes.

But without the Holmgren era, or the eras before the momentum might not have been created to garner enough public interest to build C-Link in the first place.

IMO it's all links in a chain that has led to the success we're having now, and to discredit the players, coaches and GM's that came before Pete and John is a huge insult.

 

[JustTheTip]

The foundation for what we have literally stopped and started with the foundation of C-Link/Qwest and VMAC. Once we had those state of the art facilities, mixed with the passion of the NW, we had the foundation for what we have now.

If you were to ask me, without the Holmgren era, do I think we would still have what we have now in hiring Pete? Answer is yes.

But without the Holmgren era, or the eras before the momentum might not have been created to garner enough public interest to build C-Link in the first place.

IMO it's all links in a chain that has led to the success we're having now, and to discredit the players, coaches and GM's that came before Pete and John is a huge insult.

I see a lot of those players expressing how proud they are of what the team has become. Alexander is the first one I see looking for his credit due for that.

 

[themunn]

I do know what he means though

Pre Alexander, 22 seasons, 9 winning records, 5 playoff appearances

Post Alexander, 14 seasons, 9 winning records, 8 playoff apperances, 2 superbowl appearances, 1 win.

Someone previously mentioned in another thread that this is now 96 home sellouts in a row, assuming that refers to regular season only, that takes us right back to the start of the Alexander era almost.

He might not have built the current team, but he certainly helped build the fan culture that anything less than winning is unacceptable, yet helped build that fandom that means that even if we're not winning, the support is still unwavering

 

[XxXdragonXxX]

I think you guys are going a little overboard with what you think Shaun said. Nowhere in that article does Shaun say that the fans weren't rabid before he got there. Only that the franchise was a little down on their luck, playing at Husky stadium. And he's right, the team was bad for a decade+ before he got there and almost got moved to California.

The Holmgren era brought the team back into contention, and without that, Pete Carroll might never have come here.

 

[HawkWow]

Alexander taking too much credit? I find that very hard to believe.

He was easily more responsible for Hutch leaving than anything else listed in that article. Hutch leaving was more than a minor factor in both the decline of the team and the rift between Timmay and Holmgren. .

^ Careful bro, you could be seen as a "fake fan" for reporting this fact. Though I'm sure you're a better fan than those that refuse to consider the possibility egotistical Shaun and his new contract were huge in the poison pill. I know exactly why Hutch left...it appears to me you do too.

But unpleasant stuff aside, I was never a big SA fan, but I enjoyed his time with the Hawks. He was a very unique back and never portrayed himself as a tough runner ala Earl Campbell or Larry Czonka. He was quite honest in that respect and I give him a ton of credit for his role leading up to our 1st SB. And to a degree, sure he helped build what we have now. A poster above felt #80, #45, etc played no role in what we have now, and I'm not arguing his point, but looking at the total picture, of course they all helped in some way or another to get us where we are today. And to go a step further with that, I also give some credit to McGwire, Stouffer (etc etc etc etc). This era wouldn't feel nearly as good had we not endured theirs, lol.

 

[kidhawk]

Way too many people live in a bubble. There is no today if there was no yesterday and there is no tomorrow without today.

We have had our ups and downs, we've had good and bad, but everything has led us to where we are now. Each player contributes something to each team. Each team contributes to each season. Each season contributes to where you draft, which contributes to who you select and how you do in future years.

Did Shaun Alexander re-invent the wheel in Seattle? Nope

Was he a part of the Seahawks organization and our history and a piece of the puzzle that has made this team what it is today? ABSOLUTELY.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Alexander taking too much credit? I find that very hard to believe.

He was easily more responsible for Hutch leaving than anything else listed in that article. Hutch leaving was more than a minor factor in both the decline of the team and the rift between Timmay and Holmgren. .

^ Careful bro, you could be seen as a "fake fan" for reporting this fact. Though I'm sure you're a better fan than those that refuse to consider the possibility egotistical Shaun and his new contract were huge in the poison pill. I know exactly why Hutch left...it appears to me you do too. .

Alexander did not ask to be franchised, he asked to be paid...........just like every other player in the league.

So to even give him partial blame for Hutch leaving is ludicrous. Hutch left because Holmgren and Ruskell bungled the entire negotiation (more Ruskell than Holmgren, but he had authority so I'm not absolving him of guilt).

I love that previous players are coming back and getting involved and taking pride in what's going on now in Seattle. The more the merrier I say, I'm not going to nitpick on who deserves to take credit. Talk about petty.

 

[BlueTalon]

Alexander taking too much credit? I find that very hard to believe.

I will help him with his case though. He was easily more responsible for Hutch leaving than anything else listed in that article. Hutch leaving was more than a minor factor in both the decline of the team and the rift between Timmay and Holmgren. This of course led to the year of Mora and the eventual hiring of John and Pete. So in that way I guess he did help build the current team.

This is exactly what I was thinking. He helped build the new house by blasting a few chunks out of the old house.

Not to take anything away from what he did for the Seahawks when he was on the field. I thoroughly enjoyed his successes on the field. They just didn't help build what we have now in any kind of direct way.

 

[EastCoastHawksFan]

Shaun Alexander is THE REASON why i am as Seahawks fan . As a young 12 year old living in NY in search for a team I tuned in and watched my first ever game when The Seahawks played the Raiders on SNF . I believe Alexander ran for 266 and i was so pumped up . I remember tuning into sportscenter the next day and not being able to see any seahawk highlights , which didnt exist . I think Alexander helped put Seattle on the Map , But he didnt have a direct impact in our Superbowl Victory.

 

[JustTheTip]

Alexander taking too much credit? I find that very hard to believe.

He was easily more responsible for Hutch leaving than anything else listed in that article. Hutch leaving was more than a minor factor in both the decline of the team and the rift between Timmay and Holmgren. .

^ Careful bro, you could be seen as a "fake fan" for reporting this fact. Though I'm sure you're a better fan than those that refuse to consider the possibility egotistical Shaun and his new contract were huge in the poison pill. I know exactly why Hutch left...it appears to me you do too. .

Alexander did not ask to be franchised, he asked to be paid...........just like every other player in the league.

So to even give him partial blame for Hutch leaving is ludicrous. Hutch left because Holmgren and Ruskell bungled the entire negotiation (more Ruskell than Holmgren, but he had authority so I'm not absolving him of guilt).

I love that previous players are coming back and getting involved and taking pride in what's going on now in Seattle. The more the merrier I say, I'm not going to nitpick on who deserves to take credit. Talk about petty.

Every other previous player I have seen make comments recently were more towards being proud of being part of the history and enjoying what this current team is.

Alexander may be stating approximately the same thing, but it comes out of his mouth as "look what I did." This is exactly the impression I had of him while he was playing. It always seemed to me he was playing for his stats and if it helped the team that was just a bonus.

^ Careful bro, you could be seen as a "fake fan" for reporting this fact.

Guess it is a good thing I couldn't care less about what other people think about the way I choose to be a fan.

 

[Kennedyin92]

Read this yesterday and it smacks of someone trying to save face after an unceremonious exit from the Hawks and the NFL. I won't deny that I was a fan of his back in his heyday, but his assertion that he helped build the foundation for this team seems desperate. The team gained and lost tons of bandwagon fans between his era and the current one. It's not as if he brought about a novel appreciation for the team.

 

[Hawkpower]

The problem is that if Hasselbeck or Walter Jones made this comment, we probably dont even blink an eye (of course, they never would)

But because SA said it, a player whos play and comments were all too often all about him, this just reinforces that notion.

Its too bad that someone with such great football skills was cursed with such a me first personality.

 

[Chawks1]

"Helped building" doesn't exactly mean he brought in players but you're wrong if you think Alexander didn't help Seattle become what it is. Every player from those few years did. Seahawks were the king of the NFC west for while because of those guys and Alexander had a lot to do with that success. Alexander winning the MVP and getting on Madden that year had a lot to do with our popularity and maybe even help bring Pete Carroll and John Schneider to the PNW! Maybe Curt Warner or Largent had MORE of an effect don't discredit what Alexander did for us just because of a couple bad years to end his career.

+1 :13: