Fresh off of the first 6-1 start in team history, and some much needed rest and relaxation, it was time to get back in the air. This time, the destination was St. Louis. Now I had never been to Missouri before. I had always wanted to since I was a kid, but never got the opportunity or went out of my way to seek it. I specifically loved St. Louis' reputation as a great baseball town. Luckily for me, the Cardinals were hosting the Red Sox in Game 5 of the World Series while the Seahawks were in town to take on the disappointing Rams. I left Newark airport with DC as my next destination fully knowing that the day had amazing potential to be one of the greatest sports experiences of my life.
Oh, the day had so much potential. There's that dreaded "p word" though. The problem with potential is that sometimes things fail to live up to their's. What the night ultimately lacked in terms of great sports experiences, it definitely made up for in great life experiences.
As I got off my plane and headed for the next gate to catch my connector from DC to St. Louis, I saw a dude wearing a Seahawks cap and some official looking warmup gear. I tell him "GO Hawks!" and he smiles and nods his head. I sit down across from him and ask if he's going to the game tonight. He replies that he is. He was a really tall guy and his official gear told me that he had to know somebody on the team. I asked if he indeed knew someone on the Seahawks and he nodded. He mentions to me that his name is Cornell and that him and Kam Chancellor are close and that he travels to see the 'Hawks whenever they're in the area. He was at the playoff loss in Atlanta last season and he believes in the talent this team has.
It was great getting to hear about Kam Chancellor's high school career in Virginia and Kam's college recruiting process and how he ended up at Virginia Tech. See, Cornell is a coach. He currently coaches basketball and has also coached football. He helped coach Kam, who also played basketball in High School, in both sports and also helped him with his recruiting process. Despite being a UVA grad himself, Cornell holds no grudges about Kam going to rival Virginia Tech instead. It was obviously the right move and he said that Kam loved the fact that Virginia Tech wanted him from the start of the process as well as the close-knit family atmosphere at Va Tech. Sound familiar?
So here I am, sitting with someone who knows a modern-day Seahawks legend, about to fly to St. Louis to check out the 'Hawks on Monday Night Football. I'm thinking "the kid can't lose right now! The 'Hawks definitely got this one!" In the words of the immortal Lee Corso, "not so fast my friend!" The flight gets delayed! What was supposed to be a 3:30 flight that would have gotten us into St. Louis at 4:30 local time, and in time for tailgating with the Midwest Seahawkers, instead is now scheduled to leave at 5:10 Eastern. Normally, panic and frustration would have set in, but I realized that this was all to be part of the experience. Here I am, chillin' with Kam Chancellor's fam, how could I possibly be upset? Things would work themselves out with the flight, better safe than sorry I thought.
Cornell and I are sitting and talking 'Hawks shop when he says to me, "hey man, let's get a drink." After a quick trip to the bar and with a Guinness now in my system compliments of my new friend, we headed back to wait for our flight, which was supposed to have been leaving soon. I was starting to get anxious as there was still no word on the flight to St. Louis. All around us, flights to Greensboro and beyond were all set to take off, what about our flight? What really helped me to chill out and gain some perspective about this all was that there were about 3 or 4 Red Sox and Cardinals fans in the airport headed to the game. This delay meant that I might miss, at most, 5 to 10 minutes of the game. For them, it meant that they would be missing the start of a World Series game. It definitely helped me realize that things were not that bad. They could always be worse.
The plane finally took off at closer to 5:40 and we were set to arrive in St. Louis at around 7. Unlike some people, I actually get good luck when it comes to who I sit next to on a plane. This time was no different, as me and a gentleman named Jim got to share stories and perspective on life. It really makes the flight a lot more enjoyable and quicker when you can actually talk to the person sitting next to you. A big thanks to Jim for next making life miserable and instead being the man.
As the plane landed, me and Cornell exited the airport trying to decide whether or not to take a cab to the stadium or to take the train instead. The city-boy in me immediately thought train, especially with all the traffic that would be downtown because of the game. Cornell was thinking cab and I decided to go along with the plan. We split the cab and just like that, we were at the Edward Jones Dome. Here, we parted ways, as I had to set out to find my ticket at Will Call. I had purchased a ticket long before the season started, behind the Seahawks bench, and was pretty psyched about the whole thing. In the buildup to the game, tickets were only $7.50 on Stubhub, an absurdly low price for an NFL game. For comparisons sake, I bought my girlfriend and one of our roommate's Popeyes Dinner a few days earlier. I ended up paying $24 for 3 dinners. Just let that sink in for a minute.
So I won't lie, the thought crossed my mind about selling my ticket and buying one for cheap and spinning a profit. Hey, I'm human, sorry. Luckily the plane delay intervened and didn't even give me the chance, because what happened next was a complete life-changing experience. Speaking of that plane, now that I think about it United said that we were waiting on an aircraft change from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. You know what else is from Hattiesburg? Yeah, #4, Brett Favre. Who called Brett Favre earlier in the week about possibly coming out of retirement? That's right... the St. Louis Rams! Coincidence? I think not. Brett Favre was definitely considering giving it one last go and making the last minute flight to St. Louis. We'll never know why he eventually decided against it. Something tells me a big reason was the Legion of Boom!
Anyway, I now had to pick up my ticket for the game at the Will-Call Window. When I get to the window, the girl working there tells me that she can't find anything under the names I'm telling her. I stand in disbelief, wondering what the hell I was going to do. Oh yeah, I also didn't have a phone at this point. I was pretty much screwed at this point. Until a man, no, a HERO standing behind me had heard my situation and said "Hey, you need a ticket man? Just hold on one second." I kind of drifted off to the side and started to get my money in order to pay the guy for his ticket. It wasn't an ideal situation, but at least I was going to get in relatively easy. He left Will-Call and came over to me with his young son and said "here you go man." I asked him how much and he said "nah man, have it. Enjoy the game!" I shook his hand, his name was Clay, and looked at his son and told him what a great man his father is. I couldn't believe what had just happened.
By the time I had gotten inside, I had already missed a little bit of the action. I was okay with that though, considering what had just happened outside and the fact that I was at the Seahawks/Eagles Monday Nighter in Philly in '05, so this wasn't my first Monday Night rodeo. My good fortune continued, however, as the very first play I saw when I could see the field was Brandon Browner absolutely destroying Tavon Austin on a screen pass. The entire crowd let out a big "ohh!" and I knew that the Seahawks defense was ready to bring the hammer.
I find it very funny that an article just come out this week, after this huge hit, about how Tavon Austin isn't finding the NFL to be as easy as he thought it would be. A large part of that mentality probably has a lot to do with #39.
As I kept walking around the stadium, looking for the seats I was supposed to have originally had, I found no such luck. Instead, as fate would have it, I would bump into probably the only other Seahawks fans from New York City. Rob, Mike, and the rest of their crew from upstate New York were an awesome bunch. We never actually went to our seats, despite them having a Luxury Suite. The view from the lower level walkway, at around the 50 yard line, was just too damn good. Not only that, but ushers and security could hardly be bothered by people not sitting in their seats. Fantastic job, Edward Jones Dome staff!
However, as you all already know, it wasn't all fun and games throughout this one. While the hometown faithful moaned in disgust as the Red Sox took the lead over the Cardinals, the teams actually playing in front of them were locked in a street-fight. Now, the Seahawks have almost mastered the art of "winning ugly" already this season. This just took their mastery to new, unfathomable levels.
Not many good things happened the rest of the way. The Seahawks held the lead throughout on the strength of a few well-timed big plays, but you got the sense that the Rams just weren't dead yet and that Seattle simply had no answer for what the Rams defense was throwing at them. If Russell Wilson were almost any other man, I'd wonder about the state of his health right now, both physically and mentally. However, he is a wizard, of that I am convinced.
As the game grew later, the crowd grew more and more angry. The Cardinals had just lost, 3-1 to the Red Sox in Game 5, and the Rams were looking like they might share the same fate. However, this is the Seahawks we're talking about after all, they couldn't just up and make it easy on us and our collective hearts. Now that just wouldn't be any fun! And so despite being pinned inside their own 5 and with the clock firmly against them, Kellen Clemens would lead the Rams on a miracle drive that seemed to be scripted specifically to break the hearts of Seahawks fans everywhere. And believe me, they were everywhere, yet another great showing from the 12th Man on the road.
At about this time, another 12 stood next to me and we watched the game unfold in disbelief. The Seahawks were getting beat up out there and it wasn't looking good. When I introduced myself to the guy and he said his name was Peter, I put two and two together and realized that he was the leader of the Midwest Seahawkers and that he organized the entire thing in St. Louis for the 12th Man, as he has for years now. He was cool enough to give me a "Bring the Noise" towel and an awesome green GO Hawks! bracelet. We watched on in horror, until he had to head back to his seat to check out the rest of the game with his dad.
Whoever wrote the script for this game was the same guy who wrote the scripts for the Arizona, Detroit, Miami, and Atlanta games last season. You know his style and you've seen his work before. The team seems destined for a tough, deserved road win, only for the defense to lose the lead late as the Hawks ultimately lose the game. Yeah, that guy. Well, this one appeared to have his finger prints all over it too.
When Chris Clemons jumped offsides and the ball was placed at the Seahawks 1 yard line on 3rd Down and goal to go, things looked bleak. However, unlike Darrell Bevell, our trusted mythical script writer threw us a changeup for once and decided that the 'Hawks defense was instead going to stand tall. Much love to Heath Farwell for giving up the body on the second to last play of the game. Super kudos to Earl "They call me E.T. 'cause I'm outta this world!" Thomas for acting more like a homing missile and less like a football player in this one. Twice, he was huge in the Red Zone and helped set the stage for the game's dramatic final play. He was making plays like the one below, all night!
Now, my boy Brandon Browner has been getting a lot of grief from fans and analysts a like but he's still one of my favorite Seahawks. During half time, he was constantly on the bike trying to stay loose, which leads me to believe that he isn't 100% healed up from his injury earlier this season. Still, he's showing flashes of being the player he's always been for the Seahawks. Sure, you don't want him matched up with the Kendall Wright's of the world, but in a situation like the one this past Monday night, there's no one else you'd rather have. 4th and Goal, at the 1 yard line with 4 seconds go to? The Rams were certifiably insane for going Browner's way with the play call that they had on. I consider that game-ending play to be Brandon's revenge for the Titus Young game-winner he allowed in Detroit last season. Way to be, BB!
As the ball hit the turf, me and the rest of the 12's in Missouri let out a Ric Flair-sized "woo!" in celebration! Which is incredibly fitting considering both Chris Long and Walter Thurmond III broke out the Ric Flair tributes as sack celebrations during the game. Walter's was better of course. Seahawks fans stood elated while Rams fans were absolutely devastated. Not only did the Rams just lose a heartbreaker to a division rival, but the Cardinals were now down 3 games to 2 against the Red Sox having just loss as well. My visions of a day where the Seahawks annihilated the Rams but no one cared because the Cardinals also won were destroyed. Instead of a vibrant, eclectic downtown scene with random people hugging and chanting I got a ghost town with tons of apathy and self-loathing. The streets were empty, so were the bars, the city's spirit had been taken from it.
Still, I met some more amazing 12's and enjoyed the rest of the night. As luck would have it, I ended up running into Cornell at the airport on the way home. We both agreed that the 'Hawks escaped with the victory but that we'd take it anyway. 4-1 on the road is a beautiful thing, especially for a squad that's never fared well on the road before.
The Football God's continued to smile upon me on my way home. Despite a 30 minute delay from Philadelphia to Newark, I arrived at work at precisely 4:00 with the owner waiting right there looking at the clock. You couldn't have scripted it any better had you tried.
This entry is a little late, as I was super busy this week. I'm currently posting it from a FedEx Office in Queen Anne. I had to post it before the day ended and it was officially Gameday again. I'll update with some more pictures and stuff when I get back home, but for now I just wanted people to know about the amazing experience I had in St. Louis. Hopefully the 'Hawks can keep this thing rolling and take care of the Bucs tomorrow. 8-1 would be an amazing start and would set the team up nicely for the stretch run. What a season it's been 12's! Something tells me, it's only going to get better!
GO Hawks!!!
Oh, the day had so much potential. There's that dreaded "p word" though. The problem with potential is that sometimes things fail to live up to their's. What the night ultimately lacked in terms of great sports experiences, it definitely made up for in great life experiences.
As I got off my plane and headed for the next gate to catch my connector from DC to St. Louis, I saw a dude wearing a Seahawks cap and some official looking warmup gear. I tell him "GO Hawks!" and he smiles and nods his head. I sit down across from him and ask if he's going to the game tonight. He replies that he is. He was a really tall guy and his official gear told me that he had to know somebody on the team. I asked if he indeed knew someone on the Seahawks and he nodded. He mentions to me that his name is Cornell and that him and Kam Chancellor are close and that he travels to see the 'Hawks whenever they're in the area. He was at the playoff loss in Atlanta last season and he believes in the talent this team has.
It was great getting to hear about Kam Chancellor's high school career in Virginia and Kam's college recruiting process and how he ended up at Virginia Tech. See, Cornell is a coach. He currently coaches basketball and has also coached football. He helped coach Kam, who also played basketball in High School, in both sports and also helped him with his recruiting process. Despite being a UVA grad himself, Cornell holds no grudges about Kam going to rival Virginia Tech instead. It was obviously the right move and he said that Kam loved the fact that Virginia Tech wanted him from the start of the process as well as the close-knit family atmosphere at Va Tech. Sound familiar?
So here I am, sitting with someone who knows a modern-day Seahawks legend, about to fly to St. Louis to check out the 'Hawks on Monday Night Football. I'm thinking "the kid can't lose right now! The 'Hawks definitely got this one!" In the words of the immortal Lee Corso, "not so fast my friend!" The flight gets delayed! What was supposed to be a 3:30 flight that would have gotten us into St. Louis at 4:30 local time, and in time for tailgating with the Midwest Seahawkers, instead is now scheduled to leave at 5:10 Eastern. Normally, panic and frustration would have set in, but I realized that this was all to be part of the experience. Here I am, chillin' with Kam Chancellor's fam, how could I possibly be upset? Things would work themselves out with the flight, better safe than sorry I thought.
Cornell and I are sitting and talking 'Hawks shop when he says to me, "hey man, let's get a drink." After a quick trip to the bar and with a Guinness now in my system compliments of my new friend, we headed back to wait for our flight, which was supposed to have been leaving soon. I was starting to get anxious as there was still no word on the flight to St. Louis. All around us, flights to Greensboro and beyond were all set to take off, what about our flight? What really helped me to chill out and gain some perspective about this all was that there were about 3 or 4 Red Sox and Cardinals fans in the airport headed to the game. This delay meant that I might miss, at most, 5 to 10 minutes of the game. For them, it meant that they would be missing the start of a World Series game. It definitely helped me realize that things were not that bad. They could always be worse.
The plane finally took off at closer to 5:40 and we were set to arrive in St. Louis at around 7. Unlike some people, I actually get good luck when it comes to who I sit next to on a plane. This time was no different, as me and a gentleman named Jim got to share stories and perspective on life. It really makes the flight a lot more enjoyable and quicker when you can actually talk to the person sitting next to you. A big thanks to Jim for next making life miserable and instead being the man.
As the plane landed, me and Cornell exited the airport trying to decide whether or not to take a cab to the stadium or to take the train instead. The city-boy in me immediately thought train, especially with all the traffic that would be downtown because of the game. Cornell was thinking cab and I decided to go along with the plan. We split the cab and just like that, we were at the Edward Jones Dome. Here, we parted ways, as I had to set out to find my ticket at Will Call. I had purchased a ticket long before the season started, behind the Seahawks bench, and was pretty psyched about the whole thing. In the buildup to the game, tickets were only $7.50 on Stubhub, an absurdly low price for an NFL game. For comparisons sake, I bought my girlfriend and one of our roommate's Popeyes Dinner a few days earlier. I ended up paying $24 for 3 dinners. Just let that sink in for a minute.
So I won't lie, the thought crossed my mind about selling my ticket and buying one for cheap and spinning a profit. Hey, I'm human, sorry. Luckily the plane delay intervened and didn't even give me the chance, because what happened next was a complete life-changing experience. Speaking of that plane, now that I think about it United said that we were waiting on an aircraft change from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. You know what else is from Hattiesburg? Yeah, #4, Brett Favre. Who called Brett Favre earlier in the week about possibly coming out of retirement? That's right... the St. Louis Rams! Coincidence? I think not. Brett Favre was definitely considering giving it one last go and making the last minute flight to St. Louis. We'll never know why he eventually decided against it. Something tells me a big reason was the Legion of Boom!
Anyway, I now had to pick up my ticket for the game at the Will-Call Window. When I get to the window, the girl working there tells me that she can't find anything under the names I'm telling her. I stand in disbelief, wondering what the hell I was going to do. Oh yeah, I also didn't have a phone at this point. I was pretty much screwed at this point. Until a man, no, a HERO standing behind me had heard my situation and said "Hey, you need a ticket man? Just hold on one second." I kind of drifted off to the side and started to get my money in order to pay the guy for his ticket. It wasn't an ideal situation, but at least I was going to get in relatively easy. He left Will-Call and came over to me with his young son and said "here you go man." I asked him how much and he said "nah man, have it. Enjoy the game!" I shook his hand, his name was Clay, and looked at his son and told him what a great man his father is. I couldn't believe what had just happened.
By the time I had gotten inside, I had already missed a little bit of the action. I was okay with that though, considering what had just happened outside and the fact that I was at the Seahawks/Eagles Monday Nighter in Philly in '05, so this wasn't my first Monday Night rodeo. My good fortune continued, however, as the very first play I saw when I could see the field was Brandon Browner absolutely destroying Tavon Austin on a screen pass. The entire crowd let out a big "ohh!" and I knew that the Seahawks defense was ready to bring the hammer.
As I kept walking around the stadium, looking for the seats I was supposed to have originally had, I found no such luck. Instead, as fate would have it, I would bump into probably the only other Seahawks fans from New York City. Rob, Mike, and the rest of their crew from upstate New York were an awesome bunch. We never actually went to our seats, despite them having a Luxury Suite. The view from the lower level walkway, at around the 50 yard line, was just too damn good. Not only that, but ushers and security could hardly be bothered by people not sitting in their seats. Fantastic job, Edward Jones Dome staff!
However, as you all already know, it wasn't all fun and games throughout this one. While the hometown faithful moaned in disgust as the Red Sox took the lead over the Cardinals, the teams actually playing in front of them were locked in a street-fight. Now, the Seahawks have almost mastered the art of "winning ugly" already this season. This just took their mastery to new, unfathomable levels.
Not many good things happened the rest of the way. The Seahawks held the lead throughout on the strength of a few well-timed big plays, but you got the sense that the Rams just weren't dead yet and that Seattle simply had no answer for what the Rams defense was throwing at them. If Russell Wilson were almost any other man, I'd wonder about the state of his health right now, both physically and mentally. However, he is a wizard, of that I am convinced.
As the game grew later, the crowd grew more and more angry. The Cardinals had just lost, 3-1 to the Red Sox in Game 5, and the Rams were looking like they might share the same fate. However, this is the Seahawks we're talking about after all, they couldn't just up and make it easy on us and our collective hearts. Now that just wouldn't be any fun! And so despite being pinned inside their own 5 and with the clock firmly against them, Kellen Clemens would lead the Rams on a miracle drive that seemed to be scripted specifically to break the hearts of Seahawks fans everywhere. And believe me, they were everywhere, yet another great showing from the 12th Man on the road.
At about this time, another 12 stood next to me and we watched the game unfold in disbelief. The Seahawks were getting beat up out there and it wasn't looking good. When I introduced myself to the guy and he said his name was Peter, I put two and two together and realized that he was the leader of the Midwest Seahawkers and that he organized the entire thing in St. Louis for the 12th Man, as he has for years now. He was cool enough to give me a "Bring the Noise" towel and an awesome green GO Hawks! bracelet. We watched on in horror, until he had to head back to his seat to check out the rest of the game with his dad.
Whoever wrote the script for this game was the same guy who wrote the scripts for the Arizona, Detroit, Miami, and Atlanta games last season. You know his style and you've seen his work before. The team seems destined for a tough, deserved road win, only for the defense to lose the lead late as the Hawks ultimately lose the game. Yeah, that guy. Well, this one appeared to have his finger prints all over it too.
When Chris Clemons jumped offsides and the ball was placed at the Seahawks 1 yard line on 3rd Down and goal to go, things looked bleak. However, unlike Darrell Bevell, our trusted mythical script writer threw us a changeup for once and decided that the 'Hawks defense was instead going to stand tall. Much love to Heath Farwell for giving up the body on the second to last play of the game. Super kudos to Earl "They call me E.T. 'cause I'm outta this world!" Thomas for acting more like a homing missile and less like a football player in this one. Twice, he was huge in the Red Zone and helped set the stage for the game's dramatic final play. He was making plays like the one below, all night!
As the ball hit the turf, me and the rest of the 12's in Missouri let out a Ric Flair-sized "woo!" in celebration! Which is incredibly fitting considering both Chris Long and Walter Thurmond III broke out the Ric Flair tributes as sack celebrations during the game. Walter's was better of course. Seahawks fans stood elated while Rams fans were absolutely devastated. Not only did the Rams just lose a heartbreaker to a division rival, but the Cardinals were now down 3 games to 2 against the Red Sox having just loss as well. My visions of a day where the Seahawks annihilated the Rams but no one cared because the Cardinals also won were destroyed. Instead of a vibrant, eclectic downtown scene with random people hugging and chanting I got a ghost town with tons of apathy and self-loathing. The streets were empty, so were the bars, the city's spirit had been taken from it.
Still, I met some more amazing 12's and enjoyed the rest of the night. As luck would have it, I ended up running into Cornell at the airport on the way home. We both agreed that the 'Hawks escaped with the victory but that we'd take it anyway. 4-1 on the road is a beautiful thing, especially for a squad that's never fared well on the road before.
The Football God's continued to smile upon me on my way home. Despite a 30 minute delay from Philadelphia to Newark, I arrived at work at precisely 4:00 with the owner waiting right there looking at the clock. You couldn't have scripted it any better had you tried.
This entry is a little late, as I was super busy this week. I'm currently posting it from a FedEx Office in Queen Anne. I had to post it before the day ended and it was officially Gameday again. I'll update with some more pictures and stuff when I get back home, but for now I just wanted people to know about the amazing experience I had in St. Louis. Hopefully the 'Hawks can keep this thing rolling and take care of the Bucs tomorrow. 8-1 would be an amazing start and would set the team up nicely for the stretch run. What a season it's been 12's! Something tells me, it's only going to get better!
GO Hawks!!!
