And for the first time in my life, I would be spending Christmas somewhere other than New York City. It only makes sense with the way things have gone this season that I'd be celebrating in Seattle instead. Before I left my home in Brooklyn, I didn't know exactly where I'd be staying for the duration of my trip to my home away from home, but I knew that something would materialize. Things have a way of unfolding that way when you believe in something and try and live it to the fullest, I've found.
I lucked out when my friend Steve invited me up to Arlington to spend Christmas with him and the rest of his family. Steve's been nothing but amazing, from driving me and my friends to the airport in Houston, to letting me crash at his place in Arizona, I don't think any of this would be possible. I'm a lucky guy for sure, because there's a few people who I could say that about. The support from everyone has been absolutely unreal. I was prepared to sit this Christmas out without my loved ones here with me, but Steve and his family made me feel like a part of the family. I'll never forget how that felt.
All the negativity on the web and through the airwaves had suddenly been replaced by 'Hawks memories new and old. We talked about the upcoming game with the Rams, the loss to the Cards, and what the future held for the Seahawks. Dinner was incredible and I even ended up with some new Seahawks gear and memorabilia courtesy of my Seahawks family. I'm telling you, I think our fanbase is the most close-knit fanbase in the league. Legends of the Seattle Freeze can now be countered by actual proof that Seattleites are pretty damn awesome. The amount of couches I've been offered to sleep on is astounding.
After a day spent as a roadie for Steve and the Linezmen at a show in Snohomish where they absolutely tore the roof off the place, Saturday was here, and with it, the possibility of the day being one of the greatest of all-time. Lined up for Steve and I was a tour of the Virginia Mason Athletic Center or as most people know it, the VMAC. Mike Flood, the Director of Community Outreach for the team, was there to meet us at the front door and our small group was off to explore the place the Seahawks organization calls home. I met Mike in Charlotte before the Panthers game to start the season and later bumped into him again in the parking lot at Candlestick Park. Mike's one of the good ones, and I can't tell you how great I felt when he invited me to the VMAC for the tour. It was a high honor.
Our first stop was the team meeting room, which is also the same room where Pete Carroll and the team hold press conferences. Immediately to the left of the stage stands a basketball hoop. Mike passes around a Seahawks basketball and we all take turns taking shots. The seats are extremely comfortable, but one wonders how James Carpenter would fit in one, no disrespect to James. Next up, a trip to the weight room. Mike tells the group that there are 180 pound dumbbells laying around somewhere. That's more than I weigh, a human being, in the form of a weight and there's somebody, probably a few guys on the team, that can curl that with ease.
As if a look inside the weight room wasn't crazy enough, Mike then took us through two unassuming doors and out onto the team's indoor practice facility. The place is massive, 80,000 square feet to be exact, and looks more like a hangar than a place where the best team in the NFL practices. He opens up a bag of footballs and throws a few of them to the group. Alyssa, a member of the US military, and I play catch on the same field where the Seahawks hone their craft. My adrenaline gets the better of me and the next thing I know I'm making diving catches on the FieldTurf. It wasn't until later when I got back to Steve's place that I found the turf pellets from the field that had found their way to my pockets.
30 foot tall banners of Cortez Kennedy, Steve Largent, and Jim Zorn surround us as we head up the stairs to check out some of the offices above. The Quarterbacks Office is especially small, while the Defensive Meeting Room is lined with slogans and mantras to help motivate the players. Mike takes us to his office, one with an amazing view of the outdoor practice fields and Lake Washington to boot. Deep down inside, everyone wonders how amazing it would be to work in a beautiful place like this. You can see it on our faces as we look at everything in sheer amazement. To cap off the amazing day, Mike hands Steve a coin from the Seahawks for his time spent in the Navy. It's the perfect ending for a perfect day spent on Lake Washington.
This team is earning everything though, and the final Sunday of the regular season was no different. Everyone knew the stakes, a first round bye and Home Field Advantage throughout the playoffs, so the stage was set. The ride down to the stadium was one of the coolest rides to a stadium you could probably envision. The Sounder Train from Everett to King Street had a bit of everything. From naval ships to people in kayaks getting after the day early, it sure beats any method of transportation to MetLife Stadium. You've got a perfect view of the mountains, trees, and water that help make the state of Washington so beautiful in the first place.
After getting off at King, we hit up Temple Billiards for a drink or two to calm the nerves before the big game. Todd, Dom, and familiar faces were out and about. This already felt much better than last week where everything just seemed off. Nobody quite knows what it was for sure, but something was definitely up. It's there that I met Eli, a guy who had reached out to me about having me sit with him for the game, free of charge. An incredibly generous offer that shows the type of person Eli is. Eli tells me that he was at the playoff game in Atlanta last season, and that the game had some crazy mood swings for the fans. I still believe that the loss in Atlanta helped shape the team today.
I'm pretty sure these were the best seats I've ever had, for any event in my life. I think I sat further away from the action at my high school graduation than at this game. 4 rows from the field in the South End Zone, right by the Seahawks tunnel. Player intro's were especially intense and it was great to see Earl Thomas win the Steve Largent Award. You could tell how much it meant to him. To make things even better, Jay Buhner gets the call to raise the 12th Man Flag and get everyone fired up. As the game kicked off you could tell that the crowd was ready to lend itself to victory.
And despite the efforts to put him down, Golden Tate had another fine performance against St. Louis. Janoris Jenkins must absolutely hate Golden at this point, because Tate just owns him. Marshawn Lynch ran with authority and played with an edge that clearly agitated the Rams defense. Russell was stellar and didn't make any mistakes while Ricardo Lockette looked outstanding on Special Teams. The performance of the day came from the defense though, as they absolutely smothered Kellen Clemens and the Rams rushing attack. The key to the game for the Seahawks D always was going to be stopping the run, and they did it with authority. That's got to give this unit a ton of confidence (as if they needed much) heading into the playoffs.
The final score read 27-9 and the Seahawks were now NFC West Champions and the owners of the #1 seed in the NFC. What felt great about this one, and different from anything in the past, was that I tempered my enthusiasm a bit after the win. Sure, it was a great accomplishment for the team and all, but they hadn't won anything yet. I think it was the next day, but I heard Russell Wilson saying something similar in his post-game press conference. There is still a long way to go before the promised land.
The highlight of the whole trip might be after the game when my buddy Jordan and I were at Triangle Pub. There, at the bar, stood a drunk man who told us of the Seahawks impending doom in the playoffs due to their #26 ranked Passing Offense. He told us how Russell Wilson's height would come back to haunt him and how the team was destined for failure. As he yelled "the Seahawks will never win a Super Bowl!" he fell to the ground as if on command and was slumped over one of the bar stools. We tried helping him up but he just wanted to lay there in his drunkenness. As we walked out the door, we asked him who he had his money on, since he was the all-knowing. "The Cincinnati Bengals!", he shouted. The irony was beautiful.
The next day it was time to finally head back home. Having spent the better part of the last 9 days in my new alternate universe, the timing felt right to get back home to see my family after so much time apart. Jordan hooked it up with a ride to the airport and I breezed through security for the first time all-season. I'm talking literally 2 to 3 minutes. Unheard of. Fittingly enough, my layover was in San Francisco. However, after a delay at Sea-Tac, I literally had to sprint onto the plane in San Fran, which was luckily only 1 gate away from where I landed. The gate number? 81. The Golden Tate Bridge! Believe me, I wanted to stay in the Bay a little bit longer to revel in the fact that the Seahawks in essence buried the Niners dump of a stadium but it wasn't mean to be.
When I finally landed at JFK airport I thought all was done and it was back home to be with my girlfriend. Then, my phone started to blow up with text messages from everyone. One from United telling that I now qualified, on the last flight of the regular season, as a gold member for accumulating 50,000 miles over the course of the season. The rest of the text's were coming from friends with quotes from Percy Harvin about returning to practice and reports that it was indeed true and that Percy might be back for the Divisional Round. What a way to ring in the new year! And what a crazy new year it was, celebrating both the arrival of the new year and also the Seahawks taking care of business back in Seattle when it mattered most.
And as if things couldn't get any better, the new year was rung in with two free tickets to the Divisional Round courtesy of James aka Doc. Is that an amazing individual or what? I'm convinced that I'm surrounded by the greatest people of all-time. James was actually the first person to ever leave me a comment about my writing, which was and still is greatly appreciated. With flights booked and tickets ready to go, it's time to wreak havoc on whoever the poor souls who trot out at CenturyLink on January 11th end up being. It's been an amazing run, but it's not over yet. Things should get interesting with the possible addition of Percy, which might be just what this offense needs. Factor in the fact that there's very little tape of him as a Seahawk and you've got more of a reason, besides his unreal ability, for the rest of the NFC to take notice.
It's win or go home time! This ride has been too amazing, and I'm not ready to go home just yet! Unless we're speaking of home metaphorically, then yes, I'm always ready to go back home to CenturyLink. Amazing things are on the horizon, memories and legends that will live throughout the rest of time and we're lucky enough to be here, witness to it. The championship mentality is about to set in, and once it does, there's no stopping Pete Carroll and his band of misfits.
I'm just sad that I'm only going to be able to attend the next two with you guys - no more $ for a return trip to MetLife for me....
