Crazy loss the other day, but these things happen in football and in life, yeah?
Being in Seattle for the entire week, I've been able to enter the mind and the Psyche of the true Seattle sports fan. All of that hope, belief, and pride in the college navy, wolf grey, and action green has quickly turned sour and in it's place... misery and self-fulfilling prophecies. People referencing Mutombo and the Nuggets beating the Sonics and the 84' Hawks' similar ending to that season. As an outsider from New York City, it amazes me when I compare this mindset with that of a Yankees fan or a Giants football fan. Literally the exact opposite. Those fanbases are generally indifferent during the regular season, but then 100% confident when it comes to "crunch time".
What I'm wondering is how this mentality trickles down and is perceived by the team. Hopefully they aren't listening to talk radio or reading the papers or watching local sports TV because doing so would probably result in a few guys heading for the Aurora Bridge and calling it quits.
Luckily, this team is led by two of the most positive and uplifting men in all of sports. This is where Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll have to rise up and lead the way and everyone, including all of us, must follow. What's happened in the past in this city is just that, the past, and it has no bearing on this year unless we allow it to. If we continue to dwell on it, then we will create all kinds of pressure and crappy energy that will fester like a boil until it all finally explodes at the CLink on Sunday in a nasty mess. If they played the game tomorrow, can you imagine the atmosphere in that stadium? Any Rams first down would be met with sucking of the teeth and a "damnit, insert name here, get your head out of your ass!" or something of the sort. God forbid the Rams score first, the place would be on mass suicide watch. We might even boo our guys off the field again at the half (that was an embarrassment the other day.)
Seattle, get your minds right. All year we've talked about how this team is different and even when they've barely snick by the likes of Houston or Tampa Bay we've talked about how any win is a good one in the NFL. The Cards are a tough team, we've seen that before, and they match up well with us, so a defeat was definitely always possible. Take some time with the Holidays coming up to get your minds right. Let those good feelings of watching happy kids tear wrapping paper to shreds put your nervous, negative energy to bed once and for all. I know some will say it's impossible if you're truly a diehard but if we keep the self-fulfilling prophecies going sooner or later we'll end up just like Cleveland and never win anything forever.
I took a walk through Discovery Park yesterday and it helped get my mind right. I thought of what a great, beautiful city this is and how amazing the journey has been and how great the people have been. I don't want to remember this season, this city, or it's great people as helping play a hand in a vicious, never-ending cycle. They say, "don't get too high after a win or too low after a loss." Coach speak for sure, but definitely true, and somewhere after that Saints game and after this Cards game, we lost our way a bit. Let's all get back to focusing on the goal at hand and being the best fans in the league and helping our guys get there. They need our support and our belief now more than ever, not the belief that this will end the way it always does in Seattle sports... in abject misery.
Seattle's first Super Bowl victory was never going to be easy. I've always known this. The going has now gotten tough but that doesn't mean we get going and that doesn't mean we stop caring so that the eventual letdown doesn't hurt as much. No. This is where we get tough and earn everything!
GO Hawks
Being in Seattle for the entire week, I've been able to enter the mind and the Psyche of the true Seattle sports fan. All of that hope, belief, and pride in the college navy, wolf grey, and action green has quickly turned sour and in it's place... misery and self-fulfilling prophecies. People referencing Mutombo and the Nuggets beating the Sonics and the 84' Hawks' similar ending to that season. As an outsider from New York City, it amazes me when I compare this mindset with that of a Yankees fan or a Giants football fan. Literally the exact opposite. Those fanbases are generally indifferent during the regular season, but then 100% confident when it comes to "crunch time".
What I'm wondering is how this mentality trickles down and is perceived by the team. Hopefully they aren't listening to talk radio or reading the papers or watching local sports TV because doing so would probably result in a few guys heading for the Aurora Bridge and calling it quits.
Luckily, this team is led by two of the most positive and uplifting men in all of sports. This is where Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll have to rise up and lead the way and everyone, including all of us, must follow. What's happened in the past in this city is just that, the past, and it has no bearing on this year unless we allow it to. If we continue to dwell on it, then we will create all kinds of pressure and crappy energy that will fester like a boil until it all finally explodes at the CLink on Sunday in a nasty mess. If they played the game tomorrow, can you imagine the atmosphere in that stadium? Any Rams first down would be met with sucking of the teeth and a "damnit, insert name here, get your head out of your ass!" or something of the sort. God forbid the Rams score first, the place would be on mass suicide watch. We might even boo our guys off the field again at the half (that was an embarrassment the other day.)
Seattle, get your minds right. All year we've talked about how this team is different and even when they've barely snick by the likes of Houston or Tampa Bay we've talked about how any win is a good one in the NFL. The Cards are a tough team, we've seen that before, and they match up well with us, so a defeat was definitely always possible. Take some time with the Holidays coming up to get your minds right. Let those good feelings of watching happy kids tear wrapping paper to shreds put your nervous, negative energy to bed once and for all. I know some will say it's impossible if you're truly a diehard but if we keep the self-fulfilling prophecies going sooner or later we'll end up just like Cleveland and never win anything forever.
I took a walk through Discovery Park yesterday and it helped get my mind right. I thought of what a great, beautiful city this is and how amazing the journey has been and how great the people have been. I don't want to remember this season, this city, or it's great people as helping play a hand in a vicious, never-ending cycle. They say, "don't get too high after a win or too low after a loss." Coach speak for sure, but definitely true, and somewhere after that Saints game and after this Cards game, we lost our way a bit. Let's all get back to focusing on the goal at hand and being the best fans in the league and helping our guys get there. They need our support and our belief now more than ever, not the belief that this will end the way it always does in Seattle sports... in abject misery.
Seattle's first Super Bowl victory was never going to be easy. I've always known this. The going has now gotten tough but that doesn't mean we get going and that doesn't mean we stop caring so that the eventual letdown doesn't hurt as much. No. This is where we get tough and earn everything!
GO Hawks