March 6, 2008

Raising a Seahawks fan.. So far so good.

Three times in the last couple of weeks, my 2-year-old son Jack has gotten up in the morning, went right to his dresser, and pulled out Seahawks gear that he wanted to wear. Next to his first steps and first word, these are my proudest moments as a parent.

One of the few things I really shared with my dad growing up was love for the Seahawks. When I was a wee 8-year-old fan, he took me to my first game at the dome in 1983. The Seahawks beat the Patriots 24-6 and made the playoffs for the first time ever, and I was hooked for life. I hope I can share that same sort of Seahawks-related joy with my kid...

I'm fully aware that this could go sour over the long term. Growing up out here in the midwest, he could end up a Rams or Bears fan. Even worse, he could grow up to be some emo or goth kid decrying my love for a "corporate bloodsport." Ugh.

But just like the cylons, I have a plan... I've exposed him to the Seahawks from day one, and used NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL network to aggressively indoctrinate him. He'll never have to miss a chance to watch the Hawks, thanks to the miracle of satellite television.

The biggest part of the plan is a trip to Qwest Field with him during the 2014 season. He'll be 8 years old, and I'll pick a game the Hawks are pretty sure to win.. We play Oakland at home that year... they'll probably still fucking suck, and I can build up his hatred of the Raiders to boot! If I'm lucky, Lofa will still be playing for Seattle at that point.. and who knows... Maybe 39-year-old Hass will still be the QB :-]

Anyway, that should be enough to hook the kid for life. Which leads to a question sort of inspired by one of the current polls: How did you become a Seahawks fan? Was it handed down to you, or did you find the Hawks on your own? Do you root for just Seattle teams (I don't... I root for the Red Sox almost as passionately as I do for the Seahawks, which made things a little weird the couple of times I've gone to a Red Sox game at Safeco on Saturday and a Hawks game on Sunday... This summer I might be able to pull off going to see the Sox at Safeco and a trip to Seahawks training camp during the same week..)?

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