Bronzed!

Over on the Ultimate Seahawks Fan blog, there was a contest to decide the top 5 Seahawks blogs on the internet- And this humble site came in a very respectable 3rd.

I want to thank all the readers out there who have supported this thing- From those who have been following along since I started back in January 2008, to new readers who might be here for the first time. I would still do this if no one was reading (I have to), but knowing that there are like-minded people out there who enjoy reading my stuff and (sometimes) agree with my point of view is unbelievably gratifying.

I started this blog mainly out of anger and frustration. I used to contribute regularly on a Seahawks message board, but was kicked off for what I thought was a trifling offense. Once I got over my hurt feelings... OK, I DIDN'T get over my hurt feelings- I just channeled them into "I'll show those fuckers! I'll start my own Seahawks blog!" Thus, Dave Krieg's Strike Beard was born.

I was very fortunate to catch the attention of John Morgan over at Field Gulls in the blog's early days. Morgan liked my stuff, prominently linked me on his much more popular blog, and even allowed me to contribute content on FG until he left for greener pastures.

This blog was born as an outlet for my Seahawks passion and for my desire to write regularly- Thankfully, from spending 28 years closely, obsessively following this team I've built up a reservoir of knowledge and experience that others have found useful and interesting. I'm 36 now, but I'm still that 11-year-old back in the Tri-Cities defending my Seahawks from schoolyard taunts and insults during recess. On a DEEP level, I take criticism of the Seahawks as PERSONAL criticism, so I have always venomously attacked those who attack the Seahawks. This blog is an extension of that impulse- I am fortunate to be intelligent and knowledgeable enough to skillfully destroy your typical knee-jerk Seahawk hater, and that is something I never tire of doing.

Just this past week a student of mine went "PFFT" when he realized I liked the Seahawks. I asked him why he reacted like that, and replied "because they're terrible." I asked him what team HE liked and he said "Cowboys."

Then I LAUNCHED into this exaggerated, childish pantomime of Tony Romo dropping the snap in the 2006 Wild Card game, which made him reply "that kinda pisses me off." I simply said "well, it kinda pisses me off when you tell me my team is terrible."

Professional? Um, no. But THAT'S how much I love this team.

I see my role in the Twelve Army as part Seahawks Historian, part Seahawks Propagandist. That has a negative connotation (for obvious reasons), but in this context I think it's something we need- I won't just make shit up about the Seahawks, but I will take all the information available and give it the biggest pro-Seattle spin I possibly can. We are the fans of a team consistently treated with neglect, ignorance and hostility by outsiders- We also have to deal with having a cancerous fifth column of negative, defeatist, cynical "fans" in our midst. So yeah, I feel like part of my job is boosting the morale of the Twelve Army to something above a suicidal level.

The great thing now is that we have this vibrant, healthy, growing community of Seahawks bloggers- They're ALL over there in the blog roll, but I want to give special recognition to Hawkblogger, Field Gulls, and Seahawks Draft Blog. Those are the ones I read most frequently, and worry the most about differentiating myself from. In addition to the all blogs, we also have such a great horde of Seahawks fans on twitter- That has really enhanced MY experience as a Seahawks blogger and fan more than anything over the last year or so.

I'm going to keep doing this indefinitely- It's turned out to be a big enhancement to MY overall experience as a Seahawks fan, and I hope some of y'all feel the same way about this little blog. Thank you for reading, and spread the word.

What do you think, sirs?

Wanna buy my Falcons tickets?

My little brother can't make it to this Sunday's game, so I'm looking to sell my Seahawks v Falcons tickets- The above picture is the view from my seats in section 325. The face value of the pair is $86, but I'll be honest: I'll probably take the first semi-respectable offer from someone that can pay via PayPal.

If we can reach agreement on price, I will email you the tickets for you to print out on your end once I receive payment. If you have questions you can leave them as comments here, or email me at dksb17 @ gmail dot com.

Proceeds will go to the "DKSB buying tickets to the Seahawks game in Cleveland October 23" fund.

Seahawks 13, Cardinals 10

My weekend trip out west to see family, friends and the Seahawks got off to a rough start at the Flint, MI airport. Here's what the TSA guy said when he saw my Seahawks cap:

"Seahawks? PFFT. Why the hell did you guys sign Tarvaris?"

So it began- I tried to explain the reasoning behind the move while taking off my shoes and getting out my ziplock baggie of various liquids, but he wasn't really buying it. Then were the acquaintances at my friend's birthday party in Seattle Saturday night, who were unanimously incredulous when I told them the Seahawks would beat the Cardinals. The pessimism about the Seahawks is a national pandemic- from casual observers thousands of miles away to the very nerve-center of the Twelve Army.

There was a lone hopeful event that boosted my spirits, however- Given that my only Seahawks jersey was a Matt Hasselbeck model, I needed to get a new one on my visit out to Seattle. I decided that I would take advantage of the deal being offered at the Seahawks Stadium Pro Shop: Turn in any old Seahawks jersey and get 25% off a new one. For me, that meant I'd have to part with my #8, and give up the dream that I'd wear it someday to his Ring of Honor ceremony. It was a sad thing to contemplate, but given that I'm not exactly flush with cash right now, it seemed like a necessary sacrifice.

That was until my close friend Katie stepped in and said (as I remember it) "No way. You LOVED Hasselbeck, and I remember you defending him when I was crapping all over him- You explained to me what he meant to this team- There's no way I'm letting you trade that in."

She offered up her own old Julius Jones jersey, and I ended up getting my SWEET new Earl Thomas jersey at a discounted price. She also reminded me that blind optimism is pretty much my best quality as a Seahawks fan- Her gesture re-energized me for Sunday's game.

I showed up in my "I'm Calling it Seahawks Stadium" t-shirt (which got dozens of reactions from people- every one positive and many asking how they could get one) with my little brother James (Who KICKED ASS for Kamiakin in their HUGE 14-6 win over arch-rival Kennewick), ready to use every decibel I could muster to help drag the Seahawks to victory.

I've been to 18 games at Seahawks Stadium, and by far this was the SURLIEST crowd I've ever been a part of. The "Char-Lie!" chants started up in my part of the stadium with Jackson's first incompletion, and just intensified with every subsequent sack or missed target. A dude in front of me tried to start an "Andrew Luck" chant, but thankfully that didn't catch on. Amazingly, boos cascaded down upon the Seahawks as they left the field at half-time, down by a whopping four points.

Here's what I don't get: It's universally "known" that this is a VERY young team in rebuilding mode. Why, for the love of fuck, would you BOO them? I'd never boo the Seahawks, but I can sorta see booing a team like the 2009s, who just fucking gave up with a month left in the season. These guys are playing hard and learning tough lessons- They are kids on the uptick, not a veteran-laden group laying down on the job. My point? Don't boo your own fuckin' team, assholes!

Strangely, when the offense starting moving the ball in the second half, and Jackson sacrificed his body to put the Seahawks in front with a gritty TD scramble, there were no "T-Jack" chants. Look, I know the guy is never going to be a Pro Bowler, and if he craps out badly the next two weeks, it's probably Beef Supreme time after the bye... But Seahawks fans should at least give the dude credit for his toughness and leadership ability, and I still think he can lead us to an NFC West title if the O-line improves and Sidney Rice can stay healthy.

The big story was Seattle's rapidly developing defense, led by fierce young safeties Thomas and Kam Chancellor. The Hawks already have the best defense in the NFC West, and sooner rather than later could have one of the best defensive units in the NFL (and "sooner" might be later THIS season). Thomas and Chancellor set the tone from the start with controlled, vicious brutality, and the rest of the D is following their lead- Be excited, Twelves... You have a great young defense.

Despite the "Char-Lie" chants and the boos, the Twelve Army still rained intolerable noise upon the Arizona Cardinals, and I can forgive a lot of transgressions by fellow fans if they are still punishing opposing offenses like that- In the end, we all got to go home happy, and our team is still very much alive in a weak NFC West.

Seriously- Tell me why we CAN'T repeat as division champs. We will improve as the season goes on... Hell, we might even beat a staggering Atlanta squad this Sunday. No one else in the division is going to run away with this- as I said before, I STILL expect the Seahawks to be alive in the NFC West race going into those final two against SF and AZ. Eight wins WILL be enough to win the West for sure, and seven might just do it again.

Know hope, Twelves- Not just for 2012 and beyond, but for next week and next month. We can rebuild AND win.

What do you think, sirs?

A Brief Word From Your Author

One of the secrets of good blogging? Differentiation. No one wants to go somewhere and read the same groupthink pieces they can see anywhere else. People want to see original content from a unique point of view (at least, that's what I tell myself to justify the continuing existence of this blog). With this principle in mind, I'm letting everyone know this right now: I won't be talking about the 2012 draft until the 2011 season is over- and I don't mean "over" in terms of mathematical elimination or some sort of conventional wisdom that "it's over."

I mean the earliest you will see me talk about the 2012 draft on this blog is after time runs out on the last Seahawks game of the 2011 season. You can go to dozens of other places online and see speculation about where the Seahawks might draft and who they might select- There is nothing I can add to this discussion other than angry spittle and vitriol, so I am disengaging from it (I reserve the right to go on the occassional twitter rampage on this topic, but I am not going to rehash it over and over on these pages).

So if you want to read about and discuss the 2011 season as it is happening, you'll get a LOT of that here- If you want to talk about how we should "Suck for Luck" or other such drivel, I will kindly ask you to take it elsewhere.

Keep an eye over on the ol' twitter account this Sunday- I will be tweeting live from Seahawks Stadium before, during and after our glorious victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

What do you think, sirs?

Terribly Sorry to Trouble You, But...

...if you enjoy this blog, could you mosey over to the Ultimate Seahawks Fan Blog and vote for me in the Top 5 Seahawks Blogs contest?

Thank you kindly.