One of the frustrations of growing up and being an adult for me has always been the constant pressure to modulate the expression of my emotions. I've always been an emotional, sensitive person who tends to assume the best in others- This has made me vulnerable to sarcasm, teasing, and a constant drumbeat that I need to "toughen up," etc. I intellectually understand that to survive in society, I can't express my feelings exactly how I'd like to all the time- and I do my best to pass as a "normal" sort of person out there in the world... But I'd be lying if I told you I didn't feel stifled a LOT of the time.
Thankfully, it's more socially acceptable for me to nakedly express how I feel about a sports team- In this case, our Seattle Seahawks. Yeah, for the sake of my marriage I can't get away with screaming throughout the game or crying after a loss at our house, but I still feel freer to embrace my true nature in regards to the Seahawks than I do in my "regular" day-to-day life about almost everything else.
Football in particular is a game heavily influenced by intense emotions, and from the first time I stood for three hours cheering on the Seahawks in the Kingdome as an 8-year-old decades ago, I've felt a magnetic bond with this team. I've never been good at distancing or disconnecting myself from the Hawks, even when it might be in my best interest to do so. The romantic in me embraced this deeply flawed 2010 version of the Seahawks more and more as they've been swamped by an ever-growing tidal wave of disrespect from the national sports press, the NFL-watching public, and even many of their own fans.
Now that they are The Worst Playoff Team of All-Time (TM), I couldn't possibly love them more. From Raheem Brock to Mike Williams, I adore this roster of discarded, disregarded men. Others have already written about how the Seahawks are playing with "house money" and many fans go into this game with a serene sense of calm- There is absolutely NO expectation that Seattle will win, so anything positive the Seahawks accomplish will be a pleasant surprise.
Not for me. Even with the Hawks pegged as 11-point home underdogs, I'll be devastated if we lose Saturday and the season ends. I'll feel forlorn; My mind will be a desert. The promise of an improved roster in the offseason will grant me no comfort. The 2010 Seattle Seahawks will cease to be a living, breathing, fighting entity and enter the realms of history and memory.
I'm far from convinced it will all end Saturday though. Last Sunday the Seahawks brought more intensity and emotion to the field than St. Louis, and created a feedback loop with the Qwest Field crowd. This week, Pete Carroll will have the easiest motivational task of his coaching career- After a week of insults and abuse, of dismissal and disdain, the Seahawks will be out to prove that they belong in the NFL playoffs. The atmosphere at Qwest this Saturday will be absolutely suffocating for the World Champion Saints.
What of the Saints? They are clearly a more talented squad than Seattle, but how can they possibly get "up" for this game? They're hurting, they have to fly cross country, and they have to play outside in the elements in front of 67,000 fucking lunatics. On top of all that, all they've heard (and will hear) this week is how their opponents are unworthy to step onto the field with them.
That's not an NFL playoff game. That's a fucking CHORE. If the Saints treat this game like they are taking out the recycling, and bring that lack of intensity, their reign as World Champions ends Saturday afternoon.
Raw emotion. Intensity. These are the things that might just keep Seattle's season alive into next week. An abundance of feeling isn't just acceptable this week- It's abso-fucking-lutely necessary.
What do you think, sirs?
6 comments:
Awesome post. Can't agree more. The Seahawks are going to make this a dog fight and will shock the world and beat the Saints. The road to the SB will be made up of rematches up until we face Green Bay for the NFC championship game back at Qwest Field.
BTW: I noticed you blocked me on twitter (@pbebbington3). I want to apologize for my comments I made Sunday about you being a hypocrite. I'm a die hard fan just as yourself and I simply made a bonehead move by not making sense. I would appreciate it greatly if you unblock me. I enjoy you tweets and blog very much so to the point that they get me fired up even more than I already am. I will be one of the fucking lunatics in Qwest Field Saturday. Thanks in advance! -Philip
Well said. I accept your apology. I probably overreacted myself. :)
This is what I like about true fans. They let their emotions get the best of them, do something stupid, and then act like adults and apologize.
We don't always see eye to eye, but we understand how integral the Seahawks are to our lives. I don't like screaming at the TV, especially when I've had to work, and I had to tivo the game. I know that there is nothing that my voice can do from 300 miles away, and hours later, but I can't help it, I care for the Hawks so much.
Your site is cathartic. I can argue with inbred idiots on other supposed "supportive" sites, but it gets to me after a while. It's so freaking incredible to read an adults thoughts, but with the untarnished perspective of a child. You use lucid, well thought out arguments in your support of the Hawks, but you do something that hardly anyone else does: You keep a positive perspective. You are always optimistic.
I remember playing football, in Kirkland, after the '83 AFC Championship game with some friends. We all felt that if Chuck Knox had put Jim Zorn in sooner, we might have won the game. it sucked that we had lost, but it was easy to deal with because I had friends that had the same positive attitude that I had. We could dog each other, we could even insult each other because we knew we were friends and supported each other fully. We never did that with the Hawks, we might talk about how it could have been better, but we never complained about how bad it was, nor did we ever turn on them. Ever. You remind me of that time. Your blog is "a beacon of sunshiny warm freaking smiles." Actually, your blog is positive. No matter what happens, you don't give up hope. For that, thank you.
Raw intensity, with focus on execution.
Hard evidence that this Saturday will be a Seahawk blowout:
1) The 20 game long preseason that Uncle Pete and Schneider had, to turn 2/3 of the roster with 275 player transactions and implement his system. The one that produced the most dominant franchise in the professional ranks in the last 10 years at USC.
2) New Orleans is beat to hell: Ivory and Pierre Thomas are not even suiting up, Graham, Bush and Colston are all varying degrees of severely messed up, and they will be relying on a certain Julius Jones to carry the rock between the tackles. And their All-World DB is out.
3) The Lambs have a very good Dline, and we mashed them up with the 3 headed running attack. Keep in mind that Beast Mode has only been here a little while, and that extra long 7-9 preseason has started giving him enough reps to get a feel for the system.
4) The Lambs had a much better running game and at least a somewhat similar QB and receiver situation. And we made them look like the bumpkins they are with a healthy interior Dline, The Heater and a bunch of rookies, busts and geezers in the secondary.
5) We have a competent long snapper, so the gifts that let the Saints win last time they were here won't be under the tree.
6) The 12th Man will be ready. More than ready. To deliver the giant "Fuck You" to the NFL and the fair weather fans who will immediately declare the inevitable 58-3 obliteration of the stealers in the Super Bowl to be a complete travesty that was caused by poor officiating.
In closing, I declare:
11-9 Bee-yotches!!! 11-9!!!
I'm a Vancouverite who is a Seahawks fan driving down to the game this weekend. I love the underdog- can you imagine how awesome it will be when we demolish the Saints? Bring it Brees!
Loved the blog post, well written and couldn't agree more.
Go Hawks!
Go 'Hawks!!!
Here's to Raheem Brock getting 2.5 revenge sacks on Drew Brees, Beast Mode finally gets 100 yds on the ground, and Matt takes the first step in a heroic swan song of a playoff run through Chicago and back to Qwest where he finally gets a win over the hated Packers in the post season.
Go 'Hawks!
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