Broncos 31, Seahawks 14

Today's events were so familiar that both teams should have worn '80s throwback unis: The Seahawks go into Mile High in September and come away with a stinging, humbling defeat... Thankfully, back in the day many of those Seahawks teams would bounce back and make the playoffs.

Today sucked, but my belief that the Seahawks will make the playoffs remains unshaken. Seattle isn't as good as they looked last week or as bad as they looked today. Wherever they are between those extremes, they are better off than they were a year ago, and certainly on the path towards consistently competing for the postseason.

The most troubling aspect of today's blowout (besides the utter lack of pressure upon Kyle Orton) was the performance of Matt Hasselbeck, who was rarely seriously pressured but still threw three BAD interceptions. I'm not with Field Gulls here: I don't think Beck is done; But I am concerned. If, Rozelle forbid, we stand at 1-3 going into the bye week, it might be time to see what Charlie Whitehurst has to offer.

Thankfully we aren't there yet. The notoriously slow-starting Chargers come to Qwest next week, and I have no doubt the Seahawks will bounce back and take care of San Diego. This season will not be for the faint-hearted: Seattle will look like Super Bowl contenders one week, only to look like a expansion team the next week. We will know if we are moving in the right direction if the team gets more consistent as the season goes one.

I'm optimistic by nature, but I really like a lot of things I'm seeing from these CarrolHawks: There were a lot of fuck-ups today, but there wasn't the lack of effort we saw from the MoraHawks last year. Golden Tate and Deon Butler showed us very encouraging flashes of brilliance today, and the run defense looked solid again.

So relax, fellow Twelves. Kick back and enjoy the beating the Saints are going to lay upon the Niners Monday night, and know that we are still on track to win our division and host a playoff game next January.... and limber up those vocal chords, because we need everyone at Qwest cranked up to "Fighter Jet Fly-by" next Sunday.

This is a team on the upswing, going through growing pains... it's no longer a decrepit, rotting zombieteam. Even after a blowout defeat like we took today, that much is still clear.

What do you think, sirs?

Go read my Tweets!

I'm off to a sports bar to watch today's action, but I'll be tweeting all day... My username on twitter is DKSB17, of course.

GO SEAHAWKS!

A Tiny Bit of Sympathy for the Enemy

Within the space of four days last week, I was part of the blue and green horde cheering the Seahawks to victory at Qwest AND an evil minion of Red Sox Nation invading Safeco Field. I've beaten this topic to death both here and at Field Gulls, but I just wanted to make a couple final comments about being a Road Warrior for one's team...

I didn't like seeing all the Niners fans at Qwest on Sunday either, and I admit I yelled more than a few taunts at SF passers-by. However, I don't get the blind frothing hatred ignited by the mere sight of opposing fans at our stadium. If you think that 49ers fans shouldn't be at Qwest, then YOU should never go see a Seahawks game on the road, right?

I don't know how many of you have seen a Seahawks game on the road, but I have fortunate enough to attend nine away games since 2001. Nothing beats seeing a game at Qwest, but watching the Seahawks win in front of thousands of enemy fans IN THEIR STADIUM? That's pretty amazing too. If any of you have the means, repping the Hawks in a hostile stadium is something EVERY Twelve should experience.

Given that I've been on the other side, as the agent behind enemy lines, I don't begrudge all those Niners fans the right to be at Qwest.. I was very happy they all went home unhappy, of course. It also makes me smile to think about how much some of those Niners fans must have paid to sit in those club seats behind the SF bench. If I'm mad at anyone, it's the fabulously wealthy season ticket holders who allowed those Niners partisans into the stadium by selling their seats.

I only got into one minor verbal scuffle at Safeco the other day, when I reminded someone flipping me shit that by buying thousands of tickets, us Red Sox fans were literally helping the Mariners make payroll... Remember, no revenue sharing in MLB, kids.

The bottom line is that I'm glad people go root for the road team at games from coast-to-coast. Unanimity is boring, don't you think?

Is anyone going to the game in Denver on Sunday? I'd love to hear eye-witness reports from anyone who is attending.

Seahawks 31, 49ers 6

My pictures from today's game on Flickr

I was down near the Seahawks tunnel before the game at Qwest Field today, doing my usual up-close gawking at all the pre-game pageantry (side note: TWO different people actually recognized me from the blog, which was very humbling... almost as humbling as shaking Chad Brown's hand just before kick-off)... I noticed something odd: 49ers Coach Mike Singletary doing lap after lap around the edge of the playing surface, like he was a mall-walking retiree trying to maintain his figure. It was very odd to see an NFL Head Coach emulating the exercise routines of the elderly, but upon reflection it made sense: This is a coach of the old school, living in what he believes is a glorious bygone era of tough-guy football.

At the same time, Pete Carroll was winging fairly impressive spirals around the Seahawks sidelines and was clearly loose, prepared and confident about his game plan and his players. One coach looked forward, the other backward. We all knew who won the day, don't we?

The Forty-Niners are, at the most basic level, bullies. They are all aggression and bullshit macho posturing, built in their Coach's image. They are dirty and dumb... all balls and no brains. If the Niners were Scut Farkas, today our Seahawks were Ralphie Parker, finally snapping and taking down the blustering bully with great vengeance and furious anger.

It was rapturously awesome to see the Seahawks not just beat the 49ers, but physically punish and abuse them. Alex Smith was never going to be the next Montana or Young, but today we saw him just as lost and helpless as he was in 2007. The only difference between today and that game at the Stick three years ago was that Smith's shoulder survived... This time. Can I mention again how terrible of a coach Singletary is? He constantly leaves points on the board, and his team is a gaggle of undisciplined punks.

Carroll's minions in blue? After a shaky start, it all seemed to come together... an imaginative offensive game plan from Jeremy Bates, orchestrated by a savvy, veteran Quarterback (who was barely touched today... thanks O-line)... a ferocious but disciplined defense fueled into overdrive by the Twelve Army. San Francisco was utterly unprepared for what the Hawks threw at them, and it was a joy to behold.

When was the last time the Hawks delivered such a cathartic win? Such a statement that not only would Seattle win the day, but that the future belonged to us too? Simultaneously, our hated rivals tumbled back into Limbo, into the dreary knowledge that the glorious Niner restoration STILL isn't happening. In the words of R.E.M., The Future Never Happened.

There's already a lot of Seahawks fans trying to downplay this win. Fuck that. I predicted that the Seahawks would win the NFC West, and now I GUARANTEE they will... You, my friends, will have a home playoff game to watch in January. I will be at Qwest screaming until my soul spills out, and Mike Singletary and his Niners will be at home, watching on television.

As usual.

Saturday Update

I'm heading over to Seattle today, and my internet access might be spotty. I'll be at the game, though, and be tweeting and posting pics over at my DKSB17 twitter account.

A quick, personal September 11, 2001 story:

My future wife and I went to the Seahawks/Browns game in Cleveland on 9/9/01. President Bush did the coin toss via satellite, and he was VICIOUSLY booed by the fans at Cleveland Browns Stadium. This wasn't shocking to me, given that Cleveland is a Democratic stronghold, but given Bush's spectacular boost in popularity two days later, it's an odd little historical artifact.

Seahawks win... Woo!

I flew out west to my parents' place in the Tri-Cities on 9/10/01. The plan was to spend a few days at home, then go over to Seattle to see my college peeps and catch the Seahawks/Chiefs game at Husky Stadium.

Things didn't go according to plan.

About 6 am, I woke up with my body still on eastern time. I turned on the TV, which was on the Weather Channel from the night before. I watched for about 60 seconds, and they were talking about some weird event taking place in New York.. Still half asleep, I was flummoxed. Then my fiancée called, and frantically told me to turn on the news.

I did, just in time to watch the second plane hit. It still is beyond my comprehension that millions watched thousands die on live television that morning. My trip continued under the dark could of national tragedy and mass murder on an unspeakable scale, with the Seahawks game understandably postponed until January.

I don't want to make any overt political statements today, other than restating my belief that we best honor the victims of these attacks by maintaining and protecting our basic liberties rather than curtailing them.

As the Brits said during the Nazi blitz: Keep Calm and Carry On.