Growing up in the Northwest, we are blessed to have a myriad of different sports clubs, teams, groups, and organizations.
Between Oregon and Washington alone, one can unwittingly begin to count some of the most widely publicized professional teams: the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Sounders FC, Seattle Seahawks, Portland Timbers, and Portland Trail Blazers.
When some of these heavily reported on teams come up, people outside the overwhelmingly positive fan-base in the Northwest begin to recount on all the shortcomings of these Northwest favorites.
After reflecting a little bit on merely the past year to year and a half, I began to wonder about something that has been a serious stereotype around the country for a while. Are our teams as good as we believe them to be? If so, why is it a stereotype for the Northwestern sports teams to fall short in the face of such huge opportunities?
Out of the 5 previously mentioned professional teams, 2 have been recorded as having fairly noteworthy setbacks in the past year: the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Let’s start with the Seahawks. In their 2014 regular season, they only lost 4 of their 17 games and were backed hugely by the leadership of Pete Carroll, their head coach, Russell Wilson, their quarterback, and Marshawn Lynch, their running back. The Seahawks had such a phenomenal season that they were able to make it all the way through the postseason to the 2014 Super Bowl.
That being said, the Seahawks had the opportunity to win the game in the 4th quarter with 26 seconds on the clock by running a rushing play through Marshawn Lynch for a 1-yard run. They elected not to do so and to instead threw the ball to Ricardo Lockette for a 1-yard pass, which was intercepted. The New England Patriots maintained position until time expired and ended up winning.
This was obviously a huge letdown for the Seahawks franchise, yet they seem to be as eager as they were before and are hoping to get back to the same position they were in last year. Coincidentally enough, the Portland Trail Blazers found themselves saying the same thing at the end of their 2014-2015 season.
Rip City had an excellent regular season. In the 24 weeks of regular season play, they ended with a record of 51 wins and 29 losses, finishing 4th overall in the Western Conference and 1st in the Northwest Division. However, in the postseason, they couldn’t make out of round 1 of the playoffs and fell to the Memphis Grizzlies in 5 games.
If losing in the postseason weren’t bad enough, the newly formed Trail Blazers of 2014-2015 were about to be demolished. They lost 4 out of 5 their starting players including their leading scorer and franchise player LaMarcus Aldridge, as well as their up and coming star shooting guard and 3-point contest participant Wesley Matthews.
Both the Seahawks and the Trail Blazers seem to still be recovering from these falls from grace. That being said, they still have unwavering admiration from their fanbase who is unwilling to accept any truth other than that these teams are destined and deserving of greatness.
It is true that it is hard to be objective about a very subjective topic. Fans belong to their favorite teams because they are belonging to something familiar and local. They tend to resonate with that familiar player, historic event, or cultural symbol linking us to the idea of being a part of something bigger than ourselves, which was native to all of our upbringings.
You know what one of the best parts about being a fan in the Northwest? Being able to look past some of these minor setbacks or perceived stereotypes and to keep cheering, rooting, and shouting for out teams.
All bias aside, I think the ‘Hawks are going to win it all and the Blazers will shock everyone this season.
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