Dear Pacific Northwest,
At a time when Washington is suffering from the biggest fire in its history, when the Northwest is withering from drought, when the stock market is shrinking like our reservoirs, let’s not forget the healing power of sports.
You’ve definitely had your ups and downs, but nothing ever seemed to hold you back – never have you let your downfalls define you! Nonetheless, tragedy isn’t always contained or subdued immediately. An instance of your perseverance was reflected to the world in 1976 with the Seattle Seahawks. Franchise owner Lloyd Nordstrom, who had been instrumental in constructing a Pacific Northwest-based team, died before he could see the first game. Being a new expansion team to the NFL, things could have taken a turn for the worst. Hence, to the 12th man, I say kudos for being there – ushering your team to its first-ever Super Bowl in 2013. It was a clash of defense and attack; the Seahawks against the Denver Broncos, which saw defense triumphing in the end. That 2-0 score in the first 12 seconds became the fastest scoring play in NFL history after a cunning move from the Seahawks’ defense. The end result produced an astounding 43-8 win against Peyton Manning’s team, and the Seahawks were allowed to hoist the trophy in celebration with the 12th man … Ah yes, I remember the celebrations. I witnessed people of all ages and gender cry tears of joy before my eyes.
Sport is a form of medicine. It has supernatural healing powers similar to that of listening to music, which can be used as a form of therapy. Reggae icon Bob Marley once said, “Futbol is a whole skill to itself. A whole world. A whole universe to itself. I love it because you have to be skillful to play it! Freedom! Futbol is freedom.” For my instance, sports in general and not only futbol is freedom, so play on and go support!
Lets relive the moment where the Portland Trail Blazers were trailing the Houston Rockets with only 0.9 seconds to go in game six of the seven-game series. It was Damian Lillard who took on the responsibility and came up big with an incredible three-pointer to give the team a 4-2 series victory in the dying moments. Remember how exhilarating it felt for the Blazers to advance to the second round for the first time since 2000 in such fashion? These are the moments that both fans and players dream of.
I can sense the pride that is associated with this region. The rivalry battles that are won or lost are celebrated with great contentment from both parties. No riots or wars to tear each other apart. Whoever said that chivalry is dead? Whether you claim the Seattle Sounders or Portland Timbers as your own, the battles are won or lost on the pitch, not in the streets. This rivalry runs deep and dates back to 1975 in the NASL (North American Soccer League). It was the year when the Timbers edged the Sounders 2-1 in an awe-inspiring semifinal game. Presently, fans are still entertained by these derbies as soccer continues to grow throughout the U.S. This is just another component that makes the Pacific Northwest so extraordinary!
Furthermore, I would like to take time to acknowledge the Civil War. Well, not the literal Civil War involving the north and the confederate states. The Civil War that I refer to takes place here in the Pacific Northwest and involves the Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers football teams. We can all admit that Heisman winner Marcus Mariota will surely be missed with his high intensity speed of play. However, life goes on, and as it does I have no doubt that more talents will emerge and the remaining stars in the Pacific Northwest will shine even brighter.
When life gets tough, it’s healthy to go cheer on your team. For years the Pacific Northwest has been faced with adversities, which are eventually eliminated fully or to an extent by unifying the people. Moreover, no matter the headache featured on the 10:00PM news, our games have the power to give us three hours of relief and joy.
Sincerely,
Arsinio
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