ICE COLD

Hello Followers.  Hope your week is off to a great start.

With the Seahawks on the verge of a berth in the Superbowl, today we take a brief departure from the topic of Cougar Sports to delve into the great realm of sports superstitions/lucky charms.

So, if you want to check out the backstory of America’s soon-to-be favorite stuffed miniature #Rahkmed, then click on the jump.

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Followers, in the fall of 1988, I was a freshman soccer player at a Division 1 school in the mighty mid-American conference.  My girlfriend at the time was attending Washington State—and yes she was the primary reason for my transfer to our beloved school the following year…

Anyhow, said girlfriend paid me a visit for Thanksgiving that year—a time that coincided with my 19 birthday.  And for my birthday that year, she gave me this….

And I named him Rhawkmed.  (It was my best attempt at merging “Rock” with “Hawk”).

Anyhow, during the 1988 season, my college was going CRAZY about a certain local sports team that had taken the national stage:

You see, the buzz around that Bengals team was so great that when I walked across campus, it was unusual for me to NOT see someone doing their best “Icky Shuffle.” 

I was completely beside myself.

So, basically it became my mission to have the Bengals lose.  And it was my contention to any and all people who would listen that the one team who could beat the Bengals in the AFC was my very own Seattle Seahawks.  

For Those Who Don't Know, DK is my favorite player of all time.

You can therefore probably imagine my dismay when on December 4^th of that year, the Hawks lost a close one in Foxboro to the New England Patriots to drop to 7-7 on the year.  But, because the AFC West was having one of those “AFC Worst” type years, the Hawks remained in the thick of things.  And because of that, I figured that if my team were to make the AFC playoffs that year, I needed to come up with a gimmick of my own.  Simply put, I needed to find a way for my team to become CLUTCH down the stretch.

Ice, Ice, Baby!

And the recipe I came up with to promote my team’s successful fortune?  I decided to put Rhawkmed in the freezer.  How else would the Seahawks have sufficient ice in their veins?

So, I put Rhawkmed in the Freezer of my little mini-fridge that I had in my dorm room.  The result?  The Seahawks throttled the Denver Broncos 42-14 to move to 8-7 on the season.

Following that game, I headed home to Seattle for Holiday Break.  I threw Rhakmed in the Freezer on Monday night, took him out for the flight home on Friday, put him back in the Freezer on Friday night, and took him out 2 hours before game time just like I did the week before.  The result? 

THE SEAHAWKS BEAT THE RAIDERS 43-37 IN LOS ANGELES!!!  And in so doing, secured the franchise’s first division title.

Rhakmed was now 2-0.

Two weeks later, the Seahawks lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 21-13 in the Divisional Round of the AFC playoffs.  Most people think we lost that game because of a missed extra point.  But the real reason we lost was this:  I took a trip to Canada for New Years and forgot to put Rhakmed in the freezer.

I still haven’t forgiven myself.

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The following fall I was a sophomore entering my first year at THE Washington State University.  And because I didn’t want to play up the fact that I had an infatuation with a stuffed miniature, I didn’t take Rhakmed with me to college.  As it turns out, that was a terrible mistake as the Hawks finished 7-9 and Steve Largeant’s final season ended about as bad as his follow-up to the State of the Union a few years later…

Just like that, Largeant was Dunn.

But, in 1990, I decided to take Rhawkmed with me to the frat house.   However, because of my mounting social responsibilities I was facing at the time, I found it difficult to marshal the brain cells I needed to remember to put Rhakwmed in the freezer each week.

That said, I did manage to remember to ice him up three times that year.  The first was in Week 7, when David Krieg overcame a 13 sack (or some such) performance by the late Derrick Thomas and hit Paul Skansi on a touchdown pass as time expired for a Seahawks victory!

That moved the Hawks to 3-4 on the year and made Rhakmed a perfect 3-0.

I also put Rhakmed in the freezer for the final two contests of the year which included back-to-back wins over the Denver Broncos and the Detroit Lions.  While both of those wins made Rhakmed 5-0, the Hawks finished the year 9-7 and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year.  At that point, I figured that his mojo didn't justify the "effort." 

How stupid could I be?

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Fast forward to the 1999 season.  It was the season that many men dream of—I had a brand new baby boy!!!  And so, little Sutra and I spent many a Sunday on the carpet, putting a bunch of different stuff in our mouths while watching the Hawks. 

And for my birthday that year?  Well, Grandma found Rhakmed in my room back home and sent him down to the Sacramento compound.  And when the Seahawks made the playoffs that year, I had to put Rhakmed in the freezer.  But instead of putting him in on Monday per my usual ritual, I put him in on Wednesday instead.   The result:  The John Kitna-led Seahawks lost to Dan Marino, Jimmy Johnson, Trace Armstrong and the Miami Dolphins in the team’s final game in the AFC. 

Now at 5-1, Rhakmed’s career was in peril.

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Six years later, me and the brood had exited our apartment in Sacramento and moved to our first home.  And one day, when cleaning out the attic, I stumbled upon Rhawkmed—which I quickly showed Little Sutra who, at the time, had a burgeoning love affair with Shaun Alexander.

So, when the Seahawks made the playoffs that year, I put him in the Freezer before our game with the Redskins.  Of course, we won, and Rhakmed moved to 6-1 for his career, 1-1 in the playoffs.  I also put Rhakmed in the freezer the next week and the Hawks advanced to the Superbowl. 

Now at 7-1 overall (2-1) in the playoffs, Rhakmed seemed poised to lead us to the promised land against the Steelers two weeks later. 

But alas, for some reason, I forgot to put him in the freezer.  Why that happened?  I have no stinking idea.

But I REALLY have never forgiven myself for that.

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Five years later, we had moved to the current compound in the Empire State.  And the week before our playoff game against New Orleans,  Little Sutra found Rhakmed while unpacking a box in his room.  That week, we stuck Rhakmed in the freezer on Monday.   The result, of course, was the Beast Quake, and just like that, Rhakmed was 8-1, 3-1 in the playoffs.

Sadly, we had a tragic death in the family the following day.  The result:  Me and the family headed out to a funeral and Rhakmed stayed in Little Sutra’s room.  Later that week, the Hawks lost to the Chicago Bears in the Divisional round of the playoffs.

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And that brings us to this year.  Honestly, I have no explanation about what happened to Rhakmed over the previous two seasons other than I forgot about him and didn’t know where he was.  But, as fate would have it, I lost a three year battle with my other family members late this summer.  So, instead of having one dog at the compound, we now have two.

And a few weeks ago, our new little puppy came bounding down the stairs with a new toy in his mouth.  And that new toy was none other than Rhakmed. 

So, with home field advantage resting squarely in the balance, I put Rhakmed in the freezer before the Lambs game a few weeks back.  Of course, we won the game and in so doing, Rhakmed moved to 9-1 overall.

This past week, I put him back in the Freezer again—but this time on Sunday (since the game was on Saturday).  And while it wasn’t pretty, the Hawks won 23-15, allowing Rhakmed to move to 10-1 overall, 4-1 in the playoffs.

And yesterday, Rhakmed went back in the Freezer for what promises to be among the biggest games in the history of Seattle sports.  And while the Niners are starting to look like a team of destiny to these eyes, it also seems that this might be the year where Rhakmed is finally allowed to see his magic come to fruition.

As the saying goes, it’s only weird if it doesn’t work.

That's all the time I have for today.

All for now.  Go Cougs!