In 2008 the University of Washington Huskies were 0-12, the Seattle Mariners were setting all the wrong records by losing over 100 games for the fourth time in team history, the Seattle Supersonics skipped town in one of the worst break-ups in NBA history and the Seattle Seahawks faltered to a 4-12 record and fired first year head coach Jim Mora Jr. in what looked like the beginning of a very long and ugly rebuilding process. It was hard to see any positives in sight for this poor old town and its sports fans. A lot of fans’ willpower was tested that year in the heart of the Pacific Northwest and we finally found out it was all for something.
When the Seahawks completely stomped the Denver Broncos last weekend in the Super Bowl, it not only put Seattle back on the map but gave the whole region something to finally cheer about again. We have a winner! Sorry, not just a team that wins but a World Champion! The one and only other team to win a professional title was the 1979 Sonics, that’s it! That means multiple generations, including my own, could only dream of the feeling of being the greatest and listen to the stories of that ’79 teams success. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we too would live it.
One of the most lopsided Super Bowls ever may have just triggered something that is completely new to the Pacific Northwest. Now, before you get all pessimistic at my optimistic writing just hear me out and understand that although you may have seen things on television from other cities or other regions that make you think what is happening isn’t a big deal well, what is happening now in Seattle?
It was just unprecedented.
Just this past week, over 750,000 people jammed into downtown Seattle to witness the Seahawks victory parade. Now, mind you, that is more people in the downtown area than all of which who inhabit the greater metro area! Cell phone services were overloaded and log jammed. Streets were blocked for hours and Pioneer Square looked more like Red Square. Never in any Seattleites lifetime has something of this magnitude ever occurred.
Period.
What does it all mean though? Is this a football town now? Does anyone still even care about other sports? In my opinion, the Seahawks may have just started the fire.
In the Huskies offseason, they went out and got the biggest coaching fish they could catch in Chris Petersen. The Mariners turned around and acquired the biggest free agent in Seattle sports history with Robinson Cano and haven’t stopped adding parts since. So as it seems, many of the big franchises in the Seattle area are going to follow these Seahawks and try and gain the support of this hungry town. You saw the masses that gathered to see the conquering heroes return – just like the Sonics did in the 70s.
It brought back the memories of a time long passed with the Supersonics standing as the lone world champs and how this city can support and cherish its franchises. Who knows, maybe with a new commissioner the NBA will see the light and understand that giving the 13th biggest market in the country a basketball team can be good for business.
Still, no matter how you look at it, the win last weekend was a milestone for the Pacific Northwest and its fans by telling them one simple truth: this city isn’t always destined to carry a mediocre team, an ‘almost team’ or even a loser. The swagger we saw from the Seahawks players may just bring new life and a belief to all the other teams in this city that they too can fight as under dogs to be the best.
So as we look back at the faltering sadness of sports in 2008 no one could have believed we would have been waving in a championship parade in 2014. It just goes to show us all that the three short words Russell Wilson spoke after the Conference Championship game may not just have been for the Seahawks but for all those sports teams in the region and to all its fans.
Why not us?
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