More officially a 12th Man!

If you’ve been following Woodhaven Ramblings for a spell, you might remember that benchmark day back in January 2014. Just days before the NFC Championship game, I dumbfounded my mother by officially abandoning the 49er Faithful for the blue and green 12th Man bandwagon of the Seattle Seahawks. It was a well-considered decision, I promise.

Free duster mitts that are much better used as pom poms

I’m grateful my Bay Area friends are still speaking to me despite our differences. On the heels of yesterday’s reportedly unwatchable performance by the Niners, one stalwart friend and fan rebuffed my invitation to join me in my support of the Seahawks with this retort: "Um, no. I think I'd become a fan of professional cricket before that happens. But, thanks for the offer." Yep, Faithful indeed. I like that.

Yesterday’s Seahawks game, on the other hand, was completely and utterly watchable. Like from some pretty awesome seats near the 20-yard line at CenturyLink Field. Yes, it’s true: Rob took me to a Seattle Seahawks game!!! Live and in person!! With hot dogs and everything!!

We decided to make a weekend of it, it serving as the very best Christmas and Birthday gift combo pack EVER. We took a very relaxing, nap-infused train ride about three hours north on Saturday afternoon. We mastered Seattle’s public transit system to get to our hotel and then had a fabulous dinner with one of my most favorite people, Zeke. The restaurant was a bit crowded so our yelling conversation was a good warm-up for yesterday’s required chatting volume in the noisiest stadium in the country.

Prior to yesterday, I had only been to two professional football games in my life, both featuring the aforementioned Gold Miner people. The second game almost doesn’t count because it was a pre-season game populated with players I had never heard of. Parking was a snap, though.

The first game was in the early ‘90s in December. As we left our Bay Area apartment complex that morning, we noted that the decorative fountain outside the office was frozen. With our seats in the top deck of Candlestick – a venue that required parkas for summer baseball games – I really don’t remember much about that 49ers game other than my being a frozen stick with arms that moved up and down to deliver hot chocolate to my mouth. I also remember my team lost to the New Orleans Saints. I still don’t like them. Yes, I can carry a grudge.

Yesterday we came a little more prepared. We had many layers of clothing, a rain poncho, baseball hats to shield the rain, a towel to wipe off wet seats, and dry clothes to change into so the 3 hour train ride home would be a bit warmer and less cranky.

Much to our surprise, rain drops were minimal and our dry clothes stayed tucked inside our suitcase (yay for baggage storage at the train station!). Although we did get a bit chilly, the 69,000 other fans around us served as nice wind blocks. And the excitement kept us warm, too.  No hot chocolate needed this time!

Yes, Rob's hat is epic.  And warm.  He says it was very warm
and pretty much the only way I was able to convince him to wear it.

See?  Epic.

Wanting to get the Full NFL Experience, we arrived at the stadium about 2.5 hours early. It made going through the bag check process super easy – no waiting! I had done my homework and had my official post 9-11 Era NFL sanctioned plastic bag with dimensions no greater than 12” x 6” x 12” visibly toting all the essentials (camera, phone, Kleenex, credit card, Chapstick, ear plugs).

Toting my regulation bag like a pro

Later, a super nice security person showed me how to fold and display the bar codes on our tickets inside our bag to make the scanning even easier. With her tip, I felt like a season ticket holder instead of some interloper squatting in the Balmers' seats for the day (we don’t know them, we just thank them for going to Mexico and wanting to sell their tickets. Relatedly, people, lock down your Facebook profiles. Honestly.).

We meandered all around the stadium and then went into the connected Event Center which basically looked like a convention of Seahawks fans. It was awesome!!

As we entered about 2 hours prior to game time.

There were lots of photo ops and booths handing out free goodies. There were several sports talk radio shows broadcasting live from the venue. Several areas had large TVs for watching other teams in action. There were games and face painting and contests and cell phone charging lounges and Seahawks Swag booths. The only thing missing was some Tempur-Pedic beds.

Almost like being on a cruise ship!

Richard's not as tall as I imagined

Making sure Richard behaves himself

As we wandered around, I truly felt like I was a member of a culture, a community, a tribe. Every direction I looked was slathered in blue and green. Although I didn’t break out of my introverted shell, I know I could have struck up a conversation with any person there and we would have had at least one love in common.

My Seahawks Swag was pretty mainstream compared to these SuperFans

It wasn’t just the attendees either. The love and Seahawk Spirit extended to the security staff, the souvenir vendors, the food booth folks. “GO HAWKS!” ended most interactions. Much more fun than “Have a nice day.”

Done exploring and eating and shopping, we found our seats in time to get situated for warm-ups. Players and trainers from both teams littered the field. Without pads or jerseys, it was hard to tell at first if I was watching any names I knew.

Then Michael “Ooops, Another Penalty” Bennett jogged past us in navy track gear and enormous gold-plated headphones. If it weren’t for that Sony-NFL sponsorship deal thing, it would have been a great Beats by Dre commercial.

Then we saw Pete Carroll, the head coach. I know people have definite opinions about him from his days at a certain southern California college, but I have something of an affinity for Pete. I remember when he was on the coaching staff of the Niners back in the mid-‘90s. He also went to my high school (though long before I did), so somehow I feel like Pete and I are buds.

Did you have Mr. Bachelder for math, too, Pete?

Rob then pointed out a young kid throwing the football around. He was short and small compared to everyone else on the field. “Maybe he’s somebody’s son who gets to play on the field with the big guys,” I thought.

Asking for the largely unused binoculars, Rob confirmed his suspicions. “Yep, that’s Russell Wilson.”

Russell Wilson!?! The quarterback?!? That little kid out there in baggy sweatpants running around with the adults was WILSON, arguably one of the best quarterbacks playing in the NFL?!?

Yep, the more I watched him and then saw his face, it was indeed him. Teeny tiny Russell. I had no idea how much weight and bulk those pads add. Note to self: never ever wear football pads.

The warm-ups took about an hour. I kept looking around, wondering where all the fans were. The stadium looked pretty empty. Maybe since the Seahawks were favored to trounce the Cleveland Browns people weren’t planning to show up? Hard to believe, but then again that’s how we managed to get great seats without having to mortgage our house.

At least he didn't leave surprised

And then, much like the Katy Perry concert I dragged Rob to last year, the people came. 69,002 in total (Rob and I are claiming the 2). And nearly every last one of them sporting some sort of fan gear. Truly, I think I might have seen maybe six unspirited fans not paying their Official NFL Merchandise tithe.  Sinners.

Full house!

We had been warned that CenturyLink Field would be loud. And it was. But we never did put in our earplugs. While we both had good hats protecting our ears, we never felt like the decibels were getting dangerous.

Chatting later with a season ticket holder at the train station, he offered that the crowd was a bit subdued compared to many games. No seismic readings this time. So that is why our ears aren’t ringing today. Nevertheless, it was absolutely the noisiest sporting event I have ever attended.

The game lasted a little over three hours. No need for overtime. The first touchdown was by the Browns. The stadium was very quiet.

But all the rest of the TDs (3 more) were courtesy of the Seahawks. YAY!!!! Lots of cheers, screams, high-fives with strangers, fireworks off the top of the stadium. Minus the scampering cats, not all that different from our celebrations at Woodhaven really.

As much as I had worried about the back-friendliness of our seats, it ended up being wasted worry (like so much worry actually). The only time I actually sat down was during time outs and commercial breaks. Otherwise I was on my feet clapping and yelling. So really, we didn’t so much pay for the Balmers’ seats as the concrete in front of them.

I absolutely loved watching the game in person. I loved the energy of the crowd and the shared experience of many thousands of rabid fans. It was surreal to see my favorite players in person, life-sized, right in front of me. Rob is skeptical but I have no doubt that my favorite Richard Sherman looked at me and smiled.

This is right before he smiled at me and waved back

I even enjoyed the slurring swaying entertainment of the drunk guy in front of us. Wasted on IPAs instead of Bud, he was a Pacific Northwesterner through and through. Yes, the Full Football Experience.

There were a few downsides to the live, untelevised action, though.

For example, I couldn’t follow the ball nearly as well on my own without the TV camera crew guiding me. That Wilson is quite an accomplished faker.

I also missed the TV commentary to help me understand the game better. Rob knows football very well and he always answers my questions with depth and clarity. However, I realized yesterday that the TV commentators often answer questions I don’t know I have so I end up learning more.

I was also surprised by how much rest the players actually get between plays. It never really occurred to me at home that during commercials the players might just be standing around, relaxing, sipping water, laughing, discussing the next play, agreeing that candlesticks make nice wedding gifts, etc. Don’t get me wrong – these guys are all extraordinary athletes. I just didn’t realize they had a few more opportunities to catch their breath than what is presented on TV.

Richard behaving himself and chatting nicely with a ref during a commercial

I think the thing I missed most, though, was seeing what was going on on the sidelines. Our seats were on the visitors’ side and I really didn’t care about what the Brown were doing when they weren’t on the field. On the other side of the field, it was hard to see what Pete and the boys were doing…especially since they were all dressed in dark blue and sort of mushed together.

I missed seeing the facial expressions of players as calls or plays were made. I missed seeing Pete Carroll smile and “atta boy” Wilson after touchdowns. And I especially missed seeing my favorite cheerleader, Richard Sherman, pumping up the offense and giving props to his fellow defensives when due. One of the reasons I like Sherman so much is his passion. Although I could see it on the field, I missed seeing it on full display on the sidelines, too.

As we chugged our way home on the train, dry and happy and still glowing from a 30-13 win, Rob and I agreed that would we love to try to make this an annual thing. Maybe not a full weekend, but at least a full day of train and game and all things Seahawks.

Attending a game in person made me feel just a little more part of the family, a little more of a fan, a little more of a true 12 despite my years rooting for a different team.

Sorry again, Mom.

Almost as amazing as seeing the players in person was seeing
this Elton John impersonator that I always see on TV
True 12 all the way