The Opportunity Of A Lifetime

So here we are, on the precipice of the Seahawks second-ever Super Bowl appearance.

But this one feels different.

In 2005-2006 it was all so new, so unexpected.  I just enjoyed the ride.  Every win was a celebration.  Losing to the Steelers tore me up, and I carried that around with me for weeks, but here's the difference.....

Back then it all seemed so easy.  I, like most other 12's at the time, thought we would just get back again the next year and win it, right?  Hell, that's what Lofa Tatupu told us was going to happen!!!  Why wouldn't we believe him?

But now I'm older (much older) and presumably wiser.  I have a greater understanding of how fleeting life can be and how it can change in an instant.  This team is in much better shape to make a sustained run then the aging, patchwork group of 8 years ago.  They're younger, stronger, faster.... better.  Much better.  But there's no guarantee that Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman and their teammates will ever see another Super Bowl in Seahawk blue.  Injuries can happen, egos can expand, coaches leave for other opportunities.  And then there's this:  football is hard.  NFL football is REALLY hard, and the Seahawks now play in the toughest division in football.  The Cardinals won 10 games and missed the playoffs and the Rams are on the rise, armed with talent, a shrewd front office, and a crapload of high draft picks in their pocket.  Next year you could go 11-5 in the NFC West and not make the post-season.  Forget the dynasty talk, there are no guarantees.  It's easy to think that this is just the start of something for this group, the youngest in the league.  But potentially, it could just as likely be a last chance.

Do I believe that it will be?  No.... but I won't let that temper my enthusiasm for what lies ahead on Sunday.  I've been accused of taking my sports too seriously by some, and I suspect they are right.  It's become more than just a hobby, a fun affiliation, the excitement of the game day atmosphere.  Somewhere along the line it became a thirst.  Shortly after the Red Sox broke their championship drought in 2004, ESPN's Bill Simmons (a lifelong Sox fan) wrote that there was a certain lifetime relief getting that ONE title.  It didn't dampen his desire for more championships, he wrote, but knowing that he got to experience that one title by his beloved team, he could more easily handle any future disappointment any time the Red Sox came up short.  I thought about that column in 2006, and I've had it on my mind a lot this week as well.  Maybe that's why I'm at such a fever pitch.  I feel the do-or-die nature of this game.  I was 13 when the Sonics won their championship in 1979.  I remember sneaking into our den to listen to Game 7 on our old cabinet stereo (because it was after bedtime and my parents weren't big sports fans).  I remember the pure excitement I felt when "we" won, but it was fleeting.  When you're 13 you think it'll happen again, and again.  I thought there would be many more championship celebrations with the Sonics, Mariners and Seahawks.  How naïve I was.

I had hoped this would be the year I'd get back into my blog full time.  I was going to write about each and every game and have my artist buddy Omar create a cartoon for each matchup.  I KNEW this year had the potential to be special, and I wanted to document it in the event it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  But life got in the way.

So here we are.  A Seahawks loss puts us back at square one.  An offseason of "what if's" and draft picks and wringing our hands over free-agent gains and losses.  And then the grind begins.  Every week, every play, every game a fight in the bloodiest division in football.  Maybe we will get back again and finally take home the Lombardi Trophy in Glendale, AZ.  Maybe.

Or.... perhaps we win.  We dance in the streets.  We cry.  We get lifetime bragging rights. We get to buy the SPORTS ILLUSTRATED COMMEORATIVE VIDEO!!!  It will be something we can hold onto for the rest of our lives.

I know there are a lot of 12's out there who are new to this, and I'll never be one of those who demeans or criticizes "new fans."  The more, the merrier.  But I'm old enough to have experienced a lifetime of sports disappointments:  Sonics leaving, Mariners collapse in 2001, Super Bowl loss in 2006, The Cougs........

Maybe I do place too much importance on sports.  Maybe I want this too much.  But I'm not apologizing to anyone for that.  My love for the Seahawks is not a choice at this point, it's part of who I am.

I can't wait for Sunday.

Go Hawks.