My mind has taken me to some pretty strange places over the years. But never in my wildest imaginings could I have envisioned sitting in a packed Lumen Field, with the crowd thunderously chanting “Geno! Geno! Geno!” again and again and again. This certainly wasn’t on my bingo card for 2022. Yet there I was. Of course, I’m talking about the Seahawks season opener against the Denver Broncos, a Monday Night Football smackdown, featuring the return of Russell Wilson and the vengeance of a scorned fanbase.
The evening was all kinds of weird, but mostly wonderful.
I was initially planning to watch the game on TV but stumbled upon an affordable ticket the day before the game. Interestingly, I thought I’d be sitting with the acquaintances I bought the ticket from, but I never saw them. My guess is they had seats elsewhere. So, I sat in the last row of the Sherpa section, with empty seats on either side of me. That was the first weird thing that happened and the first time I’ve gone to a Seahawks game alone.
I arrived at the field early. I wanted to see the sights, vibe with the fans and revel in the joyful energy of the day. Regardless of the anticipated drama of this particular game, it was also the start of the 2022 Seahawks season. This alone is inherently blissful. And I was there for it.
It was a bit jarring to see all the Denver fans in their orange Russell Wilson jerseys. It triggered little pings of grief. (I have some thoughts about RW’s departure. I’ll get to that later.) There was one fan with a bright orange jersey with the number three and the words “Seahawk forever.” I wasn’t sure how to interpret that. There were plenty of Seahawk jerseys, many from players no longer with the team like Bobby Wagner, Shaun Alexander and Richard Sherman, whose jersey I still have. One fan was wearing an Eason jersey. Um, okay. I didn’t even know they made those.
The scene around the field was the usual pre-game madness: Blue Thunder banging away, fans tricked out in blue and green adornment, packed beer gardens, and the familiar and beloved call and response chant of “SEA….HAWKS!” It was intoxicating. I was home.
I was moving through security when I heard the first round of booing. Given the timing, I figured the teams- specifically, Wilson and the Broncos-had jogged out on the field for warmups. The energy inside the stadium was just as raucous as outside. After making a pass through Touchdown City, a fan carnival extraordinaire, I made the long hike up to my seat. As the stadium slowly filled, the mania steadily grew. I could scour dictionaries and thesauruses for weeks and would still be challenged to find the right words to describe the experience of Lumen Field that night. Perhaps a “phantasmagoric looney bin crawling with highly-caffeinated, unquestionably deranged human/hyena hybrids, howling and growling at eardrum-crushing decibels” will suffice. This was the loudest situation I’ve ever been in, and I felt it on a cellular level all night long. The physical sensation of noise pulsating through my body was just bizarre. Another weird.
When Wilson and the Broncos came out on the field for the start of the game, the crowd unleashed the next wave of booing that would ultimately continue, off and on, the rest of the night. I booed a little but mostly just yelled when the Broncos offense was on the field, something I do routinely with any opposing team. Despite how awful it felt, I initially didn’t have a problem with Russell Wilson’s desire to be traded. The relationship between RW and the Seahawks seemed to be crumbling for the same reason romantic unions often do- each side wanted something different. In this case, there were incompatible philosophies around offense. However, it was the way the trade happened that changed how I felt about Russell Wilson. During the early part of the off-season, he made several remarks to the press about how he wanted to stay in Seattle forever, work things out, win more Super Bowls, blah, blah, blah. While Russell was bullshitting the fan base, his agent Mark Rodgers was in active communications with multiple other teams. (I’ve heard as many as fourteen.) After the trade was announced, Russell left the city and the fan base with a single Tweet: “Thanks, Seattle.” And then he was out, off to his new team and his new city. “Let’s ride.” This series of events made me question Russell Wilson’s authenticity. My gut feel is that his relationship with Seattle and fans was more curated than sincere. A recent article by ESPN’s Brady Henderson somewhat bolstered my suspicions. I’m not sure we ever really knew Russell Wilson.
Enough about him. Let’s get back to the weird and the wonderful.
Aside from being indecisive at the concession stand and on staircases, the Broncos fans were mostly innocuous. Unfortunately, there was one notable exception. About two or three minutes into the first quarter, I was watching the game, yelling along with the 12’s, eating kettle corn and minding my own business when a drunken Broncos fan suddenly appeared a few inches from my face. He was angry over something to do with Russell Wilson and most definitely looking for a fight. I told him I could barely hear him and to leave me alone. He kept on raging but turned his attention to the dudes in the seats in front of me, German Seahawk fans who had come to town for the game. Drunken Broncos dude screamed that they “aren’t even from Seattle.” I threw my hands up in a “what the fuck does that matter?” gesture and told him to shut up and go back to his seat, which was across the aisle. Prior to that odd exchange, I was completely unaware of the guy and hadn’t interacted with him at all. Drunken Broncos dude went on all night and tried to pick fights with multiple people. I ignored him. And he’s not worth more details here except to say that he added to the overall weirdness of the evening.
And now the wonderful: Seahawks 17- Broncos 16.
Given how low our collective expectations were for this game (and maybe even this Seahawks team), this victory was all the sweeter. And there were so many things to be excited about.
Geno Smith showed up like a boss. He took care of the ball, managed the game nicely, scrambled when he had to and threw for two touchdowns. I’ll admit I sold the man short and was happily surprised at what I saw. The rest of the fan base obviously felt the same. Big picture, I don’t know what Geno’s ceiling is. But I’m much more interested in finding out now.
The rookies did really well. Penalties were not as frequent as I thought they’d be. And even when they drew them, I was okay with it. Tariq Woolen, for example, got two pass interference calls. What I saw was a promising and hungry young corner, giving it his all. He’ll learn and evolve. On the other side of the ball, I loved the performance from the rookies on the o-line. Yeah, they got beat a few time- two sacks and some hits on Geno- but they mostly held the line pretty well, with a minimum of penalties.
Finally, the Seattle defense was fire. And man, they took the “bend don’t break” thing to a whole other level, stopping the Broncos in the red zone three times, twice at the goal line. Uchenna Nwosu was a beast, racking up seven tackles and sack, and was named the NFC defensive player of the week. If this defense continues at this level of play, we’re going to have a lot of fun this season. One bummer note: Jamal Adams is out for the season with a torn quadricep. Jamal is such a special player, and we’ve yet to have him for a full season. This is a huge loss for everyone. Dammit.
The end of the game was inexplicable. Rather than let is $250 million dollar quarterback go for it on 4 and 5, Nathaniel Hackett opted to let his kicker Brandon McManus give it a go at 64 yards. He missed. It was the only moment of the evening when I felt a little sad for Russell Wilson. However, the sight of Marquis Goodwin doing backflips during the Seahawks’ victory formation quickly squelched that.
Before the season started, my expectations for my team were measured. My hope was that if they were destined to have a losing season, then they would at least get the win against the Broncos. They got the win. My wish was granted. But my expectations are shifting. Maybe things will be better than we thought. Maybe Geno Smith and the Seahawks will continue to defy the gloomy narrative and treat us to a fairy tale season. Maybe I’m nuts. Time will tell. Perhaps even this coming Sunday will tell. But at week one, we’re leading the NCF West. I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts, however short or long that may be.
“They wrote me off. I ain’t wrote back though.”- Geno Smith
My mind has taken me to some pretty strange places over the years. But never in my wildest imaginings could I have envisioned sitting in a packed Lumen Field, with the crowd thunderously chanting “Geno! Geno! Geno!” again and again and again. This certainly wasn’t on my bingo card for 2022. Yet there I was. Of course, I’m talking about the Seahawks season opener against the Denver Broncos, a Monday Night Football smackdown, featuring the return of Russell Wilson and the vengeance of a scorned fanbase.
The evening was all kinds of weird, but mostly wonderful.
I was initially planning to watch the game on TV but stumbled upon an affordable ticket the day before the game. Interestingly, I thought I’d be sitting with the acquaintances I bought the ticket from, but I never saw them. My guess is they had seats elsewhere. So, I sat in the last row of the Sherpa section, with empty seats on either side of me. That was the first weird thing that happened and the first time I’ve gone to a Seahawks game alone.
I arrived at the field early. I wanted to see the sights, vibe with the fans and revel in the joyful energy of the day. Regardless of the anticipated drama of this particular game, it was also the start of the 2022 Seahawks season. This alone is inherently blissful. And I was there for it.
It was a bit jarring to see all the Denver fans in their orange Russell Wilson jerseys. It triggered little pings of grief. (I have some thoughts about RW’s departure. I’ll get to that later.) There was one fan with a bright orange jersey with the number three and the words “Seahawk forever.” I wasn’t sure how to interpret that. There were plenty of Seahawk jerseys, many from players no longer with the team like Bobby Wagner, Shaun Alexander and Richard Sherman, whose jersey I still have. One fan was wearing an Eason jersey. Um, okay. I didn’t even know they made those.
The scene around the field was the usual pre-game madness: Blue Thunder banging away, fans tricked out in blue and green adornment, packed beer gardens, and the familiar and beloved call and response chant of “SEA….HAWKS!” It was intoxicating. I was home.
I was moving through security when I heard the first round of booing. Given the timing, I figured the teams- specifically, Wilson and the Broncos-had jogged out on the field for warmups. The energy inside the stadium was just as raucous as outside. After making a pass through Touchdown City, a fan carnival extraordinaire, I made the long hike up to my seat. As the stadium slowly filled, the mania steadily grew. I could scour dictionaries and thesauruses for weeks and would still be challenged to find the right words to describe the experience of Lumen Field that night. Perhaps a “phantasmagoric looney bin crawling with highly-caffeinated, unquestionably deranged human/hyena hybrids, howling and growling at eardrum-crushing decibels” will suffice. This was the loudest situation I’ve ever been in, and I felt it on a cellular level all night long. The physical sensation of noise pulsating through my body was just bizarre. Another weird.
When Wilson and the Broncos came out on the field for the start of the game, the crowd unleashed the next wave of booing that would ultimately continue, off and on, the rest of the night. I booed a little but mostly just yelled when the Broncos offense was on the field, something I do routinely with any opposing team. Despite how awful it felt, I initially didn’t have a problem with Russell Wilson’s desire to be traded. The relationship between RW and the Seahawks seemed to be crumbling for the same reason romantic unions often do- each side wanted something different. In this case, there were incompatible philosophies around offense. However, it was the way the trade happened that changed how I felt about Russell Wilson. During the early part of the off-season, he made several remarks to the press about how he wanted to stay in Seattle forever, work things out, win more Super Bowls, blah, blah, blah. While Russell was bullshitting the fan base, his agent Mark Rodgers was in active communications with multiple other teams. (I’ve heard as many as fourteen.) After the trade was announced, Russell left the city and the fan base with a single Tweet: “Thanks, Seattle.” And then he was out, off to his new team and his new city. “Let’s ride.” This series of events made me question Russell Wilson’s authenticity. My gut feel is that his relationship with Seattle and fans was more curated than sincere. A recent article by ESPN’s Brady Henderson somewhat bolstered my suspicions. I’m not sure we ever really knew Russell Wilson.
Enough about him. Let’s get back to the weird and the wonderful.
Aside from being indecisive at the concession stand and on staircases, the Broncos fans were mostly innocuous. Unfortunately, there was one notable exception. About two or three minutes into the first quarter, I was watching the game, yelling along with the 12’s, eating kettle corn and minding my own business when a drunken Broncos fan suddenly appeared a few inches from my face. He was angry over something to do with Russell Wilson and most definitely looking for a fight. I told him I could barely hear him and to leave me alone. He kept on raging but turned his attention to the dudes in the seats in front of me, German Seahawk fans who had come to town for the game. Drunken Broncos dude screamed that they “aren’t even from Seattle.” I threw my hands up in a “what the fuck does that matter?” gesture and told him to shut up and go back to his seat, which was across the aisle. Prior to that odd exchange, I was completely unaware of the guy and hadn’t interacted with him at all. Drunken Broncos dude went on all night and tried to pick fights with multiple people. I ignored him. And he’s not worth more details here except to say that he added to the overall weirdness of the evening.
And now the wonderful: Seahawks 17- Broncos 16.
Given how low our collective expectations were for this game (and maybe even this Seahawks team), this victory was all the sweeter. And there were so many things to be excited about.
Geno Smith showed up like a boss. He took care of the ball, managed the game nicely, scrambled when he had to and threw for two touchdowns. I’ll admit I sold the man short and was happily surprised at what I saw. The rest of the fan base obviously felt the same. Big picture, I don’t know what Geno’s ceiling is. But I’m much more interested in finding out now.
The rookies did really well. Penalties were not as frequent as I thought they’d be. And even when they drew them, I was okay with it. Tariq Woolen, for example, got two pass interference calls. What I saw was a promising and hungry young corner, giving it his all. He’ll learn and evolve. On the other side of the ball, I loved the performance from the rookies on the o-line. Yeah, they got beat a few time- two sacks and some hits on Geno- but they mostly held the line pretty well, with a minimum of penalties.
Finally, the Seattle defense was fire. And man, they took the “bend don’t break” thing to a whole other level, stopping the Broncos in the red zone three times, twice at the goal line. Uchenna Nwosu was a beast, racking up seven tackles and sack, and was named the NFC defensive player of the week. If this defense continues at this level of play, we’re going to have a lot of fun this season. One bummer note: Jamal Adams is out for the season with a torn quadricep. Jamal is such a special player, and we’ve yet to have him for a full season. This is a huge loss for everyone. Dammit.
The end of the game was inexplicable. Rather than let is $250 million dollar quarterback go for it on 4 and 5, Nathaniel Hackett opted to let his kicker Brandon McManus give it a go at 64 yards. He missed. It was the only moment of the evening when I felt a little sad for Russell Wilson. However, the sight of Marquis Goodwin doing backflips during the Seahawks’ victory formation quickly squelched that.
Before the season started, my expectations for my team were measured. My hope was that if they were destined to have a losing season, then they would at least get the win against the Broncos. They got the win. My wish was granted. But my expectations are shifting. Maybe things will be better than we thought. Maybe Geno Smith and the Seahawks will continue to defy the gloomy narrative and treat us to a fairy tale season. Maybe I’m nuts. Time will tell. Perhaps even this coming Sunday will tell. But at week one, we’re leading the NCF West. I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts, however short or long that may be.
“They wrote me off. I ain’t wrote back though.”- Geno Smith
