Seahawks' Welcome Home Celebration

I went down to the "Welcome back Seahawks celebration" at the football stadium in Seattle yesterday and here is what I observed. First of all, it was a beautiful sunny day and inspite of the rain we get (it is truly not as bad as out of townees think) I thought of how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful city with mountains, water, hunting and fishing in our backyards. I hear that in Pittsburgh (this is not sour grapes) that if a person puts too much oil on their skin the soot from the steel factories will stick to it. Sometimes it is so thick and dark that the street lights come on automatically at noon. I'm sure there are good things about living in Pittsburgh, too, but I just can't think of anything!! When fans were greeted at the gate the ushers were very kind and handed out free 12Th Man flags and Seahawks beads to everyone. They all wore legitimate natural smiles of optimism on their faces. Most fans, like myself, had some kind of shirt or hat just to show you were a Seahawk fan. Many families showed up all dressed up and taken out of school for the afternoon's celebration. We all watched the Seahawks' jet fly over Qwest Field and some fans swore they could see Shawn Alexander waving to us as the chanting of "refs suck, refs suck..." filled the stadium. We all knew we had at least a half hour before the players would be at the stadium after that. I think what struck me the most was the feeling I got from a big percent of the fans that they lived and breathed the Seahawks and the winning and being part of something was very important in their lives. In many cases the only thing in their lives! I saw tears well up in the eyes of many when the players, all of them, walked along the stadium giving high-fives and shaking fans' hands and signing autographs. We all know that no matter, if you are rich or poor or in between, we all have days of heaven and hell. All in all it was a good thing for the fans and they all were smiling and buying Seahawks hats and T-shirts (including myself) and really do believe we will make it again next year. Some Superbowl facts: Seahawks lost 161 yards on penalties (70) and flags wiped out (91). By half-time alone we trailed 7-3 and had 73 hard-earned yards and a touch-down eliminated. In the game, Seattle had almost 400 total yards and would have had 560 total yards and won the football game, if it wasn't for the refs. Must admit, we still should have won even if the whole world was against us. As much as I like Jerome Bettis, I felt the game was more about him getting his ring. Kind of like when most of the country wanted John Elway to get his Super Bowl ring before his career ended. At least he got his legitimately! Last night David Letterman asked quarterback of the Steelers Ben Roethlisberger if he thought he made the touchdown. Ben said "no" and even told his coaches that. Life goes on and fish are always biting (not true) but, fishing will set your mind free. Cheers, Joe