It's game day | 30 years and 2 weeks of waiting finally over
DETROIT — Outrageously outfitted Seahawks fans strutted about in horizontally blowing snow Saturday to begin the process of erasing a lifetime of Seattle being overlooked at Super Bowl time.
On a downtown corner, Cannonball, Kiltman, Painted Hawk, and Mr. & Mrs. Seahawk screamed, pointed, grunted, crouched and squawked at passers-by on foot and in cars, looking for converts.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans shook their heads and laughed.
Two Detroit cops gave thumbs up.
For too long, the Seattle Seahawks have been our little secret. But after today, the Hawk is out of the bag.
Two weeks of media-manufactured hype and 30 years of waiting are over. At 3:25 p.m., the Seahawks will line up against the Steelers — and images of our hometown team playing in Super Bowl XL will forever be etched in our minds.
"It's surreal, you know; it really is," Seahawks fan Martha Rikard said. Rikard and her husband, Josh MacLachlan, have been fans for a long time, and season-ticket holders the past six years.
"And, of course, he's been a fan his whole life," said MacLachlan, pointing to their son, Griffon, age 1. The Bellingham family trekked to Detroit with Nana (Cathy McCausland of Chehalis), who will take care of Griffon while his parents are at the game.
The NFL allocated the Seahawks about 11,000 tickets, 75 percent of which the team offered to season-ticket holders for $620 each through a weighted lottery system. Mac-
Lachlan and Rikard didn't win the lottery, so they bought two tickets in the nosebleed section from a broker for $2,500 a pop.
"I told Josh, 'Look, if we don't go, you get to say for the rest of our lives that we should have.' So here we are," Rikard said. "Besides, there's only one first time for making the Super Bowl."
Don't take this moment for granted, because it might not happen again anytime soon. Remember the New York Jets, who have been at this longer than the Seahawks, played in their first Super Bowl in 1969 — and haven't been back since.
The Seahawks, led by NFL MVP running back Shaun Alexander, enter today's game as the underdog even though they won a franchise-best 13 games in the regular season and coasted to a win over Carolina in the NFC Championship Game two weeks ago.
The Seahawks' failure to register on the national radar has as much to do with their unimpressive history as with Seattle's out-of-the-way geography. The team played 21 consecutive years without a playoff-game win until finally breaking the curse this season.
The Steelers have a vaunted past that includes four Super Bowl rings — although the last one was fitted back in 1980, when Jack Patera was coaching the Seahawks.
Pittsburgh impressively won three playoff games on the road to get here. Veteran running back Jerome Bettis is likely playing his last professional game today in his hometown — making the Steelers the sentimental favorite in Detroit and beyond.
By all accounts, Seahawks players seem to be reveling in the disregard. They're loose and feel like they have nothing to lose — which just might help them win.
Seahawks radio play-by-play announcer Steve Raible said he has not scripted what he will say when the game is over — words that, if the Seahawks win, will be replayed for generations and become part of Seattle's aural history.
"I don't write lines down for things like that," said Raible, whose history with the team dates back to the beginning when he was a rookie wide receiver. "When the clock goes to all zeros, and if the Seahawks are the winners, it might be a little tough to not get emotional because it's been 30 years.
"My friend Jimmy Zorn will be standing on that sideline. Steve Largent will be here in Detroit for the game. Many of us have been Seahawks longer than we've been anything else in our lives."
Many Seahawks fans can say the same thing. Mike Jernquist, 35, of Auburn has his Seahawks Booster Club charter-member card from 1976 to prove his years of loyal service. He'll be watching today's game with family and friends on his new big-screen TV, a compromise with his wife for not spending a fortune to attend the game in person.
On the day the Seahawks won the NFC championship, Jernquist carried with him a copy of a picture that his best friend, Corey Nevers, drew for him when they both were 7. Illustrating a get-well letter, the drawing depicts a football game between the Seahawks and the Steelers. Jernquist said he knew it would prove prophetic.
Our teams are a part of us. And, as Ken Behring learned in 1996 when he tried to move the Seahawks to Anaheim, you just can't take them away.
"What does a sports team do for a city?" asked Wes Bailey, 36, who moved nine months ago to Portland from Seattle and is in Detroit for the game with three of his buddies. "Just look at the amount of attention the Super Bowl has given the city of Seattle. The reason you hear about Seattle getting no respect in other parts of the country is because we're tucked away in a little corner. Well, the Super Bowl puts you on the map."
One of Bailey's pals, John Paddleford of Renton, expected to get little sleep Saturday night — "I'm thinking we might get a little bit of beer in us" — and is pretty much ruling sleep out for tonight if the Seahawks win.
"I have a noon flight out on Monday and I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to make it," he said.
Before kickoff, Stevie Wonder will perform and the national anthem will be sung by Aretha Franklin, Aaron Neville and Dr. John. The Rolling Stones will play a 45-minute halftime show.
The Super Bowl is the highest rated TV program of the year in the U.S., with more than 130 million viewers expected to tune in to at least a portion of the broadcast and an average of about 90 million watching at any given time. Hundreds of millions more people across the globe also will watch. ABC-TV is charging advertisers an average of $2.5 million for a 30-second spot. In the Pacific Northwest, though, the commercials will be a sideshow. The game is what counts.
For years to come, most of us will be telling our kids and grandkids, our friends and rivals, where we were on that Sunday in February when the Seattle Seahawks played (and, we hope, beat) the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL. Whether we witnessed it from a seat high up in the corner of Ford Field or in the comfort of a living room in Auburn.
From Barrow to Boise to Bend and back, the Pacific Northwest has waited. At last, it's our turn to watch — and be watched.
Stuart Eskenazi: 206-464-2293 or seskenazi@seattletimes.com
Super Bowl "emergency shelters"
Your house has no juice? Your TV is blank! And you have no heat. Don't panic. Head for a nearby bar or restaurant that survived Saturday's windstorm.
Here are a few possibilities, but remember to get there really early. The following don't require reservations, don't charge a cover and don't cost an arm and a leg. They'll also take kids or your underage friends.
Smart organizers always send someone to line up first, then meet up before the doors open so you can grab a table.
Fox Sports Grill
Don't sweat it if you missed the $65-a-head reservations; there's still plenty of space to be had. In fact, Fox Sports Grill (with 32 screens, the largest a 10-footer) is holding more than 300 seats — and standing room for about 150 — for us common folk. If you get there early, make a beeline for one of the 40-plus tables downstairs (they'll comfortably hold parties of four to 10), a seat at the bar or one of the cush couches upstairs. Breakfast will be served. All ages in the dining room and upstairs lounge until 10 p.m., 21-and-over only in the bar, doors open at 9:30 a.m. today; Fox Sports Grill, 1522 Sixth Ave., Seattle; free (206-340-1369 or www.foxsportsgrill.com/seattle).
What happened last time: Before the NFC Championship Game, doors opened at 9:30 a.m. and the place filled by 11.
Tip: "Just get here early. Because once we're full, nobody's gonna be getting up or leaving," says lead hostess Jenny Murdzia. This goes double for anyone who's bringing under-21s.
Jillian's
It's strictly first come, first served at Jillian's, where no reservations were offered beforehand. There'll be enough seats for about 500 people, and standing room for nearly 300. They've covered up 17 pool tables and added two satellite bars so you can get your fill of the plays on any of the 34 televisions — the biggest one's a 60-incher. All-ages until 9 p.m., 21-and-over only in front of the bars, doors open at noon today; Jillian's, 731 Westlake Ave. N., Seattle; free (206-223-0300 or www.jilliansbilliards.com, go to "Seattle" under "Locations").
What happened last time: By 2 o'clock, the place was packed.
Tip: "Be here when the doors open," says manager Adam Riehl. There are two entrances where you can line up: on Westlake or Ninth. And if you plan to drink, be ready with your ID so they can check it and tag you with a wristband.
Ram Restaurant & Brewery
Except for the 12 won during the 12th Man contest online, none of the 515 seats at the Ram are currently being held by anyone. There are 18 screens (the 10-footer's the biggest), comfy booths and seating with great views of the tellys. All ages until 10 p.m., 21-and-over only in the bar, doors open at 9 a.m. today; Ram Restaurant & Brewery, 2650 University Village Plaza N.E., Seattle; free (206-525-3565 or www.theram.com).
What happened last time: For the NFC championship, the place was full by 10 o'clock.
Tip: There are two doors where you can line up, says assistant manager Brent Baird. The back entrance — on the east side of the building — is for the bar, with self-seating for those who are 21-and-over. Use the main dining-room entrance — on the west side — if there's anyone under 21 in your party. There'll be a hostess to seat you.
Rocksport Bar & Grill
The phone's been ringing off the hook, but they don't take reservations here. Just get in line at the Rocksport, where they've always had a first-come, first-served philosophy. You'll find plenty of seating and 18 screens — the largest, a 16-foot wall-sized rear-projection JumboTron — in this huge venue. They've already covered pool tables with plywood and fabric to create additional seating. All ages; doors open at 10 a.m. today; Rocksport Bar & Grill, 4209 S.W. Alaska St., Seattle; free (206-935-5838 or www.rocksport.net).
Tip: "We do anticipate people getting here early and establishing seating arrangements," said owner Darren Ahlf. "And our goal is to accommodate everybody."
Judy Chia Hui Hsu