Largent stays true to his ex-quarterback

No one is experiencing more vicarious Seahawks joy this season than Steve Largent, the franchise's pre-eminent alumnus.

"Some of it is the fact I am a Seahawk; I always played for the Seahawks, and I've loved the team for that reason," Largent said in a telephone interview. "Probably more than that, my best friend is [quarterback coach and former teammate] Jim Zorn.

"I call Jim every week and give him advice, which he probably ignores. It's really fun to see what the team is doing, and the way they're doing it."

For Largent, who has gone through an extremely trying health year, watching his old team from afar has also been therapeutic.

Largent, 51, is now based in Washington, D.C. as president of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, which lobbies Congress on behalf of the wireless industry.

He couldn't attend the Seahawks' NFC title game against Carolina because he underwent surgery the Friday before to repair a ruptured disk in his neck, an old football injury.

But far scarier to Largent was the stroke he suffered in April, a mind-boggling setback for a guy who retired as the NFL's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yardage and touchdown catches. Furthermore, he had kept himself in tip-top shape through four terms in Congress as a Republican representative in Oklahoma and an unsuccessful run for governor in 2002.

"I went to see a specialist at Johns Hopkins and asked, 'Can you explain why I had a stroke?' " Largent said. "He put me through tests and looked at my history and said, 'No. You're in great shape and you have zero cholesterol in your blood.' He said it's really an anomaly."

The good news is that Largent says he's fine now — "still not 100 percent, but so darned close, I can't tell."

He said the stroke took place in the thalamus in his brain, which is where the crossover from short-term to long-term memory takes place. Largent experienced memory loss, but says that almost all of his memory has returned.

"It didn't affect me physically at all," he said. "I was playing tennis the weekend after it happened. I just didn't remember playing tennis."

Throughout the ordeal, the Seahawks' success has provided a boost. Largent, who last offseason explored the possibility of returning to the Seahawks in a management capacity, raved about the work of the man they hired as president of football operations, Tim Ruskell.

"Of all the changes the Seahawks made, I really think having Tim in place on personnel decisions made a huge difference," he said. "No one's talked about that, but he brought in so many good people — people you'd never heard of that played good ball, especially on the defensive front."

Largent is still feeling some discomfort from his neck surgery, but he said nothing will stop him from attending the Super Bowl in Detroit. He'll arrive Friday, and he expects to see a Seattle victory.

"I think they're going to win," he said. "I think the Seahawks will do it. I think it will be close — Pittsburgh is excellent — but this is the Seahawks' year."

Largent said that as a player, he thought the Seahawks' best chance for the Super Bowl was in 1984, the season after they lost to the Raiders in the AFC title game.

"Then Curt Warner went down the first game of the year, and that hurt us," he said.

The Seahawks went 12-4 but lost the division title to Denver and were ousted in the second round of the playoffs by Miami.

Largent left politics after his narrow gubernatorial defeat in 2002, and he said he doesn't miss it.

"I was always a reluctant candidate," he said. "I loved it while I did it, but I was ready to do something else."

Largent has, however, advised ex-Steeler great Lynn Swann, another Hall of Fame wide receiver who is making a run for governor of Pennsylvania.

"I talked to him three or four months ago, gave him all my thoughts and wished him good luck," Largent said.

On Sunday, however, Largent will be rooting against Swann, a Steelers supporter. His hopes are pinned on the man who threw him passes, Zorn, and Zorn's top pupil, Matt Hasselbeck.

"Matt's played playoff-caliber ball the last two or three years," Largent pointed out. "They put people around him and the defense to put it all together. There's really a message in that. It takes more than just a great quarterback to get to the Super Bowl. You have to have the total package."