Notrichenough summed it up well. I don’t think they’re “thugs” nor that Sherman is (and that word carries a lot of baggage, too; not good to use it) but I agree that Sherman is obnoxious as a public persona. I’m sure he’s a nice guy in private and I don’t care.
The whole smugness about the 12th man thing and the stadium designed for it – so beyond sick of it.
And that people dislike the Seahawks because Seattle is extra special? I got nothing against Seattle itself, but that assertion goes with the whole smug thing.
Got it. So people find Sherman to me obnoxious and “thuglike” or some other less loaded word and find the fans to be smug and obnoxious as well. That makes more sense than the whole team are thugs and are out to hurt people and cause injuries.
As someone who knows very little about football I’ll give you my input.
The Hawks sponsor a race I participated in once and got a good quality, free T-shirt at that fits. I’ve worn it many times, and people smile here when you wear Seahawks apparel. I like that.
About all I knew about football a couple of years ago is that they need to run toward the proper goal posts or there’s a problem. Oh, and I enjoyed my experience selling concessions. A club I was in ran the concessions stand at football games when I was in college.
So (sorry about the “so” for all those who hate sentences beginning with “so” ), last season we would on occasion go to a local eating establishment during happy hour to get the fondue and idly watch what was coming up on the screen. Mid-cheese drip (yes, it happens) and absently gazing at Seahawks who were doing okay that day, not their best performance, I noticed one player stood out. He was enthusiastic, into it. What’s that number? 25. Who is that? Richard Sherman. They got it together in the second half and won the game, btw.
I started paying more attention to the games and learned a little more about football. I’m still pretty clueless. My husband likes that the times we’ve watched, Sherman puts in effort. H has played football. He appreciates what it takes.
From what I’ve seen, Richard Sherman is still young, growing, thinking about his future. The team works together. They have a number of players who are interesting to watch. The community is excited about the Seahawks. I was living in the heart of Seahawk-land, many Seahawks fans, right?, and interestingly enough, there may be just as many if not more people wearing Seahawks apparel, etc, where I live now. It would be difficult to not pick up on at least some of the enthusiasm happening around here.
I don’t think Sherman is a thug. (I think that term is border-line racist; how many white players have ever been called thugs?) He is smart and articulate, and actually took advantage of his free education (at Stanford, where he had a 3.9 GPA!) to get a degree and graduate. He is putting his communications degree to good use.
And I’d be happy if he played for my team, because he is a great player, and you overlook a lot of sins when it is about your team.
Funny Deborah, our son who is not a sports watcher wears his blue and green for Blue Friday. Last year one of his buddies teased him about jumping on the bandwagon. DS’s response was, “how can you NOT jump on the bandwagon? - it’s a happy thing” Last year on Superbowl Sunday his music rehearsal on Capitol Hill was shifted early to not interfere with the game. We were driving up 23rd heading east with “Can’t Hold Us” blaring. It was an uncharacteristic sunny, perfect day and all at once the plane trailing the 12 flag flew over the city and an eagle was soaring at the hill break over downtown! The mountains were out and it was one of those perfect moments that made it fun to be on the bandwagon - how could you not be? B-)
So . . . while I see how it can grate on others and get tiresome, the bandwagon of the 12s is actually a happy feel good community thing and not meant to be an in your face nasty thing. That may not be comforting or make it less annoying but there it is.
as I continue to annoy everyone by going on ad nauseam
The Seahawks supporters here are good people, and not smug. I think there is some truth to the idea that “regular folk” from elsewhere might not gravitate to a team in a city like Seattle. One of the reason people from outside Wisconsin like the Packers is because of the general perception of humility around the team and the fans. Public ownership, a blue-collar city that has seen better days, an outdoor stadium in a hostile climate, fans who pitch in and help, the Lambeau leap, Vince Lombardi, the unpretentious attitude of people from the state…all of these things seem to be good reasons for people to respect the team no matter where they live.
I agree with everything you said except the regular folks not gravitating to Seattle. The Seahawks are also the team of Alaska, most of Oregon and most of Idaho and most of Montana. Some southern Oregonians root SF and some southern Idaho types root Denver. A surprising number of Alaskans and Canadians come down for games.
Locally Paul Allen has used the Seahawks to rehabilitate his reputation.
On another note our right tackle is likely out with an injured knee - the only other option is a guy who has never played there as the back up right tackle is already on IR.
Don’t most teams have a dedicated sports stadium?
Serious question.
I do like that the fans own the Packers. That seems appropriate for a Scandinavian ( originally) influenced city like Seattle where co-operatives are big.
Plus we paid for most of the stadium, anyway. People used to bitch about the Kingdome too( or as my then 5 yr old called it, " the Kingdom".
It was very loud.
Plus, what’s wrong with fans cheering? Isn’t that expected? People who don’t yell at sporting events probably expect to sit down and still see at a rock concert.
I knew Richard Sherman a tiny bit when he was in college and he was the opposite of a “thug”. He worked some at the on campus elementary school and the kids and families loved him…He couldn’t have been a nicer kid. I think his NFL persona, for better or worse, is branding. He knows that your time in the NFL is short, and can end with one bad injury. He is marketing himself for the next step. You might not like all he says and does, but you certainly know who he is.
One of my friends’ kids was one of the Packers bike kids. Such a cool tradition. As is the fans shoveling the snow off the bleachers every week. You gotta love the Packers. No. I mean it. You’ve GOT TO love the Packers. lol. But there were years when they were not good AND when they had some questionable players. People joked that the reason Lambeau was close to the state prison was so the players could walk to work.
All teams go through cycles, dependent on their draft strategy, leadership and coaching.
You guys should see Bart Starr’s house (where he still lives, though he’s ill). You wouldn’t believe it. One of those tiny 60s ranches. And you can tailgate at almost anyone’s house near Lambeau (which is smack dab in the middle of a residential area) for 10-20 dollars including parking. You just go into their garages and they feed you real food. It’s hilarious.
There are a LOT of people in our Chicago suburban area that HATE the Packers. I mean hate. One FB friend I have always refers to them as the Pukers. When I was growing up in Houston, and we were trained to hate the Cowboys, I never saw this level of hatred of the Packers. Interestingly, there are a lot of closet Packers fans around me, too. Some more closeted than others. But considering we live halfway between Milwaukee and Chicago, I guess it’s about right.
One thing the Bears can never take away from the Packers no matter how well or badly either team is doing, is the history - the Packers have played in their original city longer than any other NFL team; (they are the third oldest franchise in the NFL - about the same as the Bears); they are the smallest professional sports market in the country, yet have one of the widest fan bases across the country. I suspect those Chicago Bears fans who hate the Packers also don’t like the fact that the Packers have won more league championships than any other team, and one more Super Bowl game than the Bears.
Yes, I suspected it was a joke, which is why I capitalized HATE. There is no better description than a capitalized HATE. I can’t think of much in my life that I hate so much, and if I did, it sure doesn’t come up in every day discussions. This is the kind of hate that intrudes on one’s life. For the life of me, I can’t imagine why anyone would hate something like a football team with such vengeance.
Not like? Sure.
Hope they lose? Sure.
But to carry around that kind of feeling about a sports team, I don’t get.
A lot of guys are doing their own branding now. They are active on social media, have their own merch with their own logos and keep active blogs. They also help out with each other’s foundations. They are trying to control their own income stream more so the NFL doesn’t get all the money from their names. I think a lot of it is an offshoot of the NCAA no autograph thing. All of these guys on all the teams have been NCAA and NFL pawns and they are trying to reclaim their destinies to a degree to the consternation of the NFL. Our now retired fullback, Michael Robinson, started doing video blogs called The Real Rob Report which are very popular. He was Marshawn’s bestie and would get great material. When he retired he went straight into broadcasting so he is still making a living. He was never a big contract guy but he created his post NFL career destiny by controlling his own communications as much as he could.
Wait, you mean people don’t like the Seahawks? Funny, I travel all over the place, talk to people from many different states, never heard anyone say they didn’t like the Seahawks. In fact, they might say that team X is their team, but Seattle is a classy team and they really like the coach. It’s an interesting thing in Seattle. People here don’t seem to have any grudge against any other team, but they LOVE the Seahawks. They love the players, the coaches. And while they are incredibly loud while cheering, you aren’t going to see people beat up or shot in the parking lot for wearing the wrong t-shirt or cheering for the wrong team. I think they are just incredibly, obliviously, in love with their team, as opposed to hating anybody else.
And yeah, we know people might be jealous because this is a beautiful, happy place to live…though I don’t think because of the “forward thinking voters!” I have lived so many places, and this is by far the best. Though I do wish it would stop raining right now!!
), last season we would on occasion go to a local eating establishment during happy hour to get the fondue and idly watch what was coming up on the screen. Mid-cheese drip (yes, it happens) and absently gazing at Seahawks who were doing okay that day, not their best performance, I noticed one player stood out. He was enthusiastic, into it. What’s that number? 25. Who is that? Richard Sherman. They got it together in the second half and won the game, btw.
