Will the Last One Out Please Shut the Door?

The day after the Super Bowl is always a difficult day for me. You see, I love football. And most of you know that I love Seahawks football. I grew up watching football with my grandfather, so I have so many wonderful memories with him, and even though he has been gone way too many years, every game he crosses my mind. So when I had the chance to buy season tickets for my husband that first Christmas we were together, I jumped at the chance. So back in 2006 I got our name on the wait list. Back then it was a two-year wait for tickets. I remember crossing our fingers that first year hoping for a miracle and that we would finally get our tickets. We didn't...so the next year was the same thing. Crossing our fingers and hoping it would be the year we would get our tickets. It was! And Then I found out I was pregnant with Amelia. The last thing I wanted to do was haul my pregnant self up all those flights of stairs. So Brian took friends. And I watched from home.

The next season came around. I had a baby. I just couldn't leave her. So again Brian took friends. And I watched from home. And this continued for a few years where I would make excuses to not go and let my husband take friends. One game, Brian couldn't go. I sold them to this girl named Kristi. She took a friend. Then, the next season, Brian had a game he couldn't go to. And I decided I was finally going...with Kristi. We had a blast!! 

In 2010, Brian and I went to the first two games of the season, and we had the best time! It was the best date days we had had for a long time with now TWO babies in our home. The first times we left the girls. We laughed. We talked. They were amazing days! And then October happened and just like that he was gone and my world was rocked. Panicking that I was down to one income with two children I didn't know what to do. So, sadly, I posted my tickets for sale on Facebook. They were gone in less than 20 minutes. To people that I deeply loved. That girl Kristi bought a pair. And then messaged me and told me she was taking me for my birthday. And we had a blast! A couple other people that had bought my tickets ended up taking me also. I have amazing people in my life. 

The next season Kristi and went to every game together, except one when I was super sick. Then a complete season together and our boys made it to the Super Bowl. And then a complete season this year and another Super Bowl appearance. We just might be lucky. 

The conclusion of yesterday's Super Bowl game was heart-breaking for me, for more reasons that the loss. The end of football season is a hard thing for me. The Seahawks losing was tough, but I rejoice in the fact that we were still playing in February. And how amazing that first home game next season will be when they unveil the NFC Champions banner at the Clink. But the ending of the game yesterday was also the ending of built in hang out time with my bestie. The end of the game yesterday was an end to weekly walks down memory lane thinking about my grandpa. So much emotion tied to just a game!?

In fact, someone said that to me today: "What wrong with you? It's just a game!" And they are right. It is just a game. But, it's not just a game to me!  It's watching a team of outstanding young men pull together in some super tough moments. It's being inspired by a group of men that strive to do their best. It's watching these men pray together and offer thanks to God and bring Him to light in a very public way, and me wanting to follow their example and give praise to Him in all that I do. It's, again, built in bestie time with Kristi and all of the tradition and happiness and strength that she gives me in our ferry chats and Fireball toasts and screaming embraces during the game. It's talking plays and knowing calls before the ref signals, and knowing that I'm a girl who knows a lot about football because of my grandpa. It's the fun of getting to know the people in Row E and having a built-in football family. It's hearing the national anthem and watching the perfectly orchestrated fireworks go off and having shivers of goosebumps rise up my spine. It's anxiously waiting to see who will be raising the 12th man flag, and then sobbing thinking of how much my grandpa admired "insert flag-raisers name here" and how cool it would be if he knew I had season tickets. It's following Blue Thunder drumline out of the stadium after a win. It's all those things, and so much more!

So, yes, I am heartbroken after the loss yesterday. But my disappointment doesn't come from lamenting whether Wilson should have passed, or handed it off to Lynch. I don't question Pete Carroll's, or even Darrell Bevell's play-calling. Our boys fought hard, to the bitter end and as cheesy as this will sound? They are all winners! They have brought our city, our state, the joy of a Super Bowl win. Two appearances in two years! Not many teams can say that. Their individual back stories are amazing - the adversities they have overcome, the trials they have faced, the pain and obstacles they have overcome. They are amazing, whether they're bringing a trophy home or not. 

I will always be a 12...I will remain loyal no matter what, win, lose or tie. I wore my Seahawks gear today, and cried a little inside. Sure, it's just a game. For some. For me, it is my happy place. The place where the outside world is shut behind the gates of a football field. Where trouble and adversity stops being at the forefront of my brain and I can sit back and revel in the joy of football. Where I mourn the loss of my grandfather and find my smile in knowing that he has the best seats in the house. Where I accidentally found my lifelong best friend and get to share so much of my life with her. These things don't stop just because the game is over. But it sure is a lot more fun from our seats in Section 305!

So, to Pete, Russell, Doug, Kam, Richard, Earl, Jermaine, Marshawn, Bruce, Steve, Jon, and all the other amazing Seahawks: THANK YOU! Thank you for an amazing season, an incredible playoff run, and a bright future! I'll be counting down the days until our first pre-season game in August on my green and blue paper chain! Go Hawks!