It all started on August 4, after weeks of searching for the right tickets, that I landed 8 tickets to the Seattle Seahawks game against the Lions in Detroit... the home opener nonetheless! I was ecstatic, to say the least, since the 'Hawks are "my boys"!!
Everything was planned for what seemed like it would be one of the best games ever: a group of friends and family, parking tickets for a lot we could tailgate in, Seahawks jerseys for me and Eric, and a spread that the Seahawks could certainly cover seeing as they were playing the Lions!
Sunday morning started out EARLY, giving us enough time to meet up (although we were late meeting the other 4, seeing as we had to wait for a certain someone... ahem, John). But we got to the tailgating lot, with no problems, by 11am-ish.
Eric and I stuck out like sore thumbs, us in our 'Hawks jerseys, as there was a sea of Lions fans amongst us. BBQs were sending out the all-familiar scent of cooking street meat... mmm nothing like a good dog at a ballgame. Buses were blasting out the tunes, new (Audioslave/Zombie) and old (Doors). And there were all kinds of characters amongst the crowd. Heck, there was even a HURSE - at the back of which were its passengers, cooking up a bbq feast in COFFINS! What a crowd. Not to mention a prim and proper older blonde woman, who looked out of place at a football game. Wow did she ever have an arm! Talk about a perfect spiral!
A case of beer and 2 packages of hot dogs later, we decided to make the trek to the shuttle so we didn't miss kickoff. The bus was filled with Lions fans, but no one even said a word about the two lone Seahawks jerseys in the crowd. The only yelling on the bus was that of a man saying, "Who here thinks the Lions have a chance?!!!" One lone voice of a woman cried out, "I do. Anyone has a chance." Oh what pride. Lions fans sure do hold out hope, even if they're bad mouthing their team on the radio 2 hours prior to the start of the season opener.
We arrived at Ford Field. This would be the first visit to my third NFL stadium (I'd previously visited the Bills' Ralph Wilson stadium twice, and the Seahawks' Qwest Field once). There was a HUGE but orderly crowd around us, lined up in queues for "men" and "women" - talk about an organized pat-down search system.
As I passed through the turnstile I received the first of a few mentions of me being a Seahawks fan, "Seahawks, huh?" How non-threatening for a city whose citizens I thought would lynch me at the very sight of a competitor's shirt.
I waited inside the huge foyer of the stadium, waiting for Eric to get through the "men's" security line. I waited. And I waited. And I waited. No Eric. "I'm going to miss kickoff" I thought to myself. Even worse... I thought I might pee my pants - the morning's coffee had definitely caught up to me during the 2-hour drive. And the beer at the tailgating lot didn't help matters!!
As a last-ditch resort I called his cell in hopes he had it on his person. Ring, ring, ring, "hello"... Yes!! He remembered to bring it and it was ON!! "Where are you," I cried as I was being jostled by Lions fans. "I'm urinating". No. NO!! We had a plan... we'd meet inside the doors. I could be killed by a pack of Lions' fans... me the sole Seahawks' jersey wearer in the crowd!! NOOOO I have to pee more than you!!!! But, being the gentleman that he is, Eric zipped up his pants and rushed down the escalator to save me from the horde.
We rushed to our seats, so as not to miss the ever-important first kick. What great seats!! We could see the whole field, albeit from a fairly high viewpoint.
The kick happened... the game (and the season) had begun. You could feel a buzz in the air. Or was that the alcohol? Either way, it was so exciting. I thought to myself, "Yes, what more could you ask for than a good Lions ass-kicking from the Hawks in their home opener?"
But it wasn't as ass-kicking as it was supposed to be. What was supposed to have been a rout ended up being a farce. The game consisted of bumbling quarterback plays, a fumbling Shawn Alexander, and a disappointing contest of who could win by field goal only. There were no breakaways to the end zone, there were no wild interceptions, there were no touchdowns. Just 4 lonely field goals. That's all there was to this momentous day at Ford Field.
At one point it looked as though the Lions were going to win. No!! My Hawks couldn't lose to the Lions!! How could the Superbowl runners-up be defeated by a team that's known for their lack of trips to the playoffs?
Luckily, by some miracle of the football Gods, the Hawks eeked through with a 3rd, and final, field goal. They won the game, with a very quiet clapping from their devoted fans, 9-6... ending what could quite possibly have been the most boring game in the NFL's history.
All that hype, all the emotion that had been bottled up for months prior to the big occasion, all the planning... fizzled out with a whimper rather than the thunderous roar that it could have and should have been. This game came in like a Lion and went out like a Lamb.
So with that, I anxiously await next Sunday's game: Seahawks vs. Cardinals. With hopes that the fight of the birds will bring more action.
