It is hard to live in Seattle this year and not get caught
up in the 12th Man frenzy. I stood
little chance of NOT being a football fan, born in Chicago and raised watching
the legendary Walter Payton weave and pirouette toward the end zone. I remember the Super Bowl Shuffle and
Refrigerator Perry. I remember the day
Walter Payton died. I was sitting on the
couch at my aunt’s house in Chicago battling the intense heat and humidity while they were running clips of Walter the
Great on TV. The last clip they showed on the
news that day was Walter Payton holding up his number 34 jersey when they
retired it. He died young, just 45
years-old. The ten year-old version of
me cried that day. I’m no stranger to
football.
Flash forward to 2014.
I’ve lived in Seattle most of my life, and I’ve watched our fans disappointed
time and time again. I was in Chicago
the summer the Sonics lost to the Bulls in the NBA championship. That was awkward time and place to be a Seattleite, but I digress. It has been a long time since I have followed
football closely because when you grow up watching football played like the
1985-86 Bears played, your standards are set high.
I started watching football again last year. I caught a glimpse of this young Seahawks team. What I saw was something to believe in; I saw
a reason to cheer and to hope.
Part of what I want to say to all the people out there who
hate this Seattle team so ferociously is simple. Why? This
team is not made up of many superstar players, first round draft picks, or
highly coveted free agents. This team is
made up of the guys who were passed over, the guys who were told they were not
good enough, the guys who were undrafted.
Russell Wilson was called the biggest drafting mistake the Seahawks ever
made. Derrick Coleman is our offensive
lineman that was told his dream to play in the NFL was impossible because he
was deaf. We are late draft picks and
walk-ons. This team is made up of what
looked like a bunch of mediocrity to all the “experts.” And, yet, they are champions. It is a classic American pastime to root for
the underdogs. So why not cheer for
Seattle?
Why does the 12th Man love the Seahawks so much
that it annoys, offends, and baffles onlookers?
We love them because they remind us that greatness is not always about
being the best according to the experts.
Greatness is not about you.
Greatness is about what you do for others. This Seahawks team is great because they are
a team that practices, plays, and wins as a team. They remind us that being a part of a
community and sacrificing your gifts and talents for that community will always
achieve greater results than one talent standing alone. We love them because they acknowledge us, the
12th Man, as a part of their team.
We love them because the story of who each player is off the field is
often more inspirational than what he does on the field. We love this team because their story of what
a champion looks like is one that has never been written in this manner before,
and it is one full of redemption, determination, and faith. We love them because of the coaching staff
that looks beyond numbers and stats, and even beyond past failures to see the potential in a man; a
coaching staff that doesn’t try to change a player, but finds a place for his
talents and then encourages him to improve.
They show us how to ignore the critics, defy the odds, and believe that
even when it seems impossible your dream can be achieved. We love the Seahawks because we all deep down
hope that there is a chance that someone would look past our surface and see
what lies inside, and that our potential might surprise us if we believed, “Why
not us?”
The Seahawks remind me why I love football. So many congratulations are in order, Seahawks. Thank you for deserving this win and thank
you for this incredible season.
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