December 16, 2000 - A Diehard Is Born

As a kid growing up in Queens, New York little did I know how important this date would be to me over the course of my life.  I think about it once and a while and it still makes me smile for a New York minute.  Amazingly, you could even say that if not for this date, this little space on the internet wouldn't even exist.  Well, I can honestly and thankfully say that December 16, 2000 was, and still is, one of the greatest days of my entire life.

By the time I was 13, I was already a huge diehard fan of sports.  I played baseball and basketball, liked the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Clippers, and loved watching football on TV.  When it came to football, my allegiances were split between the Indianapolis Colts and the Seattle Seahawks.  Yeah, yeah..  I'd gone to a few New York Giants games at the Meadowlands (my dad's buddy always had tickets back in the day) back when Rodney Hampton, Dave Brown, Charles Way, Howard Cross, and Chris Calloway were on the team, but the Giants never evoked much energy from me.  Same can be said for the Jets, although I'll be a good friend and pull for them whenever they aren't playing the Seahawks since some of my best buddies are Jets fans.  I can check that off as my one good deed for the year, I guess.

To this day, I can't believe that I started liking the Colts because of Jim F'N Harbaugh!  If I could go back in time and punch my 13 year old self in the face, I would.  I remember being legitimately upset when the hail mary fell short in Pittsburgh and the cinderella Colts lost the AFC Title Game to the Steelers.  I can proudly say, however, that I've ALWAYS hated the Steelers.  What's that?  Hate's too strong of a word?  Ok..  I've always strongly disliked the Steelers during my NFL fandom.  Random, but was the old NFL on NBC not the greatest?  Enberg, Simms, McGuire (they might've been hacks but they were my hacks!)..  that classic theme song..



Ahhh, I still love it.  Nothing got me pumped for a Sunday of football quite like that intro.  Anyways, I was a Colts fan, then Peyton came along with Edgerrin and I was sure that I'd be a lifer Colts fan.  I still always liked the Seahawks because they were such a random afterthought in those days, and because I felt bad for them after they got jobbed by Testaverde's Helmet, but never really had an opportunity to watch their games to this point.  The Colts were usually televised, but watching a Seahawks game on TV in NYC was very rare.  That was until that fateful Saturday, when my entire life changed. 

Truth be told, I'm pretty lucky that the game was on a Saturday.  I think it was one of only two games played that Saturday, so I remember being really hyped to finally get a chance to watch the Seahawks.  The game was played at Husky Stadium and I remember the weather conditions for the game being absolutely cataclysmic.  The rain was falling, which added the perfect backdrop for what was about to go down.  The Raiders were coached by everyone's favorite, John Gruden, were 11-3, and looked like a great team heading into the Week 16 showdown.  The Seahawks, on the other hand, were a lowly 5-9 and were being trotted out to just get the game over with and the loss in the books.  But on that shitty Seattle afternoon, something special happened.  The Seahawks actually looked like a real, competent football team.  I didn't know it then, but looking back on it now, I also witnessed one of the few fortuitous bounces the Seahawks have ever received!  Ricky "Running" Watters broke a huge run only to be chased down from behind by Charles Woodson, who knocked the ball out for a fumble.  However, Marquez Pope slid to recover the fumble and did, but had his momentum carry him into the endzone due to the pouring rain.  It went for a safety, Gruden was livid, and the Hawks were still alive.  Johnny Kitnany AKA John Kitna would later find then rookie receiver Darrell Jackson in the back of the endzone for the game winning touchdown, Jackson broke out "the Squirrel" and the Hawks managed to pull off the unthinkable upset..  and I was hooked!  I never missed a game after that and I was sure, when I was 13, that I'd be the next Steve Raible, the next voice of the Seattle Seahawks.  To this day, I've never seen any footage from this game.

Fast forward to the present, nearly 12 years later, and I can honestly say that I've loved living every moment of being a Diehard 'Hawks fan.  I even took it so far as to transfer to Washington State University to get closer to the team and pursue a career in Sports Broadcasting.  Life had different plans for me, but I can honestly say that my dream of one day working for the Seattle Seahawks will never die.  Being part of the 12th Man isn't something I simply chose to do, it's something that's a part of me.  A way bigger part of me then I will probably ever truly know.  While some things have changed along the way, like the roster (a lot), the head coach (not as much), the defensive coordinator (way too often haha), the stadium (one of the best, woo!), and the uniforms (twice), my love for the team has never changed.  One other good change, is that I'm old enough to drink and that, as my luck would have it, there's an amazing Seattle Seahawks bar right here in New York City!  It's called Carlow East (85th St and Lexington Ave.), and it's THE PLACE to go watch a 'Hawks game in NYC, and I'd even put the crowd up there as one of the best Seahawks crowds in the world.  Everyone's in full voice, everyone is passionate, and everyone has a good time, the way it should be.  If you're a 'Hawks fan in NYC and you're reading this and don't have a usual place to go watch games, come to Carlow and hang with the NYCeahawks.  It'll change your life.

Thanks for toughin this one out and I hope you stick along for the ride..

GO SEAHAWKS!!!