November Rain

Even the sun goes down, heroes eventually die

Horoscopes often lie and sometimes "y"
Nothin' is for sure nothin' is for certain nothin' lasts forever
But until they close the curtain

Outkast was right. The good guy's do lose sometimes. Russell Wilson IS human. The front office does make mistakes. 2014 was proving that sometimes the ball just doesn't bounce your way, in football and in life. Luckily, the beautiful memories from 2013 were there to help soften the blow. The great thing was, they'd always be there. They couldn't be taken away from me. They couldn't be taken away from any Seahawks fan. No matter what 2014 had in store for the Seattle Seahawks, I would still be there in their corner.

And still, despite all of the negative energy surrounding the team, the curtain hadn't closed yet. Nothin' lasts forever, especially Seahawks losing streaks under Pete Carroll. The heroes had lost two straight, but they hadn't died. Not yet at least. They had been written off by many who just months were calling them favorites to repeat. That was okay though, because as everybody knows, this team plays better when it's them vs. the world. With their backs up against the wall, they showed their championship mettle by slaying the Panthers in Charlotte for the third year in a row. In a return to the scene where it had all began 13 months earlier, the Seahawks rediscovered their winning touch.

The win was welcomed, if only that it makes a 12 hour bus ride seem not that terrible. There wasn't much time to enjoy it though, as it was right to work after the long bus ride home. I was just happy to be working at that point, so I wasn't about to complain. I spent my week selling pickles and thinking about the possibilities with a game against Oakland at the CLink looming in the horizon.

Nothin' is for certain though, and that was definitely true after a few rainouts at work. What seemed like a foregone conclusion of watching the 'Hawks continue to turn things around, was on the verge of not happening at all. Luckily for me, I have a guardian angel and her name is Margaret. Margaret and I met last year at El Ay Si, the bar/restaurant I had worked at in Queens. It was there that I met her, John, and Paul and it was there that the three of them had vowed to help me on my quest to watch the Seahawks win it all for the first time in team history.

They stayed true to their word and hooked me up with flights and game tickets alike. Margaret, John, and Paul were a huge reason why I was able to realize the ultimate dream last season. That was last season though, and with me not even working at El Ay Si anymore and having not seen them for months, one would understand if they could no longer lend a helping hand. I certainly would. In typical Margaret style though, she came through in the clutch, and in no time she had already booked my flight to Seattle to watch the Seahawks play the Raiders.

The humbling glow hadn't even worn off by the time I received my next bit of good news. Steve, another good friend that I had made just a year earlier, had an extra ticket to the game as well! Just like that, with my destiny mired in a cloud of doubt, my worries had been alleviated. I asked myself, why do I waste the energy in worrying in the first place? The universe had a plan for me, just like it does for all of us. I couldn't control these things, so why even worry about them at all?

I never could think of a good reason why. As I boarded the plane to Seattle on that mild Saturday night at the beginning of November, the only thing I could think of were reasons to be grateful. Worry was the furthest thing from my brain. Soon, there was nothing on my mind, as I passed out watching the Wyoming Cowboys roll up on Fresno State. The game wasn't a snoozer, but I was, after having never really caught up on sleep throughout the week after a grueling bus ride home from Charlotte.

I love falling asleep and waking up in a new city. Not so much for the sense of thrill or excitement to see my new surroundings, but because that means the actual traveling part of travel is done. I'd much rather prefer teleportation to flying, or riding buses, but until that's an actual option it looks like I'm stuck with what we've got. This trip was as close to teleportation as it gets though, and I was feeling that familiar feeling I get whenever I return to my second home.

I'm waiting for the 512 to Everett when a stranger approaches me asking for change. I hand him 2 golden coins worth a dollar and he extends a hand and says thank you. We shake hands, and he tells me that he's from Ethiopia. He sees my Seahawks gear and tells me that he thinks the Seahawks will win tomorrow. He doesn't know much in the way of football, or about the Seahawks, but he tells me about his love for Seattle. Despite being homeless, he still loved the city and just wanted to see his fellow neighbors happy, which was why he was predicting a Seahawks win. It was that simple for him, and that kind of simplicity was beautiful to me.

Once I get on the 512, I'm sitting next to a man who's just getting off of work. He sees my Seahawks hat and starts telling me about how he won't complain now that the team has gotten it's ring. "I'm good for at least the next four years", he says. His words remind me of the "five year rule" that Bill Simmons had come up with years ago. I'm sure by now that even Simmons has gone back on his word about fans not being allowed to get upset with their team for 5 years after winning a championship. Being from New England, it's in his blood to complain about his team, even when they're winning. I tell my new friend about Simmons' theory and he agrees as we share a laugh.

The conversation shifts as he starts telling me about how the Seahawks were all he had over the past few years. He got divorced, lost custody of his child, and had drifted towards alcohol and numbing his pain that way. Soon, he was homeless and stuck in a vicious cycle of misery. The only thing that helped him through those dark times was watching the Seahawks on Sunday's. Just a few days earlier though, he had gotten a job with Beacon Plumbing, and things appeared to be on the upswing. He told me to always finesse it in life, and to never lose hope or faith. He exits the bus without truly knowing the impact he's had on me.

I get off the 512 and Steve is already waiting for me in his car. Memories of last season come flooding back, as Steve and I are reunited after one of the greatest years of both of our lives. We talk about the past, present, and future and all things Seahawks as we always do when we see each other. On our way back to Steve's, I realize just how close he lives to Marysville Pilchuck, the school shattered by a tragic shooting just a week earlier. Steve tells me about driving past the school just a few days earlier, a sea of ribbons lining a mile long radius around the school. A sobering reminder that tomorrow is not promised.

It was nice to be back at Steve's. The last time I had stayed over was between Week 16 and Week 17 of last season. Steve and his family were kind enough to take in the kid from New York City over Christmas, which was enough for me to bury any notion of the 'Seattle Freeze' for good. Sure, there might be some jerks in Seattle, but there's some damn fine people there as well. Steve was living proof of that.

We woke up the next morning and had some breakfast. Steve's wife, Jackie, was around also, and it was great to see her again after meeting her last season. We catch up over some bacon and eggs, as we realize how much things have changed since we all saw each other last. There were injuries, tales of firings and betrayals, and a Super Bowl victory sandwiched in between all of it. No matter how shaky and uncertain things seemed, we couldn't forget that the main mission was already accomplished back on that night in early February.

Soon, Steve and I have to split in order to catch the Sounder train from Everett down to the game. Steve warned me before our trip down to the Rams game together in Week 17 that the Sounder was probably the coolest way to go down to a game in the country. So far, from what I had seen, he was probably right. Nothing beats that scenic view along the water, with everything from spectators to surf shops to seals usually making an appearance. Navel bases and the Ballard locks are some of the other cool things you'll see on this ride, and it all ends with the train pulling in to King Street Station right by the stadium.

We continue the time-honored tradition of heading to Temple before kickoff. However, it's only Jen, Dom, Steve, and I in the basement of a nearly empty bar. The place is usually twice to three times as packed, which leads us to wonder what it will be like in the stands at the game. My mind darts to the Cowboys game at CenturyLink earlier this season, where there were far too many opposing fans and far too little of a homefield advantage for the Seahawks. Deep down inside, I was hoping that history wasn't repeating itself.

We watch the Cowboys fold like a cheap suit against the Cardinals, and 'Blue Thunder' are their usual bad selves, as they rock Temple into a frenzy. Now, it was time to head to the game. Before heading to our seats though, Steve and I must adhere to another time-honored tradition. The pregame hotdog across from Touchdown City! I get a Jones dog with cream cheese, in honor of Walter Jones. On this day, Jones would be getting inducted into the Seahawks Ring of Honor, so I had no choice really in who's dog I was going to get. The Lynch Dog and the Sherman dogs are classics in their own right, but the Jones dog was the only true way to honor a living legend.

We scarf 'em down and then make our way in through the entrance at Touchdown City. Again, once inside the first thing we notice is that the place is an absolute ghost town. Luckily, however, we hadn't seen too many Raiders fans walking around outside the stadium. With Halloween having just passed, however, it was tough to tell exactly who were actual Raiders fans and who were trick-or-treater's who hadn't quite made it all the way home yet. Every day is Halloween when you're an Oakland Raiders fan.

We make our way to our seats and the view is fantastic. It wouldn't be long before the game turned fantastic for the Seahawks, too. After the Seahawks continued to honor Walter Jones by having his four line mates from the epic 2005 season raise the 12th Man Flag, the action was underway. Despite opening the game with a field goal to take the initial lead, things quickly turned ugly for Oakland. First, it was Marshawn bulldozing their defense into the endzone from the 3 yard line. As if that didn't take a toll on the Raiders' psyche, a string of horrendous turnovers set out to do the job and shatter the Oakland Raiders right there in front of us. Bruce Irvin scores on one of the nicest pick sixes that you'll ever see, and immediately afterwards, Derek Carr pulls his best imitation of his brother David, and gets intercepted by Richard Sherman. Sherm finally gets his first pick of the season and at 14-3 and with the ball deep in Raiders territory, things are looking good for a Seahawks blowout.

The 'Hawks can only settle for a field goal and now trail 17-3. They're awaiting the kickoff from Steven Hauschka when I start telling Steve about how sweet of a lady Jermaine Kearse' grandmother is. I tell him the story she told me about how Jermaine first got in to football. That it was his father who gave him a football when young Jermaine couldn't even carry it, and that that was what pushed Jermaine to pursue a dream of making it to the NFL. It's as I'm telling Steve this story that Jermaine forces the fumble on the ensuing kickoff! Steve and I can't hardly believe the timing for such a play from Kearse, but it was perfect. Absolutely perfect. The thing that makes the moment even more perfect, is the fact that Steven Hauschka is the man who recovers the fumble!

No one's perfect, though, not even Steven Hauschka. We get to witness the rare sight of Steven Hauschka missing a field goal, which isn't too big of a deal considering the beating the Seahawks are putting on the Raiders through the early goings. Despite a disturbing plethora of injuries and despite Pete Carroll having to suit up injured players because there were more than 8 inactive players on the roster, the Seahawks were looking like the team so many had expected to see in 2014. As the rain falls over the crowd at CenturyLink, people begin striking up conversations and soon, the party atmosphere was in the air.

At the half, they fired up the old highlight reel of Big Walt escorting former Panthers defensive end Mike Rucker 20 yards downfield in the NFC Championship Game back in '05. You gotta love offensive linemen highlights, especially ones from the 90's. Unfortunately, they didn't have those stock footage clips of Walter pushing around escalade's in his backyard. Steve Raible MC's as Paul Allen and the Seahawks decide to now bless the Ring of Honor (as well as the late, great Owen Hart) with blue blazer's! Tez, Easley, Krieg, they're all there with umbrella's alongside the Jones family. The only missing member is Chuck Knox, of course. RIP Coach. Big Walt gets his last hoorah in Seattle, but if I'm being honest I'd prefer that they did Ring of Honor inductions before game's. Squeezed in to the 13 minutes allotted for half time always makes it feel like the ceremony is rushed. Still, it was nice to see Walter get his day in the sun, even if it rained.

And when it rained, it poured on this cold November afternoon in Seattle. It was a bit too soon for the party atmosphere that had set in with the Seahawks ahead 24-3 at the half, having just inducted one of their all-time great's into their Ring of Honor. The Oakland Raiders had shown up in Seattle on this day, and they came to play. Despite the nightmare scenario for them to start the game, they managed to roll with the punches. Derek Carr begins to settle down and start making some throws. He suddenly doesn't look like a rookie at the CLink anymore. The Seahawks had acknowledged before the game that they had learned from the Tampa Bay game from last season. They knew they needed to jump out in front of a winless team now.

This time, they had jumped out in front, but they took their foot off the gas too soon. As well and improved as the Raiders were, the Seahawks were equally unimpressive on offense. They sputtered constantly, as Hustle Wilson had one of his worst days of his still-young career. His throws just weren't on target, but that's bound to happen to the man made of flesh and blood. Many will speculate what led to #3's struggles, but I'm willing to put it in the past and hope that if anyone will get things straightened out, it's Russell.

With Wilson struggling, Marshawn was needed to pick up some of the slack. Beast Mode's always ready to ride and against his hometown team, you know he was ready for action. Before the first snap on offense, Lynch went out with his helmet tucked under his arm and shook hands with a few members of the Raiders. A guy sitting next to us even started ranting about how he was done with Marshawn and his antics. I told him that for all we know they could be really good friends or that being a good sportsman should never be looked at as a bad thing. I asked this man how he could possibly be done with a man who helped bring his city a Super Bowl as well as authoring the Beast Quake for our viewing pleasure? He had a hard time coming up with an answer.

Marshawn answered the bell, as he almost always does. Special Teams usually answer the bell for the Seahawks also, but in this one like in St. Louis before it, they failed to get to their feet before the ten count. A Jon Ryan punt gets blocked and squirts around on the turf for a second before Oakland picks it up and takes it in for a score. Ryan appears to be injured at one point during the game, but keeps on punting. His punts are obviously off for the rest of the game. Even Jon Ryan is human, sometimes.

Oakland scores again, and Seahawks fans are rubbing their eyes to make sure their mind isn't playing tricks on them. It's not, it's only 24-17 at this point and the momentum appears to have shifted over to the Raiders sideline. Steve and I are stunned as well, and can only take solace in the fact that the Rams are making it interesting in San Francisco against the 'Niners. More importantly though, the Seahawks must take care of their own business before worrying about anyone else's. Our attention shifts back to the game.

The Seahawks continue to be out of synch on offense, as the rain intensifies. Luckily, lady luck was in Russell's corner on this day. He got away with two picks and one of them probably would have been a pick six had the defender made the play. Russell managed to escape major damage though, as he so often seems to do. However, the defense that had played so well in the first half, was now struggling to hold their own because the Seahawks offense could not sustain their drives. With time winding down and the score at 30-17, Oakland's Mychal Rivera scores his second touchdown of the game. It's 30-24 now and the Raiders have a shot at recovering an onside kick and maybe leaving Seattle with a miracle victory.

The amount of time in between the extra point and onside kick attempt made you feel like you were at the end of an NBA game. After what seemed like the 5th attempt by Janikowski, he finally gets it off without any whistles. The ball floats up in the air for what seems like an eternity and then falls to the waiting hands of Cooper Helfet. Who drops it. I can't believe my eyes, and think that I might get sick if the Oakland Raiders land on it first. In to the pile of bodies dives Jermaine Kearse, the special teams ace for the day after forcing a fumble that was recovered by Seattle and diving on the onside kick after Helfet muffed it. The Seahawks break out their victory formation and breath a sigh of relief knowing that they dodged a potential bullet against a winless team. With a gameday roster littered with injuries and fresh new faces trying to adapt, it was a miracle that they even won at all!

Steve and I's first game sitting together had ended with a W. He immediately heads to catch the Sounder train back home. As the rain continues to fall, I make my way out of the stadium and back out on to the streets. I walk back towards Temple, as two guys dressed as gorilla's run around and mess around with the fans. There's a street performer playing the drums who's still banging away at them drums despite the constant downpour. I get back to Temple to collect my bag and the good day gets better as Jordan is around, having a drink with some friends.

It had been a while, and after sharing such an amazing journey last year, we talked about the lessons we were now learning this year. We agreed that it was humbling, but that maybe in the long run that would be for the best. We also agreed that it could only be a good thing that all of the younger guys on the roster were getting a chance to play in games that actually mattered. Some of the results had even been promising. This could only serve to benefit the Seahawks in the long run.

After a few beers, I headed back to the airport to catch my flight home. The Seahawks had pieced together their second consecutive win, after having lost two in a row for the first time since October of 2012. That's the funny thing about winning. It truly is the magic elixir. It's just like how in life it seems that sometimes all it takes to get on a bit of a roll is for one thing to happen positively. Then, the rest of the dominoes almost always seem to fall into place. After losing their collective way for a moment earlier in the season, the Seahawks were now on their way toward finding themselves.

Sometimes when circumstances force us to question things, it can lead to the most amazing self-discovery. The Seahawks were learning more and more about themselves every week, as each team provided tough questions for the 'Hawks. Similarly, I was learning a lot about life, and myself, as a result of the Seahawks recent struggles. In a sense, my fate is tied to the success of this team. No one wants to read about a guy who goes to every game if they don't win it all. I had already witnessed them accomplish that feat, but accomplishing it again would be the toughest feat of all.

On my flight back home, I had chosen seat row 40, in honor of Derrick Coleman being on the Injured Reserve. When I got to my seat, there was a deaf gentleman sitting directly behind my seat. He and his buddies who were also deaf, had Seahawks shirts on and apparently had just gone to the game. I thought of what a coincidence it was that they would be sitting in that row just behind Row 40. It was like they were meant to be there. A sign that amazing things do happen all the time, to awesome people. Things weren't exactly following the script, but that's life for you. I had already grown used to the fact that things probably weren't going to go as planned this year.

Still, I was okay with that. Margaret, Steve, and my lady Laura had taught me that there's plenty of people out there who believe in me and want to see me succeed. Just like the Seahawks, I knew that we had each other's back. Speaking of back's, my flight home was a rough one after the cyst on my back from last season appeared to be aggravated. That's what happens when you get stuck in the middle of the row. Much like most of the Seahawks, my name could also be added to the injury list. I made it back to New York City just glad to be back and to be back with a W. As I went back to work to start the week, a sense of renewed optimism was prevalent. The next step would be further solidifying that optimism, and watching it blossom into success. I counted my blessings, thanked my lucky stars, and turned the page to the next chapter while wondering, "what's next?"