Qwest Virgin No More

by: Strategerie

It’s the most fun I’ve ever had while fully dressed. Since the NFL has a shiny new fan conduct policy (and the resulting number to alert on “knuckleheads”; I heard the PSA for this so many times last night I’m starting to believe I could recite it from memory,) I’ll attempt to keep it PG-rated. Yeah, the earth moved for me -- and 50,000 other people.

Our odyssey started a few weeks ago when I admitted that no, we’d never been to Qwest. The lack of ticket availability had scared us off. Plus, we were Husky season ticket holders for many years. We could watch the pros on TV, couldn’t we? At the same time, I still longed to see a game live. Imagine my joy when a certain Seahawks fan made this happen for me! (Contrary to popular belief, I did not sleep with the tickets underneath my pillow.)

We arrived at the stadium in blistering heat. Job One (besides parking the car,) was finding some water. We were very, VERY early: I wanted to watch practice. The stadium? Gorgeous. Is there a bad seat in the house? I think not. I was surprised to note how close the bottom row of seats actually is to the players’ bench, and how LOUD it is. Even in preseason, it’s unbelievable! I spied many people sitting around us wearing earplugs. Of course, the place really rock n’ rolled when our guys made their appearance on the field. Paul Moyer raised the 12th Man flag, and the building shook! To Continue...

My husband is still laughing about the woman sitting in front of us turning to ask me if I’d had to flash my, well, chest to get the strand of game beads I’d bought at the concession stand downstairs. I reassured her that I’d purchased them. After all, it was a PG-rated zone, wasn’t it?

The game, or the real reason why we were there: As others have mentioned, the first half was an uneven effort, highlighted by crowd-thrilling harassment of Rex Grossman and his offensive line. The defense held Chicago to two points throughout most of the first half as well. I’m glad that Charlie Frye got the practice. As the game continued, he seemed to gain confidence in his backs and receivers, and moved the team down the field with increasing effectiveness. When he figured out he could scramble to get himself out of trouble, he stopped throwing picks. I’m hoping Coach Holmgren will continue starting him for the rest of the preseason, because I’d like to see what he can do.

Justin Forsett electrified the crowd. We heard his name all night. If he doesn’t make the team, I’ll be so disappointed. We were also happy to see Logan Payne get some work, and The Heater is already a crowd favorite, too. Great things happen when he’s on the field! Owen Schmitt’s hat popped off during a play, so we all got to see his Mohawk and huge grin. They were having fun out there!

One of the things I noticed while watching our guys beat up on the Bears was the sideline action. Television just doesn’t do Julian Peterson justice, or perhaps he should have his own show. I was laughing aloud at his antics. It seems he was eating something. (Could it be the Gummi worms he said he was eating in the sidelines interview last week?) When he wasn’t doing that, he, Lofa Tatupu, and Mr. Hill were doing their own extra-special version of “The Wave”. Even Matt Hasselbeck joined in. It was easy to spot Julian in his neon-green ball cap and the infamous green football shoes, and he didn’t stop when the game was over. He ran out of the locker room once more to say goodnight to the fans! His joy is infectious. Forget about calling himself “#98”. He’s a goofball -- but he’s OUR goofball!

Speaking of fun, we were treated to overtime. Even if the fans were probably as exhausted as we were from a combination of heat and four quarters of urging the team on, the 12th Man rallied. Everyone was on their feet and cheering the final field goal!

Finally, it was time to go home. I can’t wait to go back. I know we’ll be at Qwest again sooner than later. We’re getting on the season ticket list. We’re searching StubHub and planning on going to some tailgating during the regular season. This was SO much better than I ever could have imagined!

All thanks to Michael for his help in this effort, and again, Go Seahawks! We believe!