Seahawks Celebration

SUPER CELEBRATION: Normally, Wednesdays have us up north for math and science classes. Today was not a normal day. Today, the city of Seattle was celebrating its first ever Super Bowl victory. Of course, we had to be part of the celebration. 

We left home at 6:50 this morning, bound for the Seahawks' stadium in the Sodo neighborhood.

When we arrived near the site, thousands of fans were already in the area, and some 700,000 plus fans were lining the parade route from Seattle Center to the stadium. We circled around looking for parking, and after a bit of discussion, wound up going and getting Christian at his workplace (also in Sodo) and switching the Honda I was driving with the Honda he'd stashed just a half hour earlier, near the stadium.

The kids and I sat in our lil Honda Fit from 7:30 to about 9 a.m. It got cold while we were waiting, but CJ wouldn't let me idle the car for heat, reminding me we'd be killing polar bears. Damn conscience. ;)

When I deemed it time to hike to CenturyLink Field and stand in line to get into the venue. Gates were supposed to be at 10:30, but ALL of the stadium's 75,000 seats were general admission today. Yippee! Like a Who concert in the '70s! Having lived through the festival seating era, I knew what to expect and coached the kids about how to stay safe in a crowd like that. 

We got inside the venue (about 10:35), and found good seats right away. 

And then, the wait was on. The parade was supposed to start at 11 a.m., and get to CenturyLink at 1:30. Well, the parade didn't start until 11:50 or so, and the procession was slowed down by the fact that around 800,000 people were pressing themselves in along the parade route, including to the street. It was slow going.

I think the festivities started where we were at about 3 p.m. That's right - we spent 4.5 hours sitting in the cold and shade waiting. Woo hoo! Good times! Thankfully, I'd dressed the kids in a ridiculous number of layers, had packed good snacks, and plenty of entertainment. The only thing on them that really suffered was their poor cold toes. :(

Christian joined us about 11:30. While we waited, we watched coverage of the parade on the stadium's big screens. 

I think my favorite shots were of Marshawn Lynch throwing Skittles to the crowd and the crowd throwing Skittles back at him. For weeks now people have been knocking him as 'anti social' because he wouldn't provide a steady stream of quotes on demand during media events at the Super Bowl. But Marshawn is NOT anti social, he's just anti stupid blathering. He's all 'bout that action, boss." And today, during the parade, no one was more animated than him. And when he finally arrived at the stadium, he DANCED in, beating his own drum. 

The shots of the crowd along the route were eye-popping ... 

There were so many people, that cell phones were rendered nearly useless - the networks crashed. I anticipated this happening and was glad I'd called Christian immediately to let him know where to find us. 

The crowd inside the stadium was something to behold, as well. 

We waited, and waited and waited. Finally, the program began. We got to hear the Blue Thunder perform and see the real live 'sea' hawk wing its way in.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was a brand new Boeing 787 flying overhead, decked out with a sweet Seahawks' graphics package.

 Below it banks just north of Smith Tower.

We also got to see 'our' banner fly overhead. 

This is the one we signed a couple weeks back. It flew over the Super Bowl stadium, and now it's back in Seattle for a victory lap!

Fresh from his NFL Hall of Fame induction on Saturday night, Seahawks legend Walter Jones raised the 12th man flag for today's festivities.

Eventually, the players were introduced, biggest number (99) to smallest (3).

 Doug Baldwin walked in backwards, filming the crowd, as did Golden Tate.

And former UW Husky Jermaine Kearse got a rousing welcome.

 The last team member to emerge was #3 - quarterback Russell Wilson.

 And he was carrying a silver statue - namely, the Lombardi trophy!

I still have a hard time believing that a Lombardi trophy is now part of Seattle history. It's been a long time coming!

Coach Pete Carroll spoke at the ceremony.

The ceremony ended with team owner Paul Allen hoisting the trophy up high, while fireworks and confetti filled the stadium.

It's nearly 11 p.m. as I type this, and I'm still chilled to the bone. Hopefully a hot shower in the morning will cure that, but being cold was a small price to pay for being a part of today's events. It's something the kids will remember the rest of their lives.